The Great Bend Middle School 8th-grade basketball split games against Holcomb and Abilene.
The 8th-frade Panthers jumped to an 11-0 lead and defeated Holcomb 38-28. The Panthers all-around effort was sparked by Joseph Moeder with 18 points and Sage Koelsch with six assists and seven rebounds, Stefan Spray contributed five rebounds and Moeder and Bradley Beck each had three steals.
“Joseph has been steadily increasing his scoring production game-by-game,” said Great Bend coach Dale Kuhlman. “That needs to continue for our team to move forward as the season winds down.”
Abilene’s 6-foot-4 post player Kaleb Becker dominated the paint with 26 points in a 41-24 victory over Great Bend Middle School. Becker had given the Panthers trouble when they met earlier in the season.
“The Becker kid is a tremendous athlete and we did not box him out,” Kuhlman said. “Even when he did miss a shot, he usually grabbed the rebound and got the putback. We have to learn not to be afraid just because the other team has a ‘big guy.’ We did not give up near as many transition points as we did the first time so there was a positive.”
Joseph Moeder led the Panthers (2-7) with eight points. Five players each had two rebounds,