EL DORADO — Converting all 12 of their free throws in the fourth quarter, the Great Bend High School Panthers registered a 43-32 win over Circle in a consolation bracket game on Friday afternoon at the 45th annual Bluestem Classic.
The Panthers (4-6) rebounded strong from a 43-34 loss the day before to Wichita Collegiate, including knocking down all of their foul shots when they counted most — eight straight from the 2:04 mark until only 23.4 seconds remained.
“(Circle) started fouling with about 2:45 left and when a team fouls you that early, you definitely have to hit some free throws and we responded really well,” GBHS head coach Chris Battin said. “That was huge for our confidence because we were able to keep them at bay.
“Even when they did score, we were answering back with free throws.”
Great Bend’s Matt Marshall and Bryce Beck both went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch. Gabe Joiner and Brock Ibarra each finished 2 for 2.
“We have a lot of older guys that have some experience and when we step up to the line in the fourth quarter, there is so much confidence,” Marshall said.
GBHS senior post player Ethan Henderson left the game at the 2:23 mark in the fourth quarter after hitting his head on the floor. He did not return, and Battin held Henderson out of Saturday’s fifth-place game with Wichita Trinity Academy for precautionary measures.
“It’s just not worth it,” Battin said. “It’s high school basketball, and there’s no reason to chance.”
Great Bend led 13-8 after one quarter, following baskets by forward Chad Touslee and point guard Marshall, along with a 3-pointer by shooting guard Joiner with 2.9 seconds left in the period.
Ibarra scored off a drive to the basket to start the second-quarter scoring, followed by Touslee hitting back-to-back mid-range jumpers to give GBHS a 19-9 lead.
“It was really big for me,” Touslee said. “I needed to get better and work harder going up for rebounds and going up stronger.”
Circle was able to close to within 23-17 at halftime.
After a slowdown in the third quarter led to a 28-21 Panthers lead at the end of the period, Ibarra hit a 3-pointer, coupled with a pair of free throws with 4:53 left in the game, giving them a 32-23 advantage.
The Panthers then went on their prowl at the line to capture their third win in their last four games.
“We were really hurting them with our guys making all of their free throws,” Touslee said. “We didn’t give them a chance to get back in.”

FIFTH-PLACE GAME
Trinity 52, Great Bend 39
Trailing only 28-22 at halftime, the Panthers managed only 17 second-half points as Trinity pulled away after the break on Saturday afternoon.
Ibarra led Great Bend (4-7) with 11 points, including all three of his team’s 3-pointers, and senior post player Josh Lutz added a season-high nine points.
The Panthers only attempted five free throws in the game, converting four.
Trinity was led by Ryan Miller, who scored a game-high 14 points.
GBHS returns to action on Tuesday night at Panther Fieldhouse, taking on non-conference, nearby opponent Larned.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
45th Annual Bluestem Classic

BOYS

At El Dorado

Friday

Consolation

Great Bend 43, Circle 32
GREAT BEND (4-6)
     Trey Ibarra 0 0-0 0, Matt Marshall 1 6-6 8, Chad Touslee 3 0-2 6, Brock Ibarra 3 2-2 10, Bryce Beck 1 4-4 6, Gabe Joiner 1 2-2 5, Ethan Henderson 1 2-5 4, Shade Wondra 0 2-2 2, Wyatt Bayless 1 0-0 2, Josh Lutz 0 0-0 0, Nick Warren 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 18-23 43.
CIRCLE (1-9)
     Kaden Fowler 3 2-2 8, Emmitt Lechner 0 0-0 0, Hank Boulanger 0 0-0 0, Braden Kirkpatrick 0 0-2 0, Seth Blaha 0 2-4 2, Dominic Lara 1 0-0 3, Garrett Cannon 2 2-3 6, Trey Davis 0 0-0 0, Jake Smith 0 0-0 0, Paul Richard 1 0-0 2, Stewart Dennison 5 1-4 11, Justin Wright 0 0-0 0, Logan Scott 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 7-15 32.
Great Bend    13   10   5   15  —  43
Circle               8     9    4   11  —  32
     Three-point goals — Great Bend 3 (B. Ibarra 2, Joiner); Circle 1 (Lara). Total fouls — Circle 21, Great Bend 18. Fouled out — Circle (Kirkpatrick).

Saturday

Fifth place

Wichita Trinity Academy 52
Great Bend 39
GREAT BEND (4-7)
     Matt Marshall 3 0-0 6, Chad Touslee 0 2-2 2, Brock Ibarra 4 0-0 11, Gabe Joiner 2 0-0 4, Bryce Beck 2 0-0 4, Shade Wondra , Wyatt Bayless 1 1-1 3, Josh Lutz 4 1-2 9. Totals 16 4-5 39.
TRINITY
     Alex Carro 3 1-2 9, Ben Mosley 1 3-4 5, Preston Miller 2 2-4 7, Austin Shanks 0 0-1 0, Tyler Burns 3 0-2 6, Ryan Miller 5 3-8 14, Jacob Loon 3 0-0 6, Jacob Johnson 0 2-3 2, Matt Jones 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 11-24 52.
Great Bend    11   11   10    7   —  39
Trinity            12   16   13   11  —  52
     Three-point goals — Great Bend 3 (Ibarra 3); Trinity(Carro 2, P. Miller, R. Miller, Jones). Total fouls — Great Bend 20, Trinity 10. Fouled out — Great Bend (Joiner).

Bluestem Classic
At El Dorado
Saturday
Championship
Gardner-Edgerton 69,
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 62
Third place
El Dorado 74,
Wichita Collegiate 66
Fifth place
Wichita Trinity Academy 52,
Great Bend 39
Seventh place
Haysville Campus 69,
Circle 67