LINCOLN – The Bearcats had a chance down six points in the fourth quarter, but a delayed rally ultimately fell short as Kearney dropped the regular season finale at Lincoln Southwest Friday night 63-50. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
Kearney had earned three consecutive wins – including a dramatic win a week prior at Lincoln Southeast – to give themselves a chance to work magic into the PowerPoints entering Friday night at 9th overall with a fighting chance at hosting a district. Lincoln Southwest had similar aspirations, but would need help and a win to do sitting at 10th.
KHS BBB
The Bearcats controlled the first quarter despite some cold shooting. The pace was dictated by the defenses early, but Jack Dahlgren broke the scoreless tie with a triple after two minutes of no scoring. Dahlgren would add two more free throws later in the quarter, but Asher Endorf was the only other Bearcat scorer as all shots would not fall generously for either team. Lincoln Southwest distributed the ball well but hit sparingly only adding seven points and trailed 10-7 in the first quarter.
KHS BBB
As Lincoln Southwest began to slide into the contest, Kearney’s shots continued to misfire despite some short heat checks led by Karter Lee with two three pointers in the second quarter. Southwest’s Braden Frager fought for six points in the quarter, but a quietly proud second earned the home team a 17-12 advantage and a 24-22 lead heading into halftime.
KHS BBB
The Bearcats continued to fall short in shooting, only drumming up nine points in the third quarter and being pushed by a 22-9 advantage for Southwest in the third. The Silverhawks had six different players score, but fouls began to rack up as well against the home team. However, with bigger and bigger shots connecting, the last worry Southwest had was charity stripe shots as they led 46-31 into the fourth quarter.
KHS BBB
Kearney’s goal was to chip away at the deficit one point at a time – literally. Each possession in the fourth, Kearney would attack the rim and fight for contact hoping to draw a foul and head to the free throw line. The strategy worked, preserving precious time and slowly eating away at the Southwest lead. As Southwest led by as much as 16 at one point, the contest turned into a 54-44 game with 3:37 remaining. After more foul shooting by Dahlgren and Endorf, Kearney had closed the gap with scores and steals only down six with 1:45 remaining.
The magic would not continue, as Southwest used their quick attack and high-flying lobs to power through the final 90 seconds and control for the 63-50 win on Senior Night.
The Bearcats fall to 16-7 on the season and await the rest of the Class A weekend to conclude before determining their postseason play next week.
Kearney had contributions from Asher Endorf with 16 points, Dahlgren had 12, Johnson ended with 11, Lee wrapped with 6, Colt Straka had 4, and Treyven Beckman had 1.
