BY JIM MISUNAS

jmisunas@gbtribune.com

EMPORIA — Somehow, some way Great Bend survived a wild 45-42 basketball nail-biter against Emporia. It was a throwback game as points were a valued commodity against two aggressive defenses.

The Panthers (5-1) were on their way to a solid victory with a 40-33 lead off a game-changing 16-5 run spiced by Ian Premer's runaway slam dunk. But Premer fell awkwardly and missed most of the final six minutes. 

Just after Premer departed, Emporia's Calvin Seely hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 40-39 score. Parker Dicks found Daxton Minton for a basket for a 42-39 lead. Minton forced a tie ball and an Emporia turnover to keep the momentum.

Dicks added two free throws for a 44-39 lead after officials "iced him" with a delay in the middle of two missed free throws when Emporia coach Lee Baldwin was tagged for a technical for protesting a call.

Emporia's Sheldon Stewart created a 3-point off a steal for a 44-42 lead, but Minton converted a final free throw for the 3-point margin. Standout River Peters scored 17 points and Stewart added eight points. The Spartans converted 8 of 25 3-pointers for 32% shooting.

Hall sparked the Panthers with 11 hard-earned points with Premer (10) and Maddox Spray (10) scoring in double figures. 

"Jacob Hall is an absolute stud," said Great bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "He battles inside.

A raucous Emporia crowd created a lively atmosphere for the Panthers, who trailed 9-6 off 2 of 11 shooting and four turnovers. Hall scored eight second-quarter points to keep the Panthers within 22-19 at halftime.

Spray sparked a 19-point third period with a 10-point quarter and Premer kicked in four points in the middle of the Panthers' 16-5 run.

Kriegh liked how the Panthers kept their poise.

"We faced a tough atmosphere and pressure," he said. "We knew it'd be tough because Emporia played extremely hard."

Kriegh said Premer missed time as a precautionary measure, and Emporia's trainer provided a positive outlook.

Great Bend 6 13 19 6 — 44

Emporia 9 13 11 9 — 42

GREAT BEND (5-1)—Hall 4-8 2-4 11, Premer 5-7 0-3 10, Spray 5-11 0-0 10, Coombs 1-4 3-8 6, Dicks 1-6 2-4 5, Minton 1-4 1-2 3, Totals 17-41 8-21 45.

EMPORIA (4-2)—Rivers 7-13 0-1 17, Stewart 2-11 3-3 8, Rech 0-1 1-2 1, Trelc 2-5 0-0 5, Crowell 1-3 0-0 2, Rios 0-1 0-0 0, Seeley 2-5 0-0 6, Jacxob 1-5 0-0 3, Totals 15-44 4-6 42.

3-pointers—GB 3-10 (Coombs 1-1, Hall 1-2, Dicks 1-4, Premer 0-1, Spray 0-2), E 8-25 (Peters 3-7, Seeley 2-5, Trelec 1-3. Jacob 1-5, Stewart 1-5).