Basketball Recap: Lincoln East Drops Highest Score of Season Against Kearney

Lincoln East scored the most points they've had this season on Friday, but it wasn't enough. They took an 80-75 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Kearney Bearcats. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while the Bearcats are ranked 39th).

Lincoln East's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Luke Larson, who went 8 for 13 on his way to 20 points and five boards. Larson's evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Reid Voog, who went 6 of 10 from beyond the arc en route to 18 points.

Spartans

Assists

01/31/25 vs Kearney	18
12/14/23 vs Lincoln High	18
02/15/24 vs Burke	20
02/10/24 @ Buena Vista	18
01/17/25 vs Blue Valley	11

Even though they lost, Lincoln East was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Kearney to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jacob Webber, who went 5 for 8 on his way to 18 points. Webber has been hot for a while, having posted 15 or more points the last ten times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ben Johnson, who posted 16 points along with eight assists and seven rebounds.

Lincoln East is on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 5-12. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 56.3 points per game. As for Kearney, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season.

Lincoln East will face off against Westview at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Westview knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past four matchups -- so hopefully Lincoln East likes a good challenge. As for Kearney, they will take on Grand Island at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday.