Basketball Game Preview: Lincoln High Links vs. Kearney Bearcats

Lincoln High is 1-9 against Kearney since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Lincoln High Links will be playing in front of their home fans against the Kearney Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

On Tuesday, Lincoln High was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 71-66 to Lincoln Southwest.

Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Kearney over North Platte in every quarter on their way to victory on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Kearney blew North Platte out of the water with an 81-38 final score. The Bearcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 20 points or more this season.

Kearney's win came from a few key players Lincoln High will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jacob Webber, who went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc on his way to 22 points and three steals. The contest was his fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Johnson, who went 6 of 8 on his way to 15 points in addition to six assists and six boards.

Kearney was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as North Platte only racked up eight assists.

Kearney pushed their record up to 7-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 80.7 points per game. As for Lincoln High, they now have a losing record at 4-5.

Lincoln High was taken down by Kearney 73-36 in their previous meeting back in December of 2023. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Lincoln High was down 46-23.