Basketball Recap: Nemaha Central Finds Playoff Glory Versus Smoky Valley

Thunder

Margin (Wins)

12/10/24 @ Hanover	32
02/28/25 vs Smoky Valley	30
01/14/25 vs Royal Valley	30
12/06/24 vs Centralia	30
01/10/25 vs Perry-Lecompton	25

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Nemaha Central had no problem doing just that on Friday. They claimed a resounding 62-32 win over the Smoky Valley Vikings. The Thunder have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 20 points or more this season.

Smoky Valley's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ty Heitschmidt, who shot 46% from the field to rack up 14 points and six rebounds. That was a full 43.8% of Smoky Valley's points, marking the third time in a row Heitschmidt has posted more than a third of the team's points. Braylon Olson was another key player, putting up seven points.

Nemaha Central's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 53.8 points over those games. As for Smoky Valley, they have been struggling recently as they've lost ten of their last 11 contests. That's put a noticeable dent in their 4-17 record this season.

Nemaha Central will be playing in front of their home fans against Council Grove at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Nemaha Central is facing Council Grove at the right time seeing as Council Grove is stuck on a three-game losing streak. Smoky Valley does not have any more games scheduled as of now.