BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
GARDEN CITY — Alex Schremmer scored 19 points and Peyton Duvall added 12 points as Great Bend opened Western Athletic Conference play with a solid 59-46 road basketball victory Friday. Schremmer played his role with ballhandling, assists and steals that set an aggressive tone.
The Panthers (5-3, 1-0 WAC) showed off their best passing of the season. Time-after-time, the Panthers flipped passes off backdoor cuts to the basket. Dalton Miller ignited the pass-happy offense with assists to Duvall and Alex Olivas to spark a 22-7 offensive surge for a 22-15 lead after trailing 8-0.
"We played well and our guys showed resiliency," said Tim Brooks, Great Bend coach. "We did good things at both ends of the floor."
Olivas got into the swing of things with a perfect assist to Duvall in the third quarter. Bryce Brown followed with an assist to Duvall for a 37-30 lead. Reserve Sam Hall delivered his signature play with a nifty assist to Brown for a 3-point play and 45-36 lead.
The Panthers reserved contributed valuable minutes. Nick Wondra (7 points) and Bryce Brown (5 points) scored season highs in addition to solid all-around play. Brown dished to Wondra for his best play of the night for a 42-34 lead after Schremmer's steal. Miller ended his magical passing touch with fourth-quarter assists to Olivas and Duvall for a dominating 50-38 lead.
The timely passing led to 21 of 38 field goal shooting, 55 percent.
The Panthers kept the Buffaloes off balance with switching defenses that transformed from 2-3 and 3-2 zones to aggressive man-to-man defense. Tae Rosales and :Luke Tolbert led the Buffaloes (4-3, 0-1 WAC) with 10 points apiece. The Buffaloes converted 5 of 17 tries from 3-point range. The Buffaloes committed 16 turnovers, which created extra possessions.
Brooks liked the toughness and teamwork the Panthers exhibited defensively. The Panthers will control the WAC if they upset Hays High Tuesday on the road.
"We made them work for everything they got," Brooks said. "We do need to guard the ball screens better."
Great Bend 15 10 17 17 — 59
Garden City 11 12 11 12 — 46
GREAT BEND (5-3, 1-0)—Schremmer 5-12 7-9 19, Duvall 5-10 0-0 12, Olivas 3-6 0-0 7, Wondra 3-4 0-0 7, Brown 2-3 1-1 5, Miller 1-1 2-2 4, Sam Ryan 1-1 1-2 3, Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 21-38 11-15 59.
GARDEN CITY (4-3, 0-1)—Rosales 3-6 2-2 10, Tolbert 3-7 1-2 10, Wiese 3-3 2-4 8, Williams 3-10 1-1 7, Guevara 2-5 1-2 6, Tanner 1-3 0-0 2, Nuzum 1-1 0-0 2, Isaiah Reyes 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 17-39 7-11 46.
3-pointers—GB 6-18 (Schremmer 2-6, Duvall 2-7, Wondra 1-2, Olivas 1-3), GC 5-17 (Tolbert 3-5, Rosales 2-3, Guevara 0-2, Reyes 0-3, Williams 0-4). TO—GB 13, GC 16.
GARDEN CITY GIRLS 52, PANTHERS 31 — The offensive nightmare continues for the Great Bend girls, who converted 2 of 33 field goals during a forgettable 21/2-quarter stretch.
Ashlyn Harbaugh and Taryn Warren scored third-quarter baskets as the Panthers shot 6 percent for a 20-minute stretch until Jaclynn Schroeder and Candice Smith hit fourth-quarter field goals. Smith fired in a 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.
Warren led the Panthers (2-6, 0-1 WAC) with eight points and Jaclynn Schroeder added seven points. The Panthers converted 15 of 23 field goals to hep offset 7 of 40 field goal shooting. The Panthers committed 14 first-half turnovers and ended with 19 turnovers.
Keyhana Turner scored 13 points and Symone Simmons added 12 points for Garden City (5-2, 1-0 WAC). The Buffaloes took advantage with 19 of 25 free throws. The Buffaloes outscored the Panthers 15-6 from 3-point range. Garden City led 29-11 at halftime and held the Panthers to 14 percent shooting through three periods for a 38-20 lead.
Great Bend 9 2 9 11 — 31
Garden City 16 13 9 14 — 52
GREAT BEND (2-6, 0-1)—Warren 2-6 4-9 8, Schroeder 2-8 2-2 7, Sydney Unruh 0-8 6-8 6, Smith 1-5 2-2 5, Harbaugh 2-4 0-0 4, Herter 0-5 1-2 1, Latham 0-4 0-0 0, Mauler 0-6 0-0 0, Totals 7-40 15-23 31.
GARDEN CITY (5-2, 1-0)—Turner 4-7 4-6 13, Simmons 4-9 4-4 12, Becerril 2-2 2-2 8, Calzonetti 2-5 2-2 7, Rodriguez 0-3 0-0 0, Beasley 1-5 0-0 2, Franco 0-1 0-0 0, Gallegos 1-7 5-7 8, Roth 0-0 2-4 2, Meng 0-2 0-0 0, Calahan 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 14-42 19-25 52.
3-pointers—GB 2 (Schroeder 1, Smith 1), GC 5 (Becerril 2, Turner 1, Gallegos 1, Calzonetti 1).
