PREVIEW: Beatrice riding back to back state tournament appearances, looks to experience this season

BEATRICE - After consecutive state tournament appearances, including a state title in 2021 and a semifinal in 2022, the Beatrice Orangemen are ready to get after it this season.

Head coach Clark Ribble and senior post Tucker Timmerman are ready to take the court and get the season underway.

“Our team is in a good place mentally, they’re in a good place physically, they’ve bought into what we believe,” Ribble said. “Last year was kind of a struggle for us, a whole bunch of new kids playing varsity, but we’re ready go go this year.”

“We’re feeling great,” Timmerman said. “We’ve got a great group of guys who are getting after it and competing every single day and we’ve got a great group of coaches who push us everyday in practice.”

Beatrice went 17-6 last season, with a loss to eventual state champs Roncalli in the semifinal. One of their signature pieces was three point specialist Shelton Crawford who led the team in made triples. This year, he and teammate Dominik Salazar are zeroing in on defense, outside of their main roles.

“I think I’ll be able to shoot, be able to drive, pass the ball around, take care of it and play defense,” Crawford said.

“I love defense,” Salazar said. “Defense is where I have the most fun, like to get those steals, create fast breaks where I can bar and jam it.”

While Salazar is a big part of the scoring plan for the Orangemen this year, he himself is looking to dish out points to his teammates as well.

“Assists is a big part of getting in the lane when you’re getting double teamed,” Salazar said. “As a big guy, you’ll draw double teams, the other guy is going to be open on the back side so assists is something I want o get up this year.”

Beatrice returns nearly ll fo their staring lineup from last year, and Ribble believes this is going to help big time, because every player has a role in the offense.

“That’s kind of what’s going to make us dangerous… we have so many guys who can average seven, eight, nine points per game, it’s going to be tough to guard us.”

Despite returning four starters, the Orangemen lost a crucial piece in Elliott Jurgens, a 1,000 point scorer who ran the offense for the Orangemen at point guard. This year, senior Dawson Loomis will step into that role, filling in the shoes for the second leading scorer in school history.

“I practiced with him [Jurgens] for three years out of my four,” Loomis said. “Working with him, I got better, I feel confident that I can fill that ole and fill that challenge every game.”

This Beatrice team has a record of 36-12 over their last two seasons. Coach Ribble believes a unique reason is one of the main reasons for continued success.

“We have so many multi-sport athletes,” Ribble said. “10 out of our top 11 kids played football and almost all of them will play a spring sport, so they get competitive in everything they do. Cross county, baseball, football, track, basketball… I think all of those things help us be successful.”

Beatrice visits Nebraska City on Friday night for the season opener. TV coverage will be provided by NCN, and the game can be heard on 94.7 FM/1450 AM KWBE.