Kapaun Crusaders roll past Panthers
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbribune.com
EL DORADO — Thank goodness for Great Bend defensive standout Joseph Moeder. Moeder drew his seventh charging foul of the El Dorado Bluestem Classic to earn a spot on the All-Hustle Team. Panther Stefan Spray earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Moeder’s inspired play in an 11-night effort shined brightly in a 61-32 championship setback to No. 3 state-ranked Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel in Saturday’s championship. Moeder simply finds the gaps inside and carves out space for a teammate’s pass. Again, point guard Sage Koelsch found Moeder several times after a 9-assist night.
The Panthers converted 12 of 29 field goals, 3 of 11 from 3-point range.
Great Bend (4-8) saw few bright spots against a talented and well disciplined team coached by NJCAA Hall of Famer Steve Eck, who led Wichita South to multiple 6A state championships.
The Crusaders scored inside and outside and worked the ball in-and-out. Kapaun’s defense forced 21 Panther turnovers that created several easy transition scores.
Henry Thengvall led the Crusaders (11-1) with 22 points with dominating inside play. Will Anciaux took advantage of turnovers to score 15 points.
“They’ve got athletes who play well together,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “Their man-to-man defense is good as you’ll see. They do a good job on the boards. I’ll be interested to see how far they will go in 5A.”
Great Bend’s Tyler Stuhlsatz scored a season high six points and freshman Carson Poe scored his first varsity point.
The Panthers return home Friday to face Dodge City, a team that could challenge Hays High for the Western Athletic Conference basketball title.
Great Bend 6 12 5 9 — 32
Kapaun 18 21 17 5— 61
GREAT BEND (4-8)—Joseph Moeder 5-8 1-1 11, Coombs 3-8 0-0 8, Stuhlsatz 2-5 1-2 6, Koelsch 1-2 0-1 2, Maddox Spray 0-1 0-0 0, Poe 0-0 1-2 1, Stefan Spray 0-1 0-0 0, Council 1-4 2-3 4, Totals 12-29 5-9 32.
KAPAUN (11-1)—Henry Thengvall 8-13 4-5 22, Anciaux 6-8 3-5 15, Shibley 0-2 0-0 0, Porter 2-3 0-0 4, Will Thengvall 2-8 1-2 5, Schmitz 2-2 0-0 4, Johnson 2-5 0-0 5, Charles 2-4 2-4 6, Keller 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 24-46 10-16 61
3-pointers—GB 3-11 (Coombs 2-5, Stuhlsatz 1-3, Koelsch 0-1, M. Spray 0-1, Council 0-1); KMC 3-15 (H. Thengvall 2-6, Johnson 1-2, Shibley0-1, Keller 0-1, Porter 0-1, W. Thengvall 0-4).
EL DORADO BLUESTEM CLASSIC
SATURDAY—1ST—Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 61, Great Bend 32; 3RD—Wichita Trinity vs. Collegiate; 5TH—El Dorado 75, Goddard 45
FRIDAY—Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 68, Wichita Trinity 32; Wichita Collegiate 49, Great Bend 40
THURSDAY—Great Bend 63, El Dorado 52; Kapaun Mt. Carmel 57, Goddard 48
WEDNESDAY—Wichita Trinity 65, Goddard 43; El Dorado 63
