Give McPherson High coach Kurt Kinnamon credit. He appreciates a historic moment when he sees it.
Kinnamon used a well-placed timeout right after Great Bend’s Kody Crosby passed the 1,000-point barrier Tuesday. It allowed Crosby and Great Bend to enjoy a moment.
McPherson created the highlights the rest of the night in a dominating 57-30 basketball victory over the overmatched Panthers.
It wasn’t a good sign when Great Bend standout Brayden Smith was on the sidelines with a season-ending shoulder injury. The offense-starved Panthers could ill afford to lose a 10-point scorer.
No. 7 state-ranked Class 4A McPherson opened with five field goals to roar to a 12-2 lead. Great Bend’s scrappy defense slowed the Bullpups at times, but the lack of offense proved critical for a team shooting 21 percent.
Jake Alexander led McPherson (11-4) with 17 points and Ben Pyle (13) and Mason Alexander (10) scored in double figures. The Bullpups shot 42 percent after its hot start, but that proved more than enough.
Great Bend (3-12) was led by Crosby, who passed the 1,000-point barrier with a second-quarter score in a 12-point night.
“To score 1,000 points, you’ve got to score in a vareity of ways,” said Great Bend coach Tim Brooks. “Kody has done a really good job scoring tough inside baskets and getting to the free throw line.”
The Panthers played their typical hard-nosed defensive style. Time-after-time, they denied the lob pass to 6-foot-7 Ben Pyle, who never did finish the play for an inside score.
“After that start, the guys adjusted to what they were running,” Brooks said. “We had some guys read some passes and wer got a few steals.”
McPherson coasted ahead 33-11 at halftime. Great Bend made three of 17 field goals. Ty Esfeld and Konner Ireland combined for nine second-half points.
“The second half, we played better offensively,” Brooks said. “We moved our guys better after halftime.”
McPherson converted several Panther turnovers into easy transition scores.
“That type of pressure can wear you down,” Brooks said. “We’ve handled it fairly well at times because we’ve seen it against Wichita Collegiate and Derby.”
The Panthers (3-12, 0-4 WAC) face Garden City (7-9, 3-1 WAC) at home Friday in a key Western Athletic Conference basketball game. The teams have split two games.

McPherson 15 18 11 13 — 57
Great Bend 5 6 11 8 — 30
MC—Pyle 6-16 1-2 13; Mason Alexander 5-10 0-1 12; Jake Alexander 5-6 4-6 17; Jasye Alexander 0-2 0-0 0; Labertew 1-1 0-4 2; Diggs 3-6 0-1 6; Kinnamon 1-1 0-0 2; Hoppes 0-1 2-2 2, Trost 0-1 0-0 0; Hoover 0-0 1-2 1; Totals 22-45 8-20 57.
GB—Kody Crosby 5-13 2-3 12; Ty Esfeld 2-6 0-0 5; Konner Ireland 0-5 4-4 4; Logan Perry 0-1 1-6 1; Koy Brack 1-2 0-2 2; Jacob Murray 0-9 6-8 6; Widiger 0-1 0-0 0, Stueder 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 8-38 13-23 30.
3-point goals 5-15 (M. Alexander 2-4, Jake Alexander 3-4, Hoppes 0-1, Jasye Alexander 0-2, Pyle 0-4), GB 1-10 (Esfeld 1-2, Brack 0-1, Murray 0-4, Ireland 0-3).

WESTERN ATHLETIC BOYS
Liberal 3-1 13-2
Hays High 3-1 10-3

Garden 3-1 7-9
Dodge City 1-3 2-12
Great Bend 0-4 3-12
TUESDAY
Liberal, 66, Guymon, Okla. 47
McPherson 57, Great Bend 30
Ulysses 67, Dodge City 55
THURSDAY’S GAME
Hays High at Salina Central
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Garden City at Great Bend
Liberal at Hays High
Dodge City at Nickerson
SATURDAY’S GAME
Dodge City at Manhattan