By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Home sweet home.
For a change, when Great Bend’s Cody Crosby spun inside, he didn’t face a dominating post presence. Crosby scored a season high 27 points to spark a stunning 66-54 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory over Garden City Friday.
Jacob Murray’s 3-pointer sparked a 14-0 first-half run that helped the Panthers snap a 10-game home losing streak. The Panthers were 0-8 in league play last year and last won a Western Athletic basketball game in Feb. 2014.
The Buffaloes led 12-11 when Murray’s 3-pointer was followed by 3-pointers by Crosby, another one from Murray and a fourth 3-pointer by Konner Ireland. Murray capped the 14-point run with a steal and layup for a 25-12 lead. The Panthers knocked down 6 of 11 first-half 3-pointers for a 35-20 halftime lead.
“We came out unselfish and did a good job distributing the basketball,” said Great Bend coach Chris Battin. “We got the ball inside early and attacked the paint. We moved the ball back outside and knocked the 3-pointers down all night long.”
The Panthers (3-4, 1-1 WAC) outscored the Buffaloes 21-9 from 3-point range on 7 of 17 shooting and built a 19-point lead at 41-22. Great Bend had struggled to shoot the ball successfully all year long, but knocked down 22 of 46 shots and 15 of 19 free throws.
“It was a good team win,” said Chris Battin.
Garden City (3-5, 0-1 WAC) relies on the 3-pointer, but Konner Ireland and Quinton Elliott keyed superior perimeter defense. Garden City converted 3 of 25 shots from long range for 12 percent. The Panthers did a solid job extending their defense to make the perimeter shot a challenge.
“Konner Ireland did a tremendous job guarding their best perimeter player,” Battin said. “Defensively, it was a great effort. We knew we had to defend the 3-point line.”
Trey Ibarra, a 5-11 guard, keyed the Panthers’ hustling rebound effort with 13 boards. The Panthers were forced to chase down long rebounds off the Buffaloes’ 22 missed 3-point attempts. One time, the Panthers had to turn back the Buffaloes four times before they regained possession.
“We were sprinting hard to get the basketball,” Battin said. “The ball bounces long off 3-pointers and those are big rebounds. Our team did a tremendous job.”
Jared Koster led the Buffaloes (3-5, 0-1 WAC) with 20 points. Garden City’s sharpshooters Koster and Garret Doll combined to make 8 of 31 field goals, including 3 of 17 from long range. Scott Schmidt added eight points.
“We played defense with our hands down and it was like a shooting drill for them,” said Garden City coach Jacy Holloway. “We didn’t deny their passes to the wing. We’ve got to do a better job getting the ball trapped. We’re a 3-point shooting team. We have to make shots from the three. It was a night where we didn’t knock them down.”
Down 48-34, the Buffaloes adjusted in the fourth quarter with an effective offensive strategy that took the basketball to the basket rather than tossing up 3-pointers. The Buffaloes converted 11 free throws to slice the lead to 58-49 with 1:50 left. The Buffaloes forced the Panthers into 22 turnovers.
Crosby’s driving shot was followed by back-to-back baskets by Murry for a 65-49 lead.
The Panthers travel to Hays High Tuesday before returning home Jan. 15 for Buhler,
• GREAT BEND GIRLS 48, GARDEN CITY 35 — Lauren Welsch rode to the rescue with six consecutive free throws as the Panthers finished with a 11-0 run after nearly losing a 15-point lead. It was Welsch’s season debut after recovering from knee surgery.
“That was nice to be able to throw Lauren back into the mix,” said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. “We feel good with the basketball in her hands. It gives us another leader on the floor.”
The Panthers converted 10 free throws in the fourth period after leading 34-19 after three periods. Welsch scored 13 points and Carley Brack added 12 points for the Panthers (5-2, 1-1 WAC).
“We regained our composure after we lost our composure for two or three minutes,” said Great Bend coach Carrie Minton. “We turned the ball over and let them get on a run. It was a matter of getting the basketball to the middle and trying to get a fast break. We made a couple of plays.”
Garden City’s Abbie Dart sparked the Buffaloes’ rally with 13 fourth-quarter points behind the Buffaloes’ fullcourt pressure that forced 30 Panther turnovers. The Buffaloes got within 37-35 and Dart missed a chance for a tying field goal.
But Panther Carley Dreiling responded with a 3-point play for a 40-35 lead. The Panthers sealed the victory with eight free throws.
“It was nice to see Carley go after it and make some plays,” Minton said. “We wanted to attack the basket if we got in the open floor and that gave us the momentum back. Once we started shooting free throws, I felt good.”
The Panthers travel to Hays High Tuesday before returning home Jan. 15 for Buhler,
Dart led Garden City (3-5, 0-1 WAC) with 16 points. The Buffaloes shot 13 percent the first half. But they forced 30 Panther turnovers to make an intense rally.
“I was really proud of the way the girls’ effort and the way they battled,” said Garden City coach David Upton. “There are nights where your shooting is off, but we relied on our defense and rebounding to get back into the game. We made an awfully good run in the fourth quarter.”

GREAT BEND 48, GARDEN CITY 35
Garden City 5 5 9 16 — 35
Great Bend 10 6 18 14 — 48
GC—Dart 6-13 3-6 16; Munoz 3-8 0-3 6; Long 1-5 0-0 2; Stinemetz 0-4 0-0 0; Butler 2-10 0-0 4; Calvillo 1-3 0-0 2; Calzonetti 1-7 0-2 2; Hogan 1-3 0-0 2; Peitz 0-1 1-2 1; Bellows 0-3 0-2 0; Totals 14-57 4-15 35.
GB—Welsch 3-8 6-6 13; Brack 2-5 4-4 12; Warren 4-7 1-5 9; Dreiling 3-4 2-3 8; Burkhart 2-5 0-0 4; Kottas 0-7 2-2 2; Ireland 0-2 0-0 0; Dunekack 0-2 0-0 0; Totals 14-40 15-20 48.
3-point goals—GC 1-10 (Dart 1-3, Munoz 0-1, Stinemetz 0-2, Butler 0-2, Long 0-2), GB 3-13 (Brack 2-2, Welsch 1-1, Dreiling 0-1, Dunekack 0-1, Ireland 0-2, Kottas 0-5).

GREAT BEND 66, GARDEN CITY 54
Garden City 12 8 14 20 — 54
Great Bend 14 21 13 18 — 66
GC—Koster 6-19 7-8 20; Schmidt 4-7 0-0 8; Leal 2-5 3-4 7; Aguliar 2-4 2-5 6; Doll 2-12 0-0 6; Karlin 2-8 1-2 5; Brunson 0-1 2-4 2; Tanner 0-2 0-0 0; Totals 18-58 15-23 54.
GB—Crosby 10-14 5-7 27; Murray 8-18 0-1 19; Ibarra 0-1 8-9 8; Ireland 2-7 0-0 6; Perry 1-2 0-0 2; Smith 1-4 0-0 2; Takota Esfeld 0-0 2-2 2; Totals 22-46 15-19 66.
3-point goals—GC 3-25 (Doll 2-10, Koster 1-7, Leal 0-1, Bunrson 0-1, Schmidt 0-1, Aguilar 0-1, Karlin 0-4), GB 7-17 (Murray 3-8, Crosby 2-3, Ireland 2-6).