Kearney boys basketball: Striving to win district championship
KEARNEY, Mo. — The goal for the Kearney Men’s Basketball team this season is to win a district championship. Last year, they had a disappointing season, finishing with a record of 9-18, and were eliminated by their rival, Smithville, in the playoffs.
In an interview with boys’ head coach Dillon Starzl, he mentioned there would be many returning starters and experienced seniors on the team this season.
At the beginning of the season, the team was missing key players playing for a Football state championship. They started the season finishing second in the Savannah tournament, and then the football players rejoined the team. The Bulldog’s first test came against Liberty North, who also just won the Football state championship. The Bulldogs kept the game close with them until the 4th quarter. Then Liberty North ran to seal the victory 54-40. With the newly returned players, the team struggled to build some chemistry against a Class 6 opponent (Kearney is Class 5). The team at least proved they could stick with top-tier competition.
Kearney was on a three-game losing streak heading into an important matchup with one of their biggest Highway 92 rivals, the Platte County Pirates. The Pirates and the Bulldogs were set up for a doozy. The Pirates won the first quarter 17-11. That ignited a spark in Kearney, who would go on to win the rest of the quarters. The game would end with a 68-63 overtime victory for Kearney. Junior forward Drew Wilson had an incredible performance, finishing with 27 points and 8 rebounds. The team then traveled to Hyvee Arena to take on a team from Ballard, IA. Senior Davin Hanna went off that night, buried six 3-pointers, and finished the game with 27 points.
With all this momentum headed into the William Jewell tournament, the boys were riding high heading into Christmas break. This momentum would only be with the team for a short time. The teams Kearney played gave them a tough time. Liberty and Pembroke Hill handed Kearney back-to-back losses. Kearney then had to travel to Smithville for their first conference matchup. Kearney could not get their revenge, suffering another loss to Smithville 56-47.
After a rough road trip, Kearney returned home to play St Joe Central and beat them 75-50. This would begin a six-game winning streak, with the Bulldogs winning first place in the Kearney Tournament for the first time since 2017, having wins over Northeast, Summit Christian Academy, Platte County, and Fort Osage.
Only time will tell if this is the year of the Bulldogs or just a repeat of what has happened in years past.
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.
