BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
HAYS — When Great Bend's defensive stopped Joseph Moeder failed to get an obvious charging foul whistled against Hays High's powerful Jace Linenberger, you knew it wasn't Great Bend's night.
Linenberger ran over Moeder and passed for a basket, which typified the Panthers' frustration. After a perfect opening four minutes that led to a shocking 8-0 Panther lead, state-ranked Hays dominated for a 58-31 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory. The defending WAC champions (7-1, 2-0) will battle Dodge City for the WAC title. The Panthers (3-5, 1-1 WAC) travel to 6A Hutchinson High Friday.
The 6-6 Linenberger used his athleticism to muscle for 19 points and point guard Carson Kieffer was spectacular with 18 points off hard drives to go with nine assists.
Stefan Spray drilled a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer and Carter Coombs drilled a 3-pointer for a stunning 8-0 lead. The Panthers' demise started with five consecutive turnovers to end the first quarter. The Indians outscored the Panthers 19-2 over the next eight minutes for a 19-10 lead. They combined for 23 of 25 points for a 25-14 halftime lead.
"Our lights bulbs turned off. We played with doubt after that start," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "Our defense that first half was decent. But if you score 15 points, you're struggling offensively."
The Indians' two-man tandem combined for 37 points, six more than the Panthers. The brother tandem of Stefan Spray (11 points, strong rebounding) and Maddox Spray (seven points) provided a spark. Sage Koelsch added six points.
The Panthers finished with 19 turnovers and 13 of 42 shooting along with 1 of 2 free throws. Hays converted 24 of 47 field goals and 6 of 8 free throws.
Great Bend 8 7 6 10 — 31
Hays High 11 14 14 19 — 58
GREAT BEND (3-5, 1-1)—Koelsch 3-11 0-0 6, Stuhlsatz 1-2 0-0 3, Maddox Spray 3-4 0-0 7, Joseph Moeder 0-3 0-0 0, Stefan Spray 5-10 0-0 11, Coombs 1-11 1-2 4, Dicks 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 13-42 1-2 31.
HAYS (7-1, 2-0)—Kieffer 6-12 5-5 18, Linenberger 9-12 1-3 15, Noah Weimer 3-8 0-0 7, Wellbrock 3-4 0-0 6, Schmidtberger 2-2 0-0 6, Dale 0-5 0-0 0, Hernandez 0-2 0-0 0, Moore 1-1 0-0 2, Brooks 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 24-47 6-8 58.
3-pointers—GB 4-15 (Stuhlsatz 1-2, M. Spray 1-2, S. Spray 1-3, Coombs 1-6, Koelsch 0-3); H 4-15 (Schmidtberger 2-2, N. Weimer 1-3, Kieffer 1-4, Hernandez 0-1, Wellbrock 0-1, Brooks 0-1, Dale 0-3)
