HAYS — Great Bend’s shortest player Sam Ryan performed like a giant in his varsity basketball debut.
The 5-foot-8 Ryan expertly directed the Panthers’ offense and drilled a trio of 3-pointers to spark a 74-36 victory over Wichita Life Prep in Thursday’s Gerald Mitchell Hays City Shootout. The Panthers (1-0) play Olathe North (1-0) in Friday’s 8:15 p.m. semifinal at Hays High. Class 6A Olathe North crushed Hays High 93-76.
Ryan attacked the Fire’s defense with superb ballhandling and distributed timely assists to get the Panthers rolling to a 22-13 first-quarter lead. The Panthers played with discipline and teamwork. Ten players scored and everyone contributed.
‘’As a point guard, my job is to facilitate and get my teammates involved,” Ryan said. “I’ll score it when I get open looks. We’ve gone hard in practice and it’s going good. Our future looks bright. But you always want to get better.”
The Panthers’ swarming defense dominated the second quarter in a shocking 15-3 edge for a 35-16 halftime lead. The Fire converted one of 12 field goals and committed seven turnovers excellent pressure defense.
‘We set the tone defensively and really worked hard and worked together as a team,” said Great Bend coach Tim Brooks. “It led to some easy scores offensively early.”
Ty Esfeld scored 16 points and Koy Brack added 11 points. Blake Penka (9), Korbin Widiger (8) also contributed.
The Panthers passed the basketball and found open shooters effectively. Great Bend also did a nifty job pushing the basketball in transition.
“In the halfcourt, we shared the basketball and executed the few sets we have very well,” Brooks said. “The guys played really well together. They understand it’s “we” and not “I.” We really shared the basketball.”
Brooks said he will continue to play multiple players to enhance the ability to play at a high level.
“There are a lot of guys with similar ability and everybody will get opportunities,” he said. “ We didn’t always make the best decisions. We played hard defensively and made up for it.”
The Panthers captured the 1999 Hays City Shootout over Hays High. The Panthers reached the championship game in 2009, 2010 and 1989.
Life Prep (1-3) was led by Meril Kanter with 11 points and Jerret Delaney added nine points.

PANTHERS 74, LIFE PREP 36
LP 13 3 13 9 — 36
GB 22 13 19 20 — 74
LP—Mortimer 1-1 0-0 2; Mephee 0-2 0-0 0, Burrows 1-3 0-1 3, Smith 0-4 1-4 1, Kunter 4-8 2-2 11, Delaney 2-5 4-10 9, Mcglegar 2-9 0-0 4, Sertean 3-9 0-0 6, Totals 16-41 7-17 36
GB—Esfeld 6-11 4-8 16, Ryan 3-7 0-0 9, Penka 4-9 0-0 9, Brack 5-7 0-0 11, Widiger 3-4 2-4 8, Brown 3-3 0-0 6; Blessing 0-3 4-4 4, Miller 2-2 1-2 6, Steuder 1-3 0-0 2, Schmeidler 1-2 1-4 3, Wondra 0-1 0-0 0, Vasquez 0-1 0-0; Totals 28 12-22 74
3-point goals—LP 3-15 (Kunter 1-5, Burrows 1-1, Delaney 1-2, Mephee 0-1, Smith 0-2, Sertean 0-4), GB 6-15 (Ryan 3-4, Penka 1-4, Miller 1-1, Esfeld 0-2, Brack 1-3)

HAYS CITY SHOOTOUT BOYS
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Manhattan 63, William Chrisman, Mo. 55
St. Thomas Aquinas 65, Hays-TMP 38
Great Bend 74, Wichita Life Prep 36
Olathe North 93, Hays High 76

FRIDAY’S GAMES
4:45 p.m.—William Chrisman vs. TMP
4:45 p.m.—Manhattan vs. Aquinas
8:15 p.m.—Great Bend vs. Olathe North
8:15 p.m.—Life Prep vs. Hays High