BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
EL DORADO – Transfer guard Alex Schremmer wrote a near perfect script to his long-awaited debut for the Great Bend boys basketball team.
Schremmer scored 19 points and teamed with Sam Ryan to direct the Panthers’ offense to a solid 60-46 victory over El Dorado in Friday’s Bluestem Classic. Schremmer drilled three consecutive field goals to spark a game-deciding 13-2 third-quarter scoring run.
Ryan scored two baskets, one on an assist by Ty Esfeld to snap a 29-29 tie. Schremmer, a transfer point guard from Hoisington, converted three consecutive baskets for a 42-31 lead after three quarters. He scored 17 second-half points.
“Alex is very heady,” said Great Bend coach Tim Brooks. “He played pretty well at both ends of the floor.”
Schremmer’s 19-point game followed Ty Esfeld’s season high 21 points Thursday against Wichita Trinity Academy. His eight consecutive free throws keyed 17 of 21 free throw shooting for a team averaging 51 percent from the line.
Ten Panthers scored points as everyone who played contributed, which pleased Brooks. Koy Brack scored seven points.
“Our depth played a part because we played a lot of kids,” Brooks said. “It’s well deserved. The second half we played much better.”
The Panthers did a nice job working the ball outside after working the ball inside the paint. Great Bend converted five 3-pointers.
“That’s one of the reads we have,” Brooks said. “If something is not open, you read what the defender is going to do. We played well offensively the whole game.”
Jarin Koehler led El Dorado (4-8) with 17 points. Peyton Duryea and Cam Clausing added eight apiece. The Panthers locked down Koehler much better after halftime.
“They were good offensively early,” Brooks said. “We were not alert. We were not as sharp defensively. We were better the second half.”
Great Bend (2-8) broke an eight-game losing streak heading to Saturday’s fifth place game against Wichita Collegiate.
GB 13 13 16 18 – 60
ED 11 14 6 15 – 46
GREAT BEND (2-8)—Schremmer 4-9 8-8 19, Brack 3-6 1-2 7, Penka 2-3 1-2 6, Miller 2-3 2-2 6, Esfeld 1-7 3-4 5, Schmeidler 2-2 1-1 5, Sam Ryan 2-6 0-0 4, Wondra 1-1 0-0 3, Steuder 1-2 1-2 3, Duvall 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 19-40 17-21 60.
EL DORADO (4-8)—Koehler 6-16 4-4 17, Haines 0-1 0-1 0, Price 2-3 2-2 7, Wittenberg 2-2 1-2 6, Duryea 2-4 3-8 8, Armijo 0-1 0-0 0, Clausing 4-13 0-0 8, Totals 16-40 10-17 46.
3-point goals—GB 5-14 (Schremmer 3-6, Wondra 1-1, Penka 1-2, Esfeld 0-1, Brack 0-1, Ryan 0-3), ED 3-8 (Price 1-1, Johnson 1-1, Koehler 1-4, Clausing 0-2).
