BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend's boys basketball team erased a forgettable week with perfect teamwork that ignited a 68-42 Western Athletic Conference victory Saturday over Liberal. The Panthers lost to Hays-Thomas More Prep and Dodge City to start a three-game week.
Carter Coombs enjoyed one of his best nights with 18 points and point guard Sage Koelsch played a brilliant all-around game with 15 points and his patented ballhandling and passing. Stefan Spray chipped in 12 points.
The Panthers (7-12, 3-4 WAC) outscored the Redskins in all four quarters with consistent play on Panther Hall of Fame Night. The Panthers converted 9 of 26 3-pointers and made 14 of 27 shots inside the stripe. Braylon Council and Koelsch each made a trio of 3-pointers.
"It was a fun night," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "They wanted to beat Liberal. It was great to see Carter Coombs get to the free throw line and expand his game besides shooting a 3-pointer. It was good to see our guys get buckets off the bench tonight."
Liberal (4-14, 0-6 WAC) showed flashes at times. Shay Kerr scored 12 points and Q. Williams added 10 points off the bench. Liberal converted 6 of 24 3-pointers in an attempt to match the Panthers.
Great Bend closed out the first two quarters with solid play. Stefan Spray hit two baskets and Maddox Spray hit a basket for a 17-10 first-quarter lead. Coombs scored eight points and Stefan Spray and Koelsch each scored two second-quarter baskets for a 37-21 halftime lead.
Liberal never built any momentum against changing Great Bend's defenses.
"What I liked is we didn't let Liberal build any momentum," Kriegh said. "If things don't go their way, they lose faith."
Liberal 10 13 8 11 -- 42
Great Bend 17 20 13 18 -- 68
LIBERAL (4-14, 0-6)--Kerr 5-13 0-0 12, Williams 5-11 0-1 10, Tran 1-5 0-0 3, Rotolo-Garcia 2-9 0-0 4, Miller 0-0 2-2 2, Hunter Huskey 1-4 0-0 3, Avalos 1-4 0-0 2, Robledo 2-5 0-0 6, Trejo 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 17-53 2-3 42.
GREAT BEND (7-12, 3-4)--Coombs 5-10 6-6 18, Koelsch 6-11 0-2 15, Stefan Spray 4-10 4-6 12, Council 3-8 0-2 9, Joseph Moeder 2-4 2-4 6, Stuhlsatz 1-1 0-0 3, Maddox Spray 1-6 1-3 3, Mathew Moeder 1-1 0-1 2, Dicks 0-1 0-0 0, Brack 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 23-53 13-24 68.
3-pointers--L 6-24 (Robledo 2-5, Kerr 2-7, H. Huskey 1-2, Tran 1-5, Rotolo-Garcia 0-2, Williams 0-3); GB 9-26 (Koelsch 3-6, Council 3-6, Coombs 2-4, Stuhlsatz 1-1, Dicks 0-1, M. Spray 0-2, S. Spray 0-4).
