LIBERAL — Liberal battled past pesky Great Bend by outscoring the Panthers down the stretch for a 45-40 Western Athletic Conference victory.
The Panthers sliced an eight-point Liberal lead to one point in the fourth quarter, but the Redskins;’ Rashad Wiltshite stole the basketball with Liberal up 43-40.
Merskek Wiltshire and Hayden Coker each scored 11 points to pace Liberal (12-6, 3-3 WAC). Great Bend (2-17, 0-7 WAC) was led by sophomore Jacob Murray with nine points off the bench and Justin Smith added seven points.
Liberal’s girls rallied from a 7-point deficit for a 56-54 victory in overtime.
Great Bend 7 12 10 11 — 40
Liberal 10 9 16 10 — 45
Great Bend—Murray 9, Smith 7, Bryant 6, Wondra 5, Crosby 6, Ibarra 4, Sullivan 3.
Liberal—Coker 11, Wiltshire 11, Hinkle 6, Baird 5, Fitzgerald 4, Green 4, Evans 2, Brond 2.
Liberal holds off Great Bend