It was a Friday night and season sweep for the Nemaha Central Thunder over Holton as both visiting teams came out hot and captured the wins. 

GIRLS = Nemaha Central 37, Holton 35

The Nemaha girls trailed 5-2 before scoring 17 straight points and only allowing Holton two free throws in the closing seconds of the first half to hold a 19-7 advantage. Holton, who went nearly 13 minutes of basketball without a field goal, made a third quarter push but still trailed 27-16 entering the final frame. However, Holton erupted for a 19-point third quarter only to have Nemaha Central go 8 of 10 from the foul line including seven straight makes to seal the winning night. 

Holton's comback was led by Lora Larison and Elizabeth Schuster with five points each and a steal and a layup by Brooke Willcott pulled the Cats within 33-31 with :40 left. Cami Dalinghaus hit a pair of three throws for Nemaha, but a driving bucket by Kaiya Taylor again pulled Holton within two points with :22 to play. This time Hallie Holthaus hit two free throws to seal the deal before a last second shot by Holton to complete the scoring. 

The six-time defending Big 7 champs stayed unbeaten at 8-0 in the League with their second road win by two points in the week. The Thunder had 15 turnovers but forced 19 mistakes by Holton. Hallie Holthaus scored 10 points including two early threes to help Nemaha Central jump out to the big lead. Cali Honeyman also scored 10 but didn't play much in the fourth quarter before fouling out with 3:52 remaining. Cami Dalinghaus added 8 points as Nemaha improved to 12-2 on the season. They have two of their final six games left against #1 ranked 2A and unbeaten, Riverside. 

Holton couldn't complete a 3-0 week but got 9 points from Larison before dropping to 5-10 overall on the season.  

BOYS = Nemaha Central 54, Holton 32

Nemaha Central started this game on a 7-0 run before Holton pulled all five starters out of the game. It was 11-7 after one quarter, however a 16-7 second frame put the Thunder in control at 27-14 and they never looked back. It was 21-14 before Evan Olberding hit a pair of treys to stretch the margin to 13 at halftime.

Colby Frehe had a big night with 17 points including a big dunk in the second half, also making a triple and going 4 of 5 at the foul line. Olberding added 13 points while Abe Hilbert and Carter Rottinghaus both chipped in 8.  Nemaha went 12 of 14 as a team at the charity stripe and forced 15 turnovers.

After a 3-3 start, Nemaha Central has now won 7 of their last 8 games and stands at 10-4 on the season while notching career win number 499 in Coach Jon Thomas' 34th year. The Thunder play at Sabetha on Tuesday live on KNZA 103.9 FM. 

Holton had just 18 total points at the end of the third quarter with no player scoring in double figures and their only two players that average more than seven points a game, both shutout until late third quarter. Brayden Peek finished with a team-high nine, all in the fourth period while Brody Meyer added seven and Kerrick Dedonder had six points. The Wildcats are now 4-11 overall and 3-6 in League play as they wrap up a five-game home stand against Jeff West on Tuesday.

Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha Players to Bank On:
Cami Dalinghaus and Hallie Holthaus for Nemaha Central girls and Colby Frehe for Thunder boys.