LINCOLN – A sizzling offensive second quarter by both Lincoln East and Kearney set-up a highly anticipated second half, but the Spartans continued their strong play into the third and fourth quarters earning a win over the visiting Bearcats late Thursday night. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
Kearney entered the conference showdown at 9-3 on the year aiming to prove their worth to the state after earning back-to-back wins the week prior. Lincoln East arrived at 7-2 but was disappointed exiting their HAC Tournament run, only competing in two contests and winning a consolation matchup despite being the top overall seed and host school.
Thursday’s contest opened up with a bang, as stellar defensive plays were snuffed out early and created more scoring early as Kearney and East traded blow for blow in the opening minutes. Kearney’s Asher Endorf blocked or deflected several attempts, but the Spartans followed through multiple times by Carter Mick’s high energy performance dropping nine points in the opening quarter. Mick and Kearney’s Ben Johnson appeared to be a scoring dual, as the sophomore lined up a three pointer early. Jack Dahlgren also connected from three to earn six points in the quarter. In the back-and-forth first quarter, Treyven Beckman’s three near the end of the first aided Kearney in taking a slight 18-16 advantage heading into the second.
KHS BBB
The Bearcats and Spartans put on a track meet in the following eight minutes. Buckets dropped for nine different players on the floor, as East’s Connor Hamilton came alive knocking down two three pointers in the quarter. Hamilton’s triples added East in keeping pace with Kearney as the Bearcats rushed to a six point lead with 7:22 remaining in the quarter, but the Spartans pounded the gas pedal after exploding for a 13-5 run in the next three minutes of game time.
KHS BBB
Leading 31-29 with 4:02 left in the half, Kearney continued to keep pace with reserve guard Colt Straka finding seven points including a huge three pointer near the end of the half. The barrage of downtown shots erupted for Kearney, scoring fifteen of their twenty-one points in the second from three. Entering halftime, Kearney still trailed 40-39 as East’s Carter Tempelmeyer hit a shot to beat the buzzer.
The pace slowed significantly in the third, as East squeezed defensively despite Jack Dahlgren stepping up for five more points in the quarter. Tempelmeyer began to feel the floor better, hitting a three and rolling in another score. Christian Melessa for East continued his paced scoring, adding another four. Kearney’s Straka connected on another three pointer, but the Bearcats misfires built a deficit against them as they trailed 55-49 entering the fourth.
KHS BBB
East controlled the fourth quarter from the beginning, but Kearney made life tough to score as the Bearcats surrendered ten points in the first five minutes of the final period. As the Bearcats aimed to find a late rally trailing by ten with three minutes remaining; turnovers, missed shots, and an offensive explosion by East doomed the Bearcats as East scored another ten and held Kearney scoreless until reserve Turner Bertrand’s final lay-in to end the contest for a Spartan victory 75-57.
Kearney drops to 9-4 on the season and heads to the metro on Saturday afternoon to take on Omaha Bryan. Pregame coverage on KGFW begins at 1:45 PM with tip-off set for 2 PM. Hear the contest on KGFW with Austin Jacobsen on the call.
The Bearcats had contributions from seven different scorers, led by Jack Dahlgren’s 18 points, Johnson had 15, Straka finished with 10, Karter Lee had 5, Endorf with 4, Beckman wrapped with 3, and Bertrand finished with 2.
