Panthers pass first Bluestem test
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtrribune.com
EL DORADO – Maddox Spray ignited the Great Bend Panthers with a career high 18-point night. Freshman Ian Premer was reliable as usual with a 23-point effort.
Braylon Council’s trio of 3-pointers proved to be critical as the Panthers held off Manhattan Home School 65-54 in Thursday’s Bluestem Basketball Classic.
Spray started on fire with a 10-point first half as the Panthers stretched a 18-13 lead to 30-22 at halftime. Council hit a pair of 3-pointers and Parker Dicks and Premer converted 3-pointers.
Council scored a career high 13 points, hit a 3-pointer and fed a perfect pass to Premer for a 3-point play as the Panthers led 40-25 midway through the third period. The Thunder converted five consecutive Panther turnovers into a 10-0 run fueled by a trio of Brecken Wertenberger baskets for a 40-35 score.
But Spray and Premer went back to work by combining for 11 consecutive Panther points for a 51-39 lead. Council fed Spray on a nifty assist. The Panthers closed with a 7-2 finish.
“Thank goodness Maddox (Spray) was here tonight,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “He attacked the basket and brought some energy. Ian always does dirty work and gets some boards. Every time Braylon shoots, you think it’s going in. He knows what a good shot is.”
Manhattan Home School (11-3) was paced by Cody Schurle with 21 points and Wertenberger and Aden Mericle added nine apiece. Panther Maddox Spray frustrated leading scorer Grant Amerin to zero field goals and four missed free throws through three quarters.
Overall, Kriegh believed it wasn’t the Panthers’ best intensity or quality of play.
“Moving into the next round we’re happy about. Maybe we were overlooking them. We were passive and it showed. They were well coached and played well. They know how to win. I don’t think anybody sitting on our bench was happy with how we played. There were 50-50 balls they outhustled us.”
Great Bend (5-5) will meet Wichita Collegiate (10-0) in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal.
Great Bend captured its eighth Bluestem championship in 2020 in coach Tim Brooks’ greatest game. They shocked the 3A Spartans 60-35 as Dalton Miller held future Kansas Jayhawk standout Gradey Dick to 12 consecutive missed field goals. The Panthers outscored the Spartans 39-0 from 3-point range.
Great Bend 18 12 10 25 – 65
Manhattan Home 13 9 11 19 – 54
GREAT BEND (5-5)—Premer 8-13 6-7 23, Spray 8-17 1-2 18, Council 4-8 2-2 13, Dicks 1-1 0-0 3, Stuhlsatz 2-6 0-0 4, Scheuerman 1-3 0-2 2, Hall 0-2 0-0 0, Coombs 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 25-55 9-13 65
MANHATTAN HOME (11-3)—Schurle 9-17 0-0 21, Aden Merrick 4-14 0-0 9, Schrader 4-12 1-1 9, Grant Amerin 3-8 0-4 7, Wertenberger 3-9 0-0 7, Moldrop 0-1 1-2 1, Ethan Goff 0-4 0-0 0, Corbin Goff 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 23-65 2-7 54
3-pointers—GB 6-19 (Council 3-6, Dicks 1-1, Spray 1-3, Premer 1-3, Stuhlsatz 0-2, Scheuerman 0-2, Coombs 0-2); MH 4-21 (Schurle 3-8, Wertenberger 1-4, Mericle 1-5, Amerin 1-3, E. Goff 0-1)
WICHITA COLLEGIATE 58, GODDARD 43 – Wichita Collegiate rolled past the Goddard Lions 58-43 keyed by a 20-5 run in the fourth quarter.
Goddard trailed 27-23 at halftime behind 14 of 18 free throws. AJ Batiste and Jaden Parker each scored 14 points. Goddard’s Nick Rogers scored 15 points.
Goddard 13 10 12 8 — 43
Collegiate 20 7 12 19 — 58
GODDARD (3-6)—Rogers 4 6-8 15, Bay 4 1-3 10, Jasnaski 2 2-4 6, Healy 1 2-2 4, Durbin 2 0-0 4, Davis 1 0-0 2, Sell 1 0-0 2, Totals 15 11-17 43
COLLEGIATE (10-0)—Batiste 6 0-0 14, Parker 6 2-3 14, Rasberry 4 0-0 10, Hines-Turner 4 0-0 8, Shackleford 1 0-0 3, Fair 1 0-0 2, Ahmad 1 0-0 2, Drumright 0 1-2 1, Totals 24 5-8 58
3-pointers—G (Rogers 1, Bay 1); WC 5 (Batiste 2, Rasberry 2, Shackelford 1)
ARKANSAS CITY 61, WICHITA TRINITY 40 — Arkansas City’s Cadon Clark scored 16 points and Welch added 13 points. Jacob Wuthnow led Trinity with 14 points.
Trinity 5 13 13 9—40
Ark City 19 11 19 12—61
WICHITA TRINITY (4-6)—Wuthnow 6 0-0 14, Roberson 4 0-0 11, Zimmerman 2 0-0 5, Draper 2 0-0 5, Wertenberger 1 0-0 3, Shaffer 1 0-0 2, Totals 16 0-0 40
ARKANSAS CITY (5-5)—Clark 6 3-3 16, Welch 6 0-1 13, Pierce 5 0-0 10, Frazier 3 2-3 8;, Abrams 2 0-0 6, Pierce 1 2-2 4, Brantley 1 2-2 4, Totals 24 9-11 61
3-pointers—AC 4 (Abrams 2, Clark 1, Welch 1); WT 8 (Roberson 3, Wuthnow 2, Zimmerman 1, Draper 1, Wertenberger 1)
EL DORADO BLUESTEM CLASSIC
SATURDAY—1ST—Kapaun-Mt. Carmel 65, Great Bend 50; 3RD—Wichita Collegiate 71, Arkansas City 57;; 5TH—Manhattan Home School 78, Wichita Trinity 64; 7TH—Goddard 55, El Dorado 53
FRIDAY—Great Bend 61, Collegiate 55; Kapaun Mt. Carmel 79, Arkansas City 57; Wichita Trinity 64, El Dorado 53; Manhattan Home School 64, Goddard 56; THURSDAY—Kapaun Mt. Carmel def. El Dorado; Arkansas City 61, Wichita Trinity 40; Wichita Collegiate 58, Goddard 43; Great Bend 65, Manhattan Home School 54
