BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Great Bend survived a pair of Salina Central game-winners and escaped to play another day — 63-60 over the Mustangs in the 5A state basketball playoffs.
Panther Alex Olivas aggressively defended a final game-winning attempt by Mustang standout Caden Kickhaefer, who scored 19 points. Ray Kuhlman converted two clutch free throws for a 53-53 tie heading to overtime. A final 3-point attempt by Salina Central's Christian Tedlock missed on the final shot of regulation.
Dalton Miller passed to Alex Schremmer and an Alex Olivas rebound led to Peyton Duvall's 3-pointer to start overtime ahead 59-55. Central's Logan Losey converted a 3-pointer and Reed McHenry and Kickhaefer made overtime baskets.
Great Bend's Alex Schremmer and Peyton Duvall each converted clutch free throws to seal the victory. The Panthers (17-4) will play rival Hays High (15-6) at home Friday in the most important postseason game in 10 years. The Panthers and Indians shared the Western Athletic Conference title.
Great Bend earned a hard-fought victory with a determined effort. The Mustangs erased a 47-35 deficit with a stunning 16-1 scoring run for a 51-48 lead. Nolan Puckett scored eight points and Kickhaefer added six points in the 16-1 scoring burst.
"They refused to lose tonight," said Great Bend coach Tim Brooks. "We hit two big 3s and made 4-of-4 free throws by our seniors in overtime.
Olivas knocked down six 3-pointers for 18 points to deliver a 12-point Panther lead keyed by superb team play. Schremmer and smooth-playing Kuhlman each added 11 points. The Panthers made 10 of 23 3-pointers to outscore the Mustangs 30-21 from long range.
"When Alex Olivas is shooting it well, he's hard to stop," Brooks said. "Alex hit six 3-pointers and we hit 10 of them. We needed every one of them."
Central's swarming defense overplayed Schremmer, who responded with assist-after-assist after seeing constant double teams. Schremmer's best assist was a no-look pass to Duvall. Schremmer was limited to two of 11 shooting against aggressive Mustang defense.
"When they start taking away my outside shot, I'm going to attack and find an open shooter," Schremmer said. "The best thing is we get everyone involved when we play like that. We're a lot harder team to defend when we play that way. I'd much rather have an assist."
Kickhaefer proved to be a challenge to defend until the final minutes when Olivas found a way to limit his touches. Nolan Puckett added 15 points.
"Their big guy was a touch matchup," Brooks said. "We got lost defensively a couple of times. Salina Central proved they are a very good basketball team. We played better inside late in regulation and overtime."
Salina Central 14 14 9 16 7 — 60
Great Bend 15 17 15 6 10 — 63
SALINA CENTRAL (9-12)—Kickhaefer 8-13 3-4 19, Puckett 5-7 3-3 13, Losey 1-3 0-0 3, Tedlock 2-7 0-0 6, Watson 3-6 0-0 7, McHenry 4-5 0-0 9, Moore 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 23-41 7-9 60.
GREAT BEND (17-4)—Alex Olivas 6-11 0-0 18, Kuhlman 4-7 2-2 11, Schremmer 2-11 6-7 11, Miller 3-4 0-0 7, Duvall 3-9 2-2 9, Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Sam Ryan 0-1 1-2 1, Dunekack 1-3 0-0 2, Sam Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 21-49 11-13 63.
3-pointers—SC 7-17 (Puckett 2-3, Tedlock 2-7, Losey 1-3, Watson 1-2, McHenry 1-1, Kickhaefer 0-1); GB 10-23 (Olivas 6-10, Duvall 1-3, Miller 1-1, Kuhlman 1-3, Schremmer 1-6).
