The Boone Central Cardinals had been playing good basketball, and were coming off an impressive 67-48 road victory over Class D1 #1 Humphrey Holy Family.
But the C1 #3 Kearney Catholic Stars struck early and often at Boone Central High School Dec. 22, defeating the Cardinals 72-51 in the final action prior to the annual holiday break.
Kearney Catholic poured in 20 first-quarter points to take a 20-13 lead, then expanded that to 42-23 with a 22-10 streak in the second period.
“We gave up too many easy looks defensively, which led to high percentage shots and a 20-point first quarter (for Kearney Catholic),” Cardinal Coach Justin Harris said. “We gave the wrong guys good looks at threes early. They held a double-digit lead throughout most of the first half. We cut the lead to 13 early in the third, but they then made a run.
“Consistency throughout a season, or even a game, is what separates good teams and great teams. We had four games in eight days against tough competition and I’m proud of our effort. We just need to continue to improve as the year progresses.”
Boone Central (4-3) went 2-2 in that four-game stretch against Twin River (4-3), Norfolk Catholic (5-2), Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (5-2) and Kearney Catholic (6-1), defeating Twin River and Humphrey/LHF and losing a one-point overtime heartbreaker to Mid-State Conference rival Norfolk Catholic.
Boone Central is back in action this week in the Broken Bow Holiday Tournament.
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