OMAHA – The Kearney boys were riding high off of a win over their rival Grand Island from Friday night, but the Bearcats came crashing down in a loss to an underrated Omaha South squad on Saturday night. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
Kearney was 11-7 entering the night facing the Packers who sat at 6-12 on the year. Omaha South had only beaten one other team with a winning record all season – a 65-55 win over Lincoln Pius X in December.
The game started off on the right foot for Omaha South, as Kearney’s Kaden Miller was unavailable for the action and did not make the trip to Omaha. The Packers used their speed to their advantage, zooming past Kearney with quick lay-ins and forcing early fouls against the Bearcats. Kearney would not go away easily, as Will Vanderbeek calmly knocked down free throws and added a lay-in while Miller’s replacement Karter Lee drilled a three pointer. Omaha South took a 14-11 lead into the first quarter.
After the Packers’ Rickey Loftin added six points in the first quarter, Omaha South continued to follow his lead for a commanding second quarter in which the Bearcats were outmaneuvered 18-5. As Kearney’s Vanderbeek added another four points, it was a storm by Omaha South ballooning their lead to double that of Kearney with Loftin scoring an additional seven points in the quarter. The Bearcats trailed 32-16 entering halftime.
As Kearney looked to dominant another third quarter and mount their comeback, tragedy struck in the middle of the third quarter. Kearney was beginning a run and looked to get a stop on defense with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter. As Omaha South’s Teriyon Griggs drove the left side of the baseline, Vanderbeek stepped in the way for a routine defensive play angling to take a charge. A block foul was assessed on Vanderbeek, who hit the deck and was unable to get up under his own power. The Omaha South training staff quickly responded to the situation, and emergency medical staff was called to tend to Vanderbeek. Will was then removed from action, but it has now been reported by the Kearney basketball team that he is recovering well. Our thoughts go to Vanderbeek and his family as we hope for a speedy recovery.
When action resumed, Kearney trailed but quickly mounted a comeback after Griggs’ free-throws. Jack Mundorf found his shot from downtown adding in two triples, and Parker Wise added five points of his own. Kearney entered the fourth quarter down 47-36.
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The comeback continued but Kearney was unable to tie or take a lead in the final eight minutes of play, as the Bearcats Ben Johnson knocked down back-to-back triples while Jack Dahlgren added five points of his own. Kearney outplayed Omaha South in the fourth quarter, but ended falling 60-55.
Kearney is now 11-8 on the season and takes on Lincoln North Star on Friday back at Kearney High. The Bearcats had contributions from Vanderbeek with 13 points, Wise with 11 points, Mundorf had 10 points, Dahlgren finished with 9 points, and Lee and Johnson both ended with 6 each.
