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Salina Central beats Panther boys 56-38
23 trent stueder scores best one.JPG

Mustangs ruin Panthers’ upset bid

 

BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

 

Great Bend’s underdog boys basketball team had their sizeable hometown crowd roaring with an inspired effort against Salina Central, last year’s 5A state runner-up.

Center Trent Stueder scored 12 points inside and the Panthers’ scrappy style was keyed by Dalton Miller, Alex Olivas and supersub Nick Wondra.

Great Bend coach Tim Brooks saw what he wanted.

“We played tougher physically and mentally,” Brooks said. “We really battled and played hard. We made strides tonight. We played better together tonight.”

But the Mustangs spoiled the Panthers’ bid for a Biblical upset with a game-ending 12-0 scoring run for a 56-38 non-league basketball victory.

Olivas’ 3-pointer drew the Panthers within 42-37 and the Mustangs led 45-38 when Mark Grammer’s steal triggered the game-winning run. Harper Williams drilled a back-breaking 3-pointer followed by David Grammer’s 3-pointer for a 51-38 margin. The Mustangs made 10 free throws and 3-3 field goals the fourth quarter.

Great Bend (0-5) stayed close with a hard-nosed defensive effort. But the Mustangs’ trapping defense from a zone look slowed the Panthers.

“We had a tough stretch in the fourth quarter,” Brooks said. “We did good things offensively. It’s a credit to us they switched to a zone defense. They trapped us and got their hands on some passes.”

The 6-5 Stueder played his finest varsity game with 10 first-half points in the paint. Miller added seven points. Olivas added 10 points.

The Panthers misfired from long range, hitting 4 of 26 shots from 3-point range. The Mustangs converted 8 of 20 attempts. Mark Grammer scored 24 points and Harper Williams added 14 points.

“Our guys who were shooting them are our best shooters,” Brooks said. “They’ve worked hard to get better.”

Great Bend outrebounded Central 33-26, which gave the Panthers extra shots.

“We earned some scores off rebounds. It was good to see guys diving for loose balls,” Brooks said.

SC 14 12 12 18 – 56

GB 13 8 10 7 — 38

SC (2-0)—Mark Grammer 7-14 6-10 24, Williams 4-10 5-5 14, DeMars 0-1 0-0 0, Richardson 0-3 6-6 6, David Grammer 2-42-3 8, Driver 0-0 0-4 0, Kickhaefer 1-3 1-2 4, Totals 14-35 20-27 56

GB (0-5)—Stueder 5-9 2-4 12, Olivas 3-8 2-4 10, Wondra 0-2 0-0 0, Widiger 1-1 0-0 2, Duvall 1-5 1-1 3, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0, Blessing 0-1 1-2 1, Miller 3-8 0-0 7, Kuhlman 0-2 0-0 0, Schremmer 1-11 0-2 3, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 14-48 6-13 38

3-pointers—SC 8-20 (M. Grammer 4-10, D. Grammer 2-4, Kickhaefer 1-1, Williams 1-4, DeMars 0-1), GB 4-26 (Olivas 2-6, Miller 1-5, Schremmer 1-11, Duvall 0-2, Kuhlman 0-2)