Great Bend High School’s boys’ basketball team puts a 3-1 record on the line tonight, when Manhattan High (0-1) comes calling to the GBHS Fieldhouse.
The Lady Panthers game with Manhattan tips off at 6, with the boys game following at approximately 7:45.
The Panthers survived a late run by Class 4A Pratt for a 43-40 win on Friday night. They expect another low-scoring match-up when they meet 6A Manhattan.
Manhattan’s boys (0-1) came out on the short end of a 44-31 verdict to Sunrise Academy last Friday night.
Jace Bowman, a junior, scored a team-high 14 points for the Panthers in their triumph over Pratt. He’ll be the first to admit that he’s been struggling with his perimeter jump shot, so he found other ways to score through penetration and pull-up jumpers.
“I’ve been working a little bit after practice, shooting with Coach (Chris) Battin,” Bowman said after Friday night’s game.
“I haven’t been shooting the ball very well from 3, and I’ve been working on penetrating. A lot of extra work is starting to pay off.”
Battin took notice to Bowman having success taking the ball to the basket.
“He played a good game,” Battin said. “He took good shots and he utilized his shot-fake and got to the free-throw line area and did a good job.”
Dakota Ellis had a pair of big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and post player Roderick Frise scored all eight of his points against Pratt in the first half.
Great Bend would like nothing better than to have all of the shooters  on the same page
“We’ve got to rebound the basketball better,” Battin said. “There’s not a night on our schedule where you can take a night off and Pratt proved that.
“We’ve just got to get better and take care of the basketball.”
Great Bend’s girls (1-3) are coming off a 30-27 loss to Pratt, a game where the Lady Panthers outscored the Greenbacks 10-4 in the final 5:31 but had their rally come  up shy.
Manhattan(1-0) pounded Wichita Sunrise Academy 69-23 in its season opener.