BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

SALINA – Great Bend's Dax Minton and Cooper Ohnmacht combined for a highlight-reel play that has rarely been duplicated. Minton threw a full-court 90-foot pass that Ohnmacht jumped and converted for a 10-foot basket that beat the third-quarter buzzer for a 44-39 lead.

The bonus two points helped the Panthers knock off 4A state-ranked Abilene 58-52 Saturday for third place in the Salina Basketball Invitational. Carter Coombs converted five free throws as the Panthers made 10 fourth-quarter foul shots to preserve the lead.

All-tournament Ian Premer scored 19 points and Jacob Hall added 10 points in a solid effort. All-tournament Maddox Spray scored five points.

Premer scored 16 first-half points as the Panthers sprinted to a 25-10 lead with a fast-paced style. 

"We came out with a lot of energy and Ian Premer did a great job scoring in the paint," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "Our guys did a great job pushing the ball up the court for quick baskets."

Abilene (8-2) ended the half on a 15-6 scoring streak to close within 36-25 at halftime. Abilene's all-tournament Brax Fisher led the Cowboys' comeback with a 20-point effort. Once the Panthers got slowed, Abilene worked back within range after halftime.

After a 36-point first half, the Panthers scored 22 second-half points.

"On offense, we got away from our attack mode," Kriegh said. "We failed to play good team defense at times. Abilene is a good 4A basketball team with some talented players. They're a quality team."

Great Bend (8-4) hits the road Tuesday at Hays Thomas More Prep and Friday at rival Hays High. 

Great Bend 20 16 8 14 – 58

Abilene 10 15 14 13 – 52

GREAT BEND (8-4)—Premer 7 4-5 19, Hall 4 2-2 10, Coombs 1 5-6 8, Dicks 2 1-2 6, Spray 1 3-6 5, Minton 2 0-3 4, Ohnmacht 2 0-0 4, Reed 1 0-0 2, Totals 20 15-24 58.

ABILENE (8-2)—Fisher 9 0-1 20, Timbrook 5 1-1 11, Holloway 3 3-5 9, Miller 1 2-2 5, Hargrave 0 2-2 2, Funston 0 3-4 3, Crump 1 0-0 2, Totals 19 11-15 52.

3-pointers—GB 3 (Premer 1, Coombs 1, Dicks 1); A 3 (Fisher 2, Miller 1).

ALL TOURNAMENT—Ian Premer, Maddox Spray, Great Bend; Josh Kim, Blake Rucker, Quenci Bradford, Andover; Jonovan Howard, Parker Hardgrave, Wichita South; Brax Fisher, Abilene; Brooks Kappelmann, Liberal; Tom McClendon, Salina Central

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER—Josh Kim, Andover

MOST INSPIRATIONAL—Brady Howard, Salina South

SALINA BOYS INVITATIONAL

FINALS—1ST—Andover 60, Wichita South 48; 3RD—Great Bend 58, Abilene 52; ; 5TH—Salina Central 44, Liberal 40; 7TH—Salina South 62, Buhler 52

SECOND ROUND—Wichita South 67, Abilene 61; Andover 65, Great Bend 58; Salina Central 52, Buhler 38; Liberal 57, Salina South 55

FIRST ROUND—Abilene 65, Salina South 47; Wichita South 63, Liberal 39; Great Bend 74, Buhler 33; Andover High 69, Salina Central 53