Nemaha Central swept opening night at Centralia with the girls team getting a 40-33 win, and the boys team winning 58-49.

The Thunder kept the Panthers at bay for the entirety of the contest with the only time Centralia being within one possession was early in the first quarter.

The game was close the whole way, though, with Nemaha Central getting out to a 15-9 lead after the first quarter.

Cami Dallinghaus scored five in the opening frame with Cali Honeyman and Zoey Sudbeck each scoring four.

Nemaha Central continued their solid offensive effort with 11 more points in the second quarter with Honeyman scoring eight points going into the break with a 26-16 lead.

The offense stalled a bit in the third quarter with just six total points, but their defense kept them ahead as they allowed just nine points.

Nemaha Central made just one field goal in the fourth quarter, but they made six free throws and it was just enough to get an opening night victory.

Honeyman scored 13 points and is the Player of the Game brought to you by Farmers State Bank. Cami Dallinghaus had 11 points as well.

Centralia was led by Oen Deters with 14 points. Tava Gibbs had seven points as well. The Panthers’ biggest problem was their free shooting. They finished 5-for-17 which is just 29.4%.

In the boys game, both teams shot well in the first quarter with the game tied 15-15 after the first eight minutes. Paxton Bowers scored eight points for Centralia and Trent Thomas scored 11 points for Nemaha Central with a pair of threes.

He would make two more in the second quarter to help Nemaha Central go on a 10-0 run after falling behind by eight. Centralia would go into the break with a 31-30 lead.

Nemaha Central started the third quarter with a 7-0 run with Evan Olberding a Colby Frehe making multiple field goals. The Thunder were able to scrape together 17 points in the third quarter. Centralia made just one field goal in the third quarter but stayed in it with five free throws from Bowers.

In the fourth quarter, Nemaha Central’s defense did their job by not allowing Centralia to get into a rhythm. The offense did just enough to give themselves the win by a somewhat comfortable margin.

Up next for Centralia is a trip to Topeka next Tuesday for a date with Cair Paravel Latin School. As for Nemaha Central, they have their home opener on Tuesday night as they host future Big 7 member St. Mary’s.