PAPILLION – Kearney High’s Boys Basketball team fought valiantly down one of their best players – including an 18-8 run in the third quarter – but it wasn’t enough to down the talented Lincoln Southwest Silverhawks squad in the final game of the Early Bird Tournament at Papillion-LaVista South High School on Saturday afternoon. Click here for the broadcast replay.
Kearney and Lincoln Southwest entered the contest at 1-0 on the season, both having won their Thursday matchups in the Early Bird Quad Tournament. Kearney dispatched Bellevue East 70-44, while the Silverhawks downed Papillion-LaVista South 70-64.
A pre-season Top Ten favorite, the Silverhawks flexed early in the contest as Kearney struggled to get into offensive rhythm. Several turnovers by the Bearcats led to transition scores for Lincoln Southwest to earn an early lead as much as double digits in the opening moments. Kearney would not back down however, earning four points from senior Jack Dahlgren in the first quarter and fellow senior Jack Mundorf hitting a three. Parker Wise started the scoring with a three-point play and adding two more free throws later in the quarter. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, their defense could not slow junior Southwest guard Rylan Smith as he dropped 9 points in the first. Silverhawks led after eight minutes of play 20-14.
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Disaster struck in the second quarter as senior center Will Vanderbeek went down with an injury and was unable to return to the contest. Without their center, Kearney was forced to play small ball and surrendered rebounds on both ends to the taller Southwest forwards. Lincoln Southwest used their height and aggressive play to further their lead to double digits once again, leading 37-27 at halftime.
Coming out of halftime, head coach Drake Beranek’s Bearcats found new life and created havoc defensively. Forcing errant shots and turnovers, Kearney turned a deficit into a lead partly through the third quarter. Kearney’s scoring picked up from strikes by Dahlgren and freshman Ben Johnson knocking down three pointers, and the Bearcats went into the fourth quarter tied up at 45.
Lincoln Southwest would rotate their bench well in the final eight minutes and a fatigued Kearney squad could only muster 10 points to the Silverhawks 23. Kearney would fall 68-55 as the final buzzer sounded.
Lincoln Southwest improves to 2-0 on the season before traveling to Norfolk on Tuesday. The Silverhawks had major contributions from Smith with 18 points, junior Lukas Helms had 16, 10 added by Ben Hunzeker, 7 by Grant Mielak, 6 each by Bhan Buom and Chuck Love, and 3 points added by Aidan Welch.
Kearney falls to an even 1-1 on the season. They prepare to hit the road again on Friday to take on Lincoln East. The Bearcats had contributions from Dahlgren with 16 points, Wise picked up 13, Mundorf finished with 11, Johnson had 7, senior Kaden Miller tallied 6, and Vanderbeek ended with 2.
