BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
A rowdy home crowd watched Hays High fans celebrate a 43-36 5A substate basketball victory over Great Bend Friday. The finest Great Bend basketball team in 10 years endured a heartbreaking shooting night. Hays (16-6) qualifies for the 5A state tournament at Emporia.
The Indians' dominating height controlled the boards and held the Panthers to 11 of 46 shooting. The Panthers shot 23 percent from 3-point range — 7 of 30. Great Bend kept firing and missing from long range.
The shooting was fractionally better inside the 3-point line as the Panthers converted 4 of 16 shots for 25 percent. The Indians' frontline of 6-10 Dylan Ruder, 6-6 Dalyn Schwarz and 6-5 Jace Linenberger put up a defensive roadblock. The Indians shut down the perimeter game and defended without fouling with crafty and aggressive defense.
"Their length bothered us on the perimeter," said Great Bend coach Tim Brooks. "They are so long defensively. They challenged shots and forced us to adjust shots."
The Panthers led 14-12 with five minutes left in the second period behind four 3-pointers, which proved to be Fool's Gold in a high energy atmosphere.
Hays gained total control by holding the Panthers without a field goal for 12 minutes. Hays High's Carson Kieffer scored 13 points and Jace Linenberger added nine points.
The Indians reeled off 18 consecutive points for a 30-14 lead with two minutes left in the third period. Great Bend missed 15 consecutive field goals. Cal Dunekack broke the scoreless streak with a free throw. After an Alex Olivas steal, Dalton Miller ended the 12-minute stretch for a 30-19 score.
The Panthers wisely pushed a faster pace and pressured the Indians, but launched the strategy too late in a 17-point fourth quarter. The Panthers outscored the Indians 17-11 by gaining a few extra possessions. Schremmer and Olivas converted 3-pointers in the fourth period. The Panthers outscored the Indians 21-3 from long range.
"We regrouped to give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter," Brooks said. "We battled, clawed and fought. Give credit to Hays. Our defense was outstanding. They played well. They've got very good basketball players."
Likely Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year Alex Schremmer scored 15 points, but converted 5 of 17 field goals against a trio of aggressive Indian defenders — T.J. Nunnery, Jordan Dale and Jason Krannawitter. Olivas scored six points.
The Panthers shared the WAC title (7-1) with Hays and finished with a 17-5 record, their best in 10 years. The Panthers defeated Wichita Collegiate for their first midseason championship in a decade.
"We had a heck of a run. It's a credit to the senior group," Brooks said. "Good things happened to them because of their hard work. They played a lot of minutes as sophomores and juniors and kept getting better as basketball players."
Hays High 12 6 14 11 — 43
Great Bend 8 6 5 17 — 36
HAYS HIGH (16-6)—Kieffer 5-6 3-3 13, Linenberger 4-4 1-2 9, Nunnery 2-8 4-7 7, Krannawitter 1-6 3-4 6, Schwarz 1-3 1-2 3, Dale 0-4 2-2 2, Ruder 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 14-35 14-22 43.
GREAT BEND (17-5)—Schremmer 5-17 2-2 15, Olivas 2-8 0-0 6, Miller 2-4 0-2 4, Dunekack 1-1 1-2 4, Kuhlman 0-7 4-4 4, Duvall 1-4 0-0 3, Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Sam Ryan 0-2 0-0 0, Sam Hall 0-0 0-2 0, Totals 11-46 7-12 36.
3-pointers—HH 1-8 (Krannawitter 1-4, Nunnery 0-2, Dale 0-2); GB 7-30 (Schremmer 3-13, Olivas 2-6, Dunekack 1-1, Brown 0-1, Duvall 1-4, Kuhlman 0-5)
