A raucous home crowd at Paulding's "Jungle" and a tenacious defensive effort was not enough to give the home Panthers a crucial NWC victory over Lima Central Catholic, as they fell in a thriller, 58-52. After trailing by a point at halftime, the Thunderbirds (17-1, 6-0 NWC) dialed up the pressure and outscored Paulding (13-4, 4-2) 18-9 in the third stanza to take a 40-32 lead.