Double Header Domination for Bulldogs

The Kearney Bulldogs boys and girls basketball team both grabbed a win in a double header matchup against the Excelsior Springs Tigers on Friday, January 24. Both teams started strong and kept the Tigers on their heels throughout the game.

The lady Bulldogs came out swinging in the first quarter with a 10-0 run on the Tigers from Brooke Paalhar and Addie Taylor. Kennedi Casey and Mallyrie Schwab-Wetzel also contributed to the first quarter, putting Kearney up 16-5 to start the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Kayla Resler put her name in the scorebook, along with Ryleigh Van Emmerik and Addi Smith. The girls’ squad spread out the scoring stats in the second half with Kennedi Casey, Maggie Lakin, Jocelyn Lincoln, and Josie Masters.

The Bulldog girls team won over the Tigers, 54-20. They are 5-9 on the season.

Carter Brock leaps to advance the Bulldogs’ lead 11-4 early in the first half.

Kearney boys came out fighting in a similar way, outscoring the Tigers 21-4 in the first quarter. There was a lot of excitement from Andrew Way getting three big dunks from pass assists from his guards, as well as a Brad Doll 3-point bomb from half court at the first half buzzer.

Not only was the offense hot throughout the game but the defense was a huge factor with great blocks and easy transitions which led to offensive points.

The Bulldogs did a great job sharing the scoring responsibilities around the team. Trey Smith led the scoring with 16 points. Drew Wilson followed closely with 15 and Brad Doll had 10 points. Andrew Way scored 9 points, Sal DiBenedetto made 7, Brock Scott scored 6, Carter Brock made 5, Ty Smith had 4 and Trent Fritz had 2.

The Bulldog boys team dominated over the Tigers, 74-31. They are 10-4 on the season.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Boys Execute First Time Win over Park Hill South

The Kearney Bulldogs boys basketball team fought their winter break blues with a win over Class 6 Park Hill South Panthers on Friday, Jan. 3. It was an exciting game as the Bulldogs came back from a 7-point deficit to win, 61-53.

The Bulldogs have been 0-7 to this point against the Panthers. Park Hill South beat Kearney by 12 points here at home in 2015.

Tre Smith led the team with 23 points for the BUlldogs.

It was a tale of quarters as the Bulldogs held their own against Park Hill South and won the first quarter, 14-11. In the second quarter, the Panthers started chipping away at the Bulldog lead and late in the quarter went on a 9-0 run.

Park Hill South owned the third quarter, scoring 20 points in the quarter. The Bulldogs came back in the fourth quarter and scored 21 points thanks to Tre Smith's relentless defense on Park Hill South guards as he had multiple runouts late in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers went in and out from zone to man-to-man defense enough times that it confused the Bulldogs for a little bit, but Kearney was able to get some defensive rebounds in that second-half that weren't there in the first half. Aden Sallee, Drew Wilson and Ty Smith did a fantastic job on the defensive glass in the second half and kept Park Hill South from getting second opportunities.

The Bulldogs had an amazing scoring night. Tre Smith led the team with 23 points. Drew Wilson hit his season average and scored 13. Brad Doll made the scorebook with 10 points and was especially effective with big free-throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Aden Sallee scored 9 points and Brock Scott, Ty Smith and Carter Brock each made two.

This brings the Bulldogs’ record to 6-3 on the season. Their next home game will be during the Kearney Classic Tournament, January 13-17.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Bulldog Boys Crush Smithville on the Court

The Kearney Bulldogs boys basketball ball squad took care of business on Friday, Dec. 20, as they dominated over their bitter rivals from eight miles west of Kearney. The Bulldogs started their winter break with a statement win over the Smithville Warriors, 60-35.

The Bulldog defense frustrated Smithville throughout the game starting in the first quarter where they only allowed the Warriors to score 6 points. The Kearney offense was able to rack up 17 points in a great team effort as Aden Sallee, Drew Wilson, Brad Doll, Andrew Way, Brock Scott and Angelo Donze saw bucket after bucket fall in their favor.

“Our goal going into this game too was to win each 8-minute quarter, and that was our goal after each quarter,” Head Coach Dillon Starzl said after the game. “We started as 0-0 every time and the goal was to win every quarter and if you do that, you're gonna win the game.”

Drew Wilson Scored 25 points against Smithville.

The Bulldogs were able to keep the pressure on the Warriors throughout the game and Smithville was unable to come close to catching up with Drew Wilson and the Kearney Bulldogs. Wilson was the leading scorer during the game. He scored 25 points on the night, but that wasn’t a game-high score for him.

“My career high is 27 points; I had 27 against Platte County last year, and I had 27 again against Excelsior,” Wilson said. “I don't care too much about my stats. As long as I leave the game knowing I gave it 100% and I left it all out there I'm happy.”

Other top scorers in the game were Aden Sallee who made 11 points, Brad Doll had 9, and Andrew Way scored 7 points. Other Bulldogs who made it in the scorebook were Tre Smith, Angelo Donze, Brock Scott, and Ty Smith.

You can hear the full game replay, commentary and interviews on demand at 1027kearneymo.com/podcasts.

KPGZ Sports – Brian Watts contributed to this story.