LINCOLN – The Kearney boys looked to play spoiler – and played the role well in the first half – against Lincoln Pius X on Tuesday afternoon, eventually falling in a dismal second half performance that dropped them out of the Heartland Athletic Conference tournament. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
#6 Kearney entered the day after downing #11 Fremont on Monday in dominating fashion.
#3 Pius had a bye to start the tournament with a 4-2 overall record.
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The Bearcats saw the return of Will Vanderbeek the day before, and his presence was felt early on Tuesday. The senior center quickly knocked down a triple and added a runner later on in the first quarter – mixed in with blocked shots and rebounds. Jack Dahlgren added a lay-in as well, while Parker Wise completed a three-point play to conclude Kearney’s scoring in the first quarter. Pius would not die easy, starting the contest with two dunks and 8 points from Sam Hastreiter. The 6’7″ senior was dominant in the opening minutes, aiding Pius to keep a tie with Kearney entering the second quarter at 10.
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The Bearcats and Pius would trade blows again in the second quarter, ending tied again at 23. The Bearcats hit another triple in the quarter from Dahlgren, while Kaden Miller started a short run with 4 points. Hastreiter continued his dominant half having another 6 added, while it was reserve Tommy Dworak knocking down a triple at the end of the half to tie the game at 23.
The second half was owned completely by Pius, as the Bearcats were outpaced 35-15. Hastreiter’s twin, Jack, added eight points in the third quarter alone and a multitude of scorers contributed to a 20 point win for the Thunderbolts.
Kearney falls to 4-4 on the year and ends their three game winning streak. The Bearcats take on Garden City, KS in Kansas on Monday to kick off the new year. Kearney had contributions from Wise and Dahlgren with 9 each, Vanderbeek finished with 7, Miller had 6, while Karter Lee tallied 3, and Tristan Maihlan and Ben Johnson added 2 each.
