The Thayer Central Titans will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Lourdes Central Catholic Knights at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Thayer Central has insisted on making their lastthree contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 2-1 during that stretch of close contests.
Last Tuesday, it was a hard-fought contest, but Thayer Central had to settle for a 47-44 defeat against Wilber-Clatonia.
Thayer Central's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Sam Souerdyke, who scored 21 points, and Will Heitmann who scored 15 points. Souerdyke scored a full 47.7% of Thayer Central's points, the fifth time in a row he's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Thayer Central struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Lourdes Central Catholic's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. They were beaten by Lincoln Lutheran 74-31. While losing is never fun, Lourdes Central Catholic can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 216th, while Lincoln Lutheran is ranked 21st).
Nolan Beccard was Lourdes Central Catholic's leading scorer, having posted seven points. Beccard also led the team in rebounds with four.
Trevor Tesarek took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with three assists.
Thayer Central's defeat dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Lourdes Central Catholic, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Thayer Central have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 36.3% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Lourdes Central Catholic struggles in that department as they've only made 33.3% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Thayer Central strolled past Lourdes Central Catholic when the teams last played back in December of 2022 by a score of 46-27. Does Thayer Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lourdes Central Catholic turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
