This was your prototypical high school boys’ basketball tilt between Great Bend and Hays, a low-scoring back-and-forth Western Athletic Conference finale between longtime rivals.
Yet Hays found its needed separation in the fourth quarter on Friday night, outscoring the Panthers 18-8 to register a 48-36 victory at Panther Fieldhouse.
In a battle to stay out of the WAC basement, Hays closed the regular season at 6-14 overall, 2-6 in conference play. Great Bend, in the meantime, dropped to 5-15, 1-7.
“It was one of those low-possession games and it was one of those games where you’ve got to take care of the basketball and (Hays) did a much better job than us,” Great Bend head coach Chris Battin said. “They got after us and played really hard.
“We struggle taking care of the ball and we just throw it away too easily at times. We just need to come together, starting now.”
Turning their attention to Class 5A sub-state action, the Panthers will travel to Salina Central on Wednesday night at 7 to take on the Mustangs in a first-round game.
“They’ve lost a couple heartbreakers, but they got a big win on Thursday,” Battin said of Central. “It’s one of those things where you’ve got to come with the right attitude and believe. If you don’t, it’s going to be tough to win. If you believe, you always give yourself a chance.
“I guess my favorite thing this time of year is that it’s time to dream and that’s kind of a good thing now. No matter how bad your regular season has been, you can still dream and hopefully advance.”
Guard Derek Bixenman led Hays with 16 points, including 10 in the first half, where it led 22-18 at intermission.
Junior guard Matt Marshall scored a team-high 14 points for Great Bend, including a trio of 3-pointers. Senior swingman Jace Bowman added 13 points for the Panthers.
It was Marshall and Bowman who took turns keeping Great Bend in the game on the offensive end of the floor after halftime. The duo combined for the Panthers’ first 16 points of the second half, stretching from the outset of the third period until midway through the fourth.
Bowman had six points and Marshall scored 10 during the surge, including back-to-back 3s to whittle the margin down to 38-34 with 3:38 remaining.
But that’s as close as the Panthers would get.
“We’ve needed him to step up and stroke it,” Battin said of Marshall, “and he’s been doing a better job there.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Western Athletic Conference

At Great Bend
Panther Fieldhouse

BOYS
 
Friday
 
Hays 48, Great Bend 36
HAYS (6-14, 2-6)
     Kyler Neiberger 1 0-0 2, Nick Petz 0 0-0 0. Alex Delten 1 1-1 3, Jordan Windholz 3 3-6 9, Lane Clark 2 2-2 7, Layne Downing 0 0-0 0, David Cardinal 0 2-7 2, Kade Parker 0 0-0 0, Derek Bixenman 5 4-6 16, Hunter Gonzalez 0 0-1 0, Brady Werth 4 1-1 9. Totals 16 13-24 48.
GREAT BEND (5-15, 1-7)
     Connor Sell 0 1-3 1, Matt Marshall 5 1-2 14, Jace Bowman 5 3-3 13, Gabe Joiner 0 0-0 0, Chad Touslee 0 0-2 0, Bryce Beck 0 0-0 0, Ethan Henderson 3 0-0 6, Blaise Cain 0 0-0 0, Wyatt Bayless 1 0-2 2. Totals 14 5-12 36.
Hays               10  12   8  18  —  48
Great Bend      7   11  10  8   —  36
    Three-point goals — Hays 3 (Bixenman 2, Clark); Great Bend 3 (Marshall 3). Fouled out — Great Bend (Sell).