South Haven News

By Claire Minor

On Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, the South Haven Cardinals traveled to Langdon, Kansas and played up against the Fairfield Falcons. The final score of the game was 71-78, leaving the Cardinals with the loss. 

Player number 55, Dalton Kelly, is an all-around player for the South Haven Cardinals. You may or may not recognize the name, but if you were at the game against Fairfield, you would recognize the buzzer-beater three-pointer that he made. That shot was what sent the teams into overtime due to a tied score, 67-67–no pun intended–which got young fans excited.

Kelly said that his favorite part of the game was making that shot, and rightfully so. Kelly said that this was personally his best played game. He was prepared and made a total of 11 points. Kelly said that the team played pretty good overall, but would have done better if they worked on their turnovers and rebounds. He mentioned that the Cardinals were prepared and played well the first, third, and fourth quarter, but didn’t score hardly anything at all in the second.

Kelly said that number five for the Falcons, sophomore Jalen Busick, was a very good player, making it difficult for the Cardinals to stay with their team. Kelly said that if he could change one thing about the game, it would be to make more points even though there wasn’t a huge difference between the two teams. Going hand and hand with that response, Kelly’s least favorite part of the game was losing. 

I asked Kelly to describe his point of view for the overtime shot and this was his response: “So at first, when I threw the shot up, I thought I airballed it. I wasn’t excited until I realized what I just did. Everyone’s energy around the gym when I hit the shot made me feel very hyped up. Everyone on the team went crazy, and they were all excited. Although we lost in overtime, it still felt good to make that shot.”

A cheerleader for the South Haven Cardinals, Sydnie Goebel, expressed that she deeply enjoyed the game. Goebel said that in the beginning, she did not believe that they were going to win but the Cardinals made a “crazy comeback” in the second half. Goebel said that the energy from both sides made the game so much better. She said that when everyone is hyped up and really into the game, it fuels the cheerleaders. Goebel said that when Kelly made his overtime shot, all of the cheerleaders jumped around in excitement so much that they were so out of breath. Goebel said that possibly one of her favorite moments of the game was when her and the cheerleaders did the cheer where they said, “Dalton made a three, let me hear you say ‘oh yeah’!” It got them all riled up and made the night even better. 

Goebel said and many fans expressed that they were disappointed that the boys lost because they truly thought that they were going to win. But despite the final score, the Cardinals and Falcons showed out and gave the people a game worth watching. 

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