LINCOLN – The Lincoln High Links had faced Kearney twenty days prior to their rematch at Lincoln High School in the second round of the Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament. Dropping the first contest 56-50, the Links were motivated to show out and put down the Bearcats and did so with force in the first quarter – opening up the first eight minutes with a commanding lead and never relenting. Lincoln High moved on into the semifinals of the HAC Tournament with a 68-54 victory over Kearney Thursday evening. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
Kearney entered the contest with a dominating performance over Fremont from the night prior at Kearney High School, crushing the #11 Tigers with their highest point total of the season. Click here to read the recap from the first round win of the HAC Tournament. With the win, Kearney improved to 7-1 on the year – a mark which included a win over the Links back on Dec. 9 56-50.
Lincoln High had earned a 54-50 win over Lincoln East to snag a #3 seed in the HAC Tournament setting them as the host for the rematch against Kearney.
KHS BBB
The game could not have started colder for the traveling Bearcats, as Kearney could not keep pace with the Links from the outlet. A high-flying offense and tenacious defense stifled the Bearcats early, as only Ben Johnson would land a field goal and Jack Dahlgren added a free throw for the only scores in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Lincoln High added scores from six different Links, controlling the first up 17-3.
The second quarter began a slow climb back for the Bearcats, as Kearney outscored Lincoln High 15-9 to cut the deficit to 26-18 by halftime. Kearney corralled the Link offense and found more scoring from Karter Lee knocking down the first three pointer for the Bearcats in the contest, while Asher Endorf added five points himself and Dahlgren added two lay-ins for four points.
KHS BBB
Into the second half, it was a strong performance from the experience of Lincoln High that separated the Links as senior Nick Collin began his scoring with six points in the third quarter. Kearney kept pace but still trailed in the quarter, being outmatched 18-17 despite cutting the lead back into single digits multiple times. The Bearcats trailed 44-35 entering the final quarter.
KHS BBB
As the fourth quarter began, Kearney started to cut the deficit to a more manageable opportunity as in three consecutive possessions had the Links within four points but had consecutive turnovers to allow Lincoln High to control the clock, add in scores, and close out the contest with their sixth win on the season earning their 68-54 victory at home.
#3 Lincoln High advances to the HAC Semifinals to face #2 Lincoln Southwest at Lincoln East on Friday.
#6 Kearney drops to 7-2 on the year and will face #7 Lincoln North Star at Lincoln East at 11 AM on Friday morning. Pregame on KGFW begins at 10:45 AM.
Kearney had contributions from Dahlgren with 17 points, Endorf ended with 13, Lee and Johnson had 7 each, Treyven Beckman ended with 6 points, and Colt Straka wrapped with 4.
