When things got out of hand for the Great Bend High School boys’ basketball team, they got out of hand in a hurry.
Junction City turned up the heat in the second quarter and burned away at the Panthers for a 50-15 win on Friday night at the Panther Fieldhouse.
“We just had too many turnovers,” GBHS head coach Chris Battin said. “We couldn’t hit a shot and we had too many turnovers. That kills you any time you play.”
Early on, Great Bend had several Bluejays in foul trouble as the Panthers were in the bonus with more than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
That took Junction City out of its game plan, allowing the Panthers to hold a meager 5-4 lead after eight minutes.
“We did a good job getting the ball inside and crashing the glass,” Battin said of the first quarter. “They were fouling us a little bit. After that, we just never did get into it.”
That didn’t last long as the Bluejays took control in the second quarter.
Great Bend’s cold shooting and turnovers led to Junction City outscoring the Panthers 13-5 to close out the half for a 17-10 lead.
Things turned from bad to worse for Great Bend in the second half.
The cold shooting continued, allowing Junction City to settle into a zone defense that forced more turnovers.
“We just struggled to score,” Battin said. “Part of that is we gave up too many possessions with our turnovers. Got to give credit to them, they were able to flex their muscle a little bit and took it to us.”
The Bluejays used the opportunity to take a commanding lead, starting a 10-0 run that lasted more than seven minutes and was broken up by Nick Warren making one of two free throws.
That was the only point Great Bend scored in the third quarter.
Warren, who finished with a team-leading six points, hit a couple free throws in the second half, but it wasn’t until 4:19 remaining in the game that Jack Westhoff put in Great Bend’s first field goal of the second half, a jumper in the lane.
Trey Ibarra finished with five points.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Non-Conference

BOYS

Friday

At Great Bend
Panther Fieldhouse

Junction City 50, Great Bend 15
JUNCTION CITY (1-1)
     Reggie Summerall 1 0-0 3, Jake Adkins 1 0-0 2, Jonathan Wilds 5 0-0 10, Josh Bryan 1 0-0 2, Danny Thornton 1 1-1 3, Kareem Avant 2 2-2 6, Semaj Johnson 2 0-0 4, Ja’Male Morrow 1 0-0 2, Tanner Lueker 5 0-1 10, Jordan Lawrence 4 0-0 8. Totals 23 3-4 50.
GREAT BEND (1-3)
     Jack Westhoff 1 0-1 2, Trey Ibarra 1 3-4 5, Kody Crosby 1 0-0 2, Quinton Elliott 0 0-2 0, Nick Warren 1 4-6 6. Totals 4 7-13 15.
Junction City    4    13    10    23  —  50
Great Bend       5     5     1     4   —  15
     Three-point goals — Junction City 1 (Summerall); Great Bend (none).