BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Great Bend basketball coach Kyle Kriegh knows there's only one direction to progress after hitting rock bottom.

The Manhattan Indians routed Great Bend 78-48 Tuesday, triggering a rare running clock against the Panthers in a home game. The Indians (12-3) showed why they're the finest unranked 6A basketball team in Kansas.

The focused Indians dictated the tempo from the outset, outplaying the Panthers in every phase of the game. Manhattan's aggressive defense disrupted the Panthers' offense. Manhattan outscored the Panthers 15-0 on 3-pointers. The Indians shot 56% and scored 14 second-chance points.

Manhattan's lightning quick Will Carpenter ignited a first-half 37-24 lead with 14 of his game high 18 points. Sawyer Newton scored 13 points and Tim Washington added 12 points. Sparkplug 5-foot-8 Graham Braxmayer delivered a trio of back-breaking 3-pointers and netted 10 points.  

The Panthers were within 28-22 after Cooper Ohnmacht fed Jaxon Wondra for a basket. But the Indians closed with a 9-2 scoring burst for a 37-24 halftime lead.

Manhattan's 27-point third quarter started with a 18-4 scoring streak for a 55-27 lead. The Panthers were unable to stage aany semblance of a second-half rally.

The Indians attacked the basket with aggressive drives, controlled the offensive boards and kicked out for five 3-pointers. The Panthers had no defensive answers for slowing down the Indians.

"It started when Manhattan drove the ball to the basket whenever they wanted," Kriegh said. "Manhattan definitely got 'after it' defensively."

Great Bend's Cooper Ohnmacht showed flashes of brilliance with a 12-point night. Jacob Hall worked hard for 11 points, but shot 2 of 11. Jaxon Wondra hustled for a 10-point night. Tavon Stroup delivered a signature defensive play when he rejected Carpenter's shot out of bounds.

Great Bend fired blanks from 3-point range (zero for 12) and finished 17 of 46 from the field (37%). The Panthers' highlight was 15 of 17 free throw accuracy (82%).

Gavin Wondra provided a spark off the bench with a nifty 3-point play.

"Our second five played with some intensity," Kriegh said. 

Great Bend (8-8, 1-1 WAC) journey to Liberal (1-13, 0-3 WAC) Friday for a showdown against the league's fifth-place team.

Manhattan 21 16 27 14 — 78

Great Bend 15 9 18 6 — 48

MANHATTAN (12-3)—Carpenter 7-13 (1-4) 3-4 18; Sawyer Newton 5-9 3-5 13; Braxmeyer (3-3) 1-2 10; Washington 3-4 (1-1) 5-5 12; Hattrup 4-6 0-0 8; Witt 2-8 (0-3) 0-0 4; Asher Newton 1-2 2-4 4; Coonrod 2-2 1-1 5; Pfeifley 1-1 1-1 3; Meusborn 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 28-49 (5-12) 17-24 78 

GREAT BEND (8-8)—Ohnmacht 5-10 (0-2) 2-2 12; Hall 2-11 (0-5) 7-8 11; Jaxon Wondra 4-7 (0-1) 2-2 10; Minton 3-4 0-0 6; Stroup 2-5 (0-1) 1-2 5; Gavin Wondra (1-1) 0-0 3; Alec Premer 0-4 (0-1) 1-2 1; Price 0-3 (0-1) 0; Fanshier 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 17-46 (0-12) 14-17 48

MANHATTAN GIRLS 71, GREAT BEND 32 — Great Bend freshman Emma Fanshier provided a glance at the future with five points and 2-of-2 shooting in a 71-32 non-league basketball loss to state-ranked Manhattan (12-3).

"Emma plays all the time on the junior varsity level," said Great Bend coach Jade Winter. "She earned some varsity time."

Panther Alex Mayers delivered another positive note with the first basket of the game for a 2-0 lead. Mayers led the Panthers with eight first-half points. Her sister Stevie Mayers added seven points.

While the start and finish showed promise, everything in the middle swung Manhattan's way.

The Indians converted 7 of 27 shots on 3-pointers, constantly scattering long rebounds. Manhattan dominated the offensive boards for 19 second-chance points in addition to 16 free throws, many which came on second-chance opportunities.

Kat Ball led the Indians (12-3) with 17 points and seven second-chance points. Jorryn Hall scored 14 points and perimeter threat Evie Banks kicked in 12 points with a trio of 3-pointers.

"That's a hard team to guard," said Winter. "We saw on film, Manhattan shoots a lot of 3-pointers, but don't necessarily make a lot of them. Our girls worked hard, but Manhattan grabbed a lot of offensive rebounds. We've got to learn to box out and push back when they're hitting the boards."

At times, the Panthers dealt with the Indians' trapping full-court pressure, but the Indians also converted several of Great Bend's 23 turnovers into easy transition points.   

Great Bend (3-13, 0-2 WAC) hits the road Friday to Liberal (10-2, 2-1 WAC) for the year's longest trip.

Manhattan 17 20 26 8 — 71

Great Bend 10 8 6 8 — 32

MANHATTAN (12-3)—Kat Ball 5-11 (2-7) 5-5 17; Jorryn Hall 5-9 4-5 14; Depusoir 4-6 1-2 9; Banks 4-10 (3-8) 1-4 12; Larson 2-9 (1-6) 0-0 5; Becket 1-5 (0-2) 2-2 4; Busch 1-3 (0-1) 2-2 4; Salmans 2-2 (1-1) 0-0 5; Henry 0-4 (0-2) 0-0 0; Totals 24-61 (7-27) 16-24 71

GREAT BEND (3-13)—Alex Mayers 3-11 (2-7) 0-0 8; Stevie Mayers 1-2 5-6 7; Ringo 3-4 0-0 6; Fanshier 2-2 (1-1) 0-0 5; Meredith Mazouch 0-2 2-2 2; Hogan 0-3 (0-2) 0-0 0; McCauley 1-3 (1-2) 0-0 3; Katherine Mazouch 0-10 (0-4) 1-2 1; Totals 10-41 (4-16) 8-10 32