The Varsity men’s basketball team lost to Kearney on Saturday, 60-58.

The game marks as the second straight time that Southwest has lost by only two points.

At halftime, the Hawks were down 35-28. The Hawks made a strong comeback attempt by outscoring Kearney 30-25 in the second half, but Kearney held on to win.

The game marks as the second straight time that Southwest has lost by only two points. The other was against Northeast, 58-56. The Hawks’ overall record is now 6-10, and their home record now falls to 2-5.

“As a team captain, it’s part of our job to help spread energy and confidence to the rest of the squad every day at practice,” senior forward Mayuom Buom said. “So we will just keep doing that and we won’t let these losses get to us.”

Head Coach Alex Bahe believes the team has handled adversity well this season.

“I’ve actually been really impressed with how this group has handled adversity. “Often times when things don’t go well, particularly when they’re close losses, you can see your group kind of taper off in terms of their effort and focus.” Bahe said. “That hasn’t been the case with this group at all. I think that’s largely due to the fact that we’re really senior heavy. So I think that the fact that they’ve been in a lot of competitive situations sort of helps them handle the adversity that we’ve faced.”

One aspect the team has focused on is overall chemistry.

“I feel like having chemistry and trust between teammates is a must and it’s the way to succeed,” senior guard TaeVyn Grixby said. “We all have trust in each other to do our job on the defensive end and then on the offensive end, you have to have that chemistry to know where your teammates are at.”

The Hawks take on Omaha Bryan on Friday. Bryan is 9-5 and is coming off of a win against an out-of-state Denver East team.

“We take every team seriously,” Buom said. “We work on more what we can do in games than what other teams can do because we’re confident in ourselves. Bryan will be a tough opponent for sure though.”

Grixby stressed the importance of the defense in the game.

“It’s gonna be a defensive effort,” Grixby said. “Because they have a lot of players who can score and knock down shooters. Containing them will be the key.”

The game against Bryan will be on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 pm

“Omaha Bryan is really athletic and really talented on the offensive side of the ball.” Bahe said. “So I think we’ve gotta make sure we’re locked in defensively. In particular, on their guards and stopping their drive to the basket. Stopping their transition is going to be important as well.”