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If they can’t score, they can’t win. That’s been a winning motto for the Bulldogs, a near-perfect winning motto.

Defense may not be the sexiest aspect of the game, but it’s one the Kearney High boys basketball team has hung its hat on all season long.

Through the first 17 games of the campaign — a stretch that has the team owning a 16-1 record — Kearney has held 12 opponents to below 40 points. The defensive-minded Bulldogs average better than 16 steals and three blocked shots a night. It’s a formula that has spelled disaster for opponents while landing the state-ranked Bulldogs in final four conversations.

“That’s our main point in practice,” senior guard Austin Thomas said. “Defense wins championships. That’s all there is to it. That’s our heart and soul. That’s our game. That’s always been our thing. That’s something we always get after.”

To be exact, defense has won three championships for the Bulldogs — the titles at the Bank Midwest/William Jewell Classic, the Bulldog Classic and most recently, last week’s Cameron Tournament.

That defensive mindset is nothing new for Kearney. That’s what carried the Bulldogs to the Class 4 state finals a year ago, and they are well aware it will be what separates them from the rest of the pack if they expect to make another deep run in the playoffs later this season.

“They know what’s been our meal ticket,” Kearney coach Gary Belcher said. “I think they cherish it. They relish it. These kids want to show people stuff defensively they haven’t seen all year.”

The word is getting around. Opponents have mustered an average of 33 points per game against Kearney’s stingy defense. Only two teams have reached 50 — the highest total coming back in December during the Bulldogs’ 63-56 victory against Harmon (Kan.), in the Hy-Vee Shootout.

Defense took an even bigger role this past week in Cameron. Kearney allowed a mere 87 points in three combined games (29 per) on the way to another tournament title, capped by a suffocating performance against the host Dragons in the finals.

“Team-wise, that’s one of the best defensive games we’ve played together, as a team talking, rotating and hedging,” senior guard Tyler Funk said. “We did a really good job, and they didn’t have a whole lot of open looks.”

There’s nothing fancy about it. Although they will use little wrinkles from time to time on certain possessions to mix things up, the Bulldogs live and die with good old-fashioned hard-nosed, in-your-face, man-to-man defense.

“Seventeen games in and we’ve given up 50 points twice,” Belcher said. “Our defense is what we’re going to live with. If our defense remains constant and our effort remains constant — if you have two of those three — we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win. Our shots might not fall every night, but our defensive effort can be there every night. We’re energized by what we do at that end of the floor.”

Kearney takes its defensive show on the road this week for key Suburban Small Six Conference matchups with Grandview and Ruskin. The Bulldogs hope to turn around a string of road struggles within league play.

“We’re definitely going to have to get stops,” Funk said. “Stops give you easy looks and transition sometimes, and it’s demoralizing for the other team when they can’t get open looks.”

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 .