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A year ago, the Bulldogs came up one win short of a state championship.

Even through all the reminders with returning to the Class 4 Show-Me Showdown for a second straight year, that’s not on their minds. It’s all about the now for the Kearney boys basketball team.

"We still hurt from last year, but we just want to get back to that state championship game," senior Dillon Starzl said. "There’s two games left. We’ve got to get it done. We’ve got to get it finished and win state."

Kearney (26-3 and ranked No. 2 in the state polls) has been one of the favorites all season long to return to Columbia. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, so has been defending state champion St. Francis Borgia (29-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state since the preseason).

If both teams take care of business, they could supply basketball fans with a much anticipated rematch in the state title game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at Mizzou Arena. Kearney will rely on its superior inside play, anchored by the 6-foot-9 Starzl (14.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game) and the 6-7 Grant Cozad (12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds), to make another run at a state crown.

"It’s been in the back of our mind," senior Tyler Funk said. "We definitely wanted to get back there and do it again. We just wanted the opportunity. Now that we know we’re going back, we definitely want to get back to that state championship game. We’ve got two more games left either way, but we want to play in that championship game again. That’s the main goal. That’s been the goal since day one."

Before the Bulldogs can look ahead to a possible title game, they need to focus on a semifinal game at 8:20 p.m. Friday, March 12, against Republic (20-8, unranked). The Tigers are led by senior guard Kevin Stander, while sophomore guard Nick Yocum and senior forward Josh Morrow have been solid compliments. Morrow scored the game-winner on a putback with 1.4 seconds left in Republic’s 54-52 quarterfinal win against Rolla.

None of Republic’s starters stand taller than 6-3. That will play right into Kearney’s size advantage down low.

"With their size, they want to push the basketball and score early in their possessions," Belcher said. "They’re going to depend on Stander and Yocum to knock down shots.

"All year long, we’ve been the bigger team on the court, and we’ve used that to our advantage. Even though we may be taller, we’ve still got to find a way to neutral their quickness. We’re going to have to continue to play the game inside-out. There’s no reason to stray away from what got us here."

In the other semifinal, which precedes the Bulldogs’ game at 6:40 p.m., Borgia puts its undefeated record and 45-game win streak on the line against Soldan International Studies (22-5, No. 4). Borgia is led senior Nathan Scheer, who’s headed to Missouri State University next year, and Tyler Ressel, a Missouri Southern recruit. The Knights can absolutely stroke the basketball from the outside and present problems at the other end with their matchup-zone defense.

"No. 1, their record speaks for itself," Belcher said. "They’re undefeated for a reason. They can score the basketball from just about anywhere on the court, and that matchup zone gives people fits. They just don’t have a lot of weaknesses. Whoever’s going to beat them will have to play as well as they can play at both ends of the court."

Soldan will get the first shot at the defending state champs. Guards Partice Sanders and Brier West and forward Paul McRoberts all average better than 14 points per game for the Tigers’ three-pronged offensive attack. West ripped the nets for 40 points in Soldan’s 84-59 quarterfinal victory against Moberly.

Sports writer Chris Geinosky can be reached at 389-6654 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .