BY JIM MISUNAS
MAIZE – A patient tempo was perfect for Great Bend’s boys against defending 5A state basketball champion Maize High.
But once the Eagles got their high-flying transition game going, Maize roared to a 66-47 5A substate basketball victory Tuesday over the pesky Panthers.
Panther point guard Sage Koelsch ended his career with a vintage performance with 15 points off stylish drives to the basket, plus his typical fearless ballhandling and passing. Stefan Spray chipped in 10 points. Super defender Joseph Moeder drew two charging fouls to finish with 29 charges this season, one shy of Brock Blessing’s school record.
“Those three seniors are great dudes,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “Sage played really well and got buckets on tough defenders Avery Johnson and Kyle Grill. Stefan is a warrior inside. Joseph is a workhorse, our glue guy.”
Parker Dicks provided an eye for next season with a pair of 3-pointers for six points.
“We gave it everything they had,’ Kriegh said. “That’s all you can ask. The morale and culture of our program is good. That second half, Maize was were a step faster; Were excited about the future.”
The Panthers played short-handed when starter Braylon Council was unable to play Tuesday.
Great Bend (7-14) led 10-8 after one quarter with a patient offensive approach. The Panthers led 15-14 when the Eagles got rolling.
They finished the half with a 12-2 scoring run and continued that hot streak with an eventual 29-7 scoring burst for a 43-22 lead.
Standout point guard Kyle Grill keyed the Eagles with pin-point passing and 15 points. He drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and fed his teammates with perfect passes for slam dunks.
High-flying Avery Johnson, one of the state’s premier multi-sport athletes slammed home four dunks and scored 11 points. Jaden Gustafson slammed home two dunks and scored 14 points.
Maize (17-4) will play at Andover Central (18-3) Thursday for a 5A state tournament bid.
Great Bend 10 17 11 19 – 47
Maize 8 19 21 19 – 66
GREAT BEND (7-14)—Koelsch 8-13 0-1 17, Stefan Spray 3-8 3-5 10, Dicks 2-3 0-0 6, Coombs 2-8 0-0 5, Reed 0-1 2-2 2, Joseph Moeder 1-2 0-0 2, Mathew Moeder 0-1 0-0 0, Maddox Spray 0-4 10-2 1, Stuhlsatz 1-2 2-2 4, Totals 17-42 8-12 47.
MAIZE (17-4)—Kyle Grill 5-8 3-4 15, Gustafson 6-6 2-4 14, Johnson 5-9 0-0 11, Belcher 4-7 0-0 9, Williams 2-4 0-2 4, Reyes 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 3-7 2-2 8, Sharp 1-2 0-0 2, Booth 1-3 0-0 2, Hanna 0-2 1-2 1, Chalashtari 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 27-51 8-14 66.
3-pointers—GB 5-12 (Dicks 2-2, Koelsch 1-3, S. Spray 1-3, Coombs 1-4), M 4-17 (K. Grill 2-5, Belcher 1-2, Johnson 1-5, Booth 0-1, Reyes 0-1, Williams 0-1, Hanna 0-2).
