BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SALINA — The defending 5A state basketball champion Andover Trojans played a high energy, 3-point shooting style that outgunned Great Bend's boys 65-58 in Friday's semifinal at the Salina Basketball Invitational at Kansas Wesleyan.
Andover sharpshooter Blake Rucker converted four 3-pointers and scored 21 points and stylish guard Josh Kim dominated with a 23-point night and a trio of 3-pointers. The Trojans converted 11 of 25 shots from long range to outscore the Panthers 33-0 on 3-pointers.
The Panthers (7-4) established their attacking style with crisp passing at times that relied on teamwork and balance. Ian Premer led the way with a game high 25 points. Jacob Hall contributed 11 points and Maddox Spray added 10 points. Great Bend missed all eight 3-pointers and converted 25 of 62 shots.
Andover led 31-27 at halftime and took control by holding the Panthers scoreless on the first nine possessions in the second half. Rucker, Kim and Owen Allman hit 3-pointers in the third period for a 47-38 lead.
Premer hustled for 14 fourth-quarter points with his attacking style that featured a slam dunk. But the Panthers saw the Trojans convert nine free throws and a pair of 3-pointers to secure the victory.
The Panthers cost themselves with erratic free throw shooting on 8 of 19 attempts. The Trojans handed the Panthers four free throws on a pair of technical fouls, but the Panthers converted 1 of 4 tries.
Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh was proud of the Panthers' effort and ability to maintain their composure against a feisty Andover team. One time, Premer's drive to the basket was disrupted by a loud "smack," but no foul was called. Hall and Daxton Minton also attempted shots with hard contact with no foul whistled.
"I'm proud of our guys," Kriegh said. "Our kids showed they are tough. We battled through adversity all game. It's tough when our guys had to play through contact."
The Panthers (7-4) will play Abilene (8-1) in Saturday's third-place game at 11:30 a.m.at Kansas Wesleyan.
Great Bend 10 17 11 20 — 58
Andover 15 16 16 18 — 65
ANDOVER (7-3)—Josh Kim 9-14 2-3 23, Rucker 6-14 5-6 21, Bradford 3-5 2-2 10, Allman 1-5 2-4 5, Griffin 1-2 0-0 3, McCaskill 0-3 3-6 3, Bouddara 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 20-39 14-21 65.
GREAT BEND (7-4)—Premer 11-24 3-7 25, Hall 4-10 3-8 11, Spray 5-15 0-0 10, Reed 2-2 0-0 4, Ohnmacht 2-2 0-0 4, Coombs 0-4 1-2 1, Dicks 0-3 1-2 1, Totals 25-62 8-19 58.
3-pointers—A 11-25 (Rucker 4-8, Kim 3-5, Bradford 2-4, Griffin 1-2, Allman 1-4, McCaskill 0-2); GB 0-8 (Spray 0-1, Coombs 0-2, Premer 0-2, Dicks 0-3)
SALINA BOYS INVITATIONAL
FINALS—Andover 60, Wichita South 48; 3RD—Great Bend 58, Abilene 52; ; 5TH—Salina Central 44, Liberal 40; 7TH—Salina South 62, Buhler 52
SECOND ROUND—Wichita South 67, Abilene 61; Andover 65, Great Bend 58; Salina Central 52, Buhler 38; Liberal 57, Salina South 55
FIRST ROUND—Abilene 65, Salina South 47; Wichita South 63, Liberal 39; Great Bend 74, Buhler 33; Andover High 69, Salina Central 53
