KEARNEY BASKETBALL OWNS GRAND ISLAND; SWEEPS ISLANDERS:
It was a successful evening of basketball for Kearney as both the boys and girls teams swept past the Islanders in victories on Thursday night.
Kearney’s girls improved to 8-4 on the year with their dominating 64-16 win, while the Bearcat boys marked their ninth win with a 37-31 victory. Full recap stories are available at KGFW.com.
The Kearney girls return home Saturday night to face their toughest test of the new year, taking on the crowned jewel of Class B in Britt Prince and the Elkhorn North Wolves in the nightcap contest of the Girls Basketball Showcase. Pregame is anticipated for 8:15 PM with tip-off at 8:30 PM on KGFW.
LOPER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SHUTS DOWN HIGH-FLYING GORILLAS:
Super senior wing Klaire Kirsch recorded her 19th career double double as No. 22/26 Nebraska Kearney shut down Pittsburg State, 70-55, Thursday night at the Health & Sports Center.
The Lopers (14-3, 7-2) bounce back from a Monday night loss at unbeaten Central Missouri while the Gorillas, fresh off an upset of nationally-ranked Missouri Southern, drop to 10-4 (5-3).
UNK came in as one of the nation’s top defensive units with Pitt having hit 12 threes and scoring 87 points in Monday’s win over the Lions. The Gorillas hadn’t scored fewer than 69 points all winter but succumbed to the Loper pressure, going just 4 of 32 from long range and shooting 29% overall.
UNK hosts MSSU on Saturday afternoon. The Lions (12-3, 4-3) suffered a second straight defeat, falling at Fort Hays State tonight, 72-54.
UNK MEN’S HOOPS ESCAPES PITT STATE AT HOME:
Super senior forward Darrian Nebeker sank two free throws with 1.6 seconds left and then made a strong defensive play to help Nebraska Kearney beat Pittsburg State, 63-61, Thursday night at the Health & Sports Center.
The Lopers (3-11, 1-7) are now 34-10 all-time against the Gorillas (5-9, 2-4).
UNK led for 33 minutes and held seven-point leads in both halves but found itself down 59-58 with 53 seconds remaining.
UNK hosts Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon. The Lions (9-4, 5-2) knocked off Fort Hays State, 68-56.
LOPER WRESTLING BEGINS NATIONAL DUALS:
The 2nd-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team is the second seed in this year’s NWCA Multi-Division National Duals and will face Newberry (S.C.) in a first-round match today at 9 a.m. Central.
The two-day, double elimination event is being held at the Kentucky Expo Center and features brackets in NCAA Divisions II & and III, the NAIA and junior college ranks.
The UNK-Newberry College winner and loser takes on either 24th-ranked Ashland (Ohio) or 11th-ranked Mary (ND) in the next round. Both of those duals start at 11 a.m. Central. If the Lopers can string two wins together, they’ll likely face third-ranked and three-seed St. Cloud State Saturday at 11 a.m.
Last year, UNK faced these same trio of teams as it beat Ashland in round one, 40-3, fell to SCSU in the next, 19-14, and then rolled past Newberry, 47-3, to come in third place. The Lopers won this tournament in both 2003 and 2007.
No. 1 Central Oklahoma is the top seed and on the other side of the bracket with No. 4 West Liberty (W.V) their likely quarters opponent. Live results are available via www.trackwrestling.
HAMLIN SHOWING ‘REMARKABLE IMPROVEMENT’:
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has shown what physicians treating him are calling “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the team announced Thursday, three days after the player went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field.
Hamlin’s agent, Ronald Butler, told The Associated Press that Hamlin was awake and has been able to grip the hands of family members at his hospital bedside.
The developments came as the Bills were scheduled to return to practice on Thursday.
Hamlin was able to communicate by writing; he cannot speak because of a breathing tube in his throat.
NFL EXPLORING PLAYOFF SCHEDULE CHANGES:
The NFL said Thursday it will not resume the Bills-Bengals game that was suspended Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field.
The league said some of the factors in coming to its decision included that “not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.”
Also, the NFL said playing the game between the Bills and Bengals would have required postponing the start of the playoffs by a week, and affecting all 14 teams that qualified for the postseason.
The NFL said its decision creates “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.” The league said clubs on Friday, in a special league meeting, would consider a resolution recommended by the commissioner and approved today by the competition committee.
TEXAS MEN’S HOOPS COACH FIRED AMID FELONY CHARGES:
Texas fired basketball coach Chris Beard on Thursday, telling his attorney he is “unfit” for the position while he faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancée.
Beard had five years left on a seven-year guaranteed contract that included a provision he could be fired for cause if he was charged with a felony or committed other behavior unbecoming of his position or that reflected poorly on the university.
The charge of assault by strangulation/suffocation family violence carries a possible prison sentence of two to 10 years if convicted; the woman told police Beard strangled and bit her, but later denied he choked her.
Beard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested, and school officials had said there was an internal investigation.
WILHITE NO LONGER ON HUSKER STAFF:
One of the longest-tenured members of Nebraska’s football support staff is no longer with the program.
Former 1991 Husker All-Big Eight defensive back Kenny Wilhite will not be a part of Matt Rhule’s operation.
Wilhite is one of the last remaining staffers of the football department that worked for Bo Pelini, Mike Riley and Scott Frost.
He originally joined the NU staff in 2014 as a regional recruiting assistant. He was elevated to assistant director of player personnel and then to associate director of player personnel in 2015.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Wrestling: Lincoln East Dual @ Kearney High School (CHaT/Auditorium)
- LE 50-18 KHS
- Girls Basketball: v. Grand Island @ Kearney High School
- KHS 64-16 GISH
- Boys Basketball: v. Grand Island @ Kearney High School
- KHS 37-31 GISH
- Wrestling: Lincoln East Dual @ Kearney High School (CHaT/Auditorium)
- UNK:
- Women’s Basketball: v. Pittsburg State @ Health & Sports Center
- UNK 70-55 Pitt State
- Men’s Basketball: v. Pittsburg State @ Health & Sports Center
- UNK 63-61 Pitt State
- Women’s Basketball: v. Pittsburg State @ Health & Sports Center
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Swimming/Diving: v. Kearney High Invite – 12 PM (Diving Only)
- Wrestling: @ Lincoln North Star Invite – 3 PM
- Swimming/Diving: v. Kearney High Invite Triangular – 4:30 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Wrestling: @ High Plains Invite
- Girls Basketball: v. GICC – 4:30 PM
- Boys Basketball: v. GICC – 6:30 PM
- UNK:
- Wrestling: v. NWCA National Duals @ Louisville, KY – 10 AM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Swimming/Diving: v. Kearney High Invite – 10 AM (Swimming Only)
- Girls Basketball: v. Elkhorn North @ Kearney High School (Girls Basketball Showcase) – 8:30 PM
- KGFW Pregame at 8:15 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- Wrestling: @ High Plains Invite
- Swimming/Diving: v. Kearney High Invite – 9 AM
- Girls Basketball: @ North Platte – 2 PM
- Boys Basketball: @ North Platte – 4 PM
- UNK:
- Wrestling: @ Hastings Open – 9 AM (Non-Varsity)
- Women’s Basketball: v. Missouri Southern @ Health & Sports Center – 2 PM
- Men’s Basketball: v. Missouri Southern @ Health & Sports Center – 4 PM
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Nebraska Men’s Basketball @ Minnesota (10 AM – 1:45 PM)
- Kearney High Girls Basketball v. Elkhorn North (8:15 PM – 10:15 PM)
SUNDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- KGFW Sports Schedule:
- N/a
