DODGE CITY 51, GREAT BEND 42

Great Bend pushed Western Athletic Conference leader Dodge City, but the Red Demons escaped with a hard-fought 51-43 victory Friday night.

The Panthers (4-9, 1-2 WAC) crept within 26-24.  But Dodge City put together a 23-12 scoring stretch for a safe 49-36 lead.

Panther point guard Sage Koelsch led the way with 15 points and his typical solid floor game. Stefan Spray hustled inside for nine points.

“Sage is an absolute warrior, everything you want in a point guard. He’s not going to back down,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “We’ve proven we can play with anybody. A couple plays didn’t go our way. The guys battled and fought, and that’s all you can ask for outside of a victory. This should encourage us.”

Hot-shooting Cooper Scheck scored 14 perimeter points and Isaiah Taylor drove inside for 14 points for Dodge City (13-1, 2-0 WAC).

“Scheck started with 12 of their first 15 points,” Kriegh said. “You’ve got to stop one of the top shooters in the league. Braylon Council did a great job chasing their shooter. Joseph Moeder did a nice job on our diamond-and-one fighting through screens. Our guys did a good job on the defense.”

The Panthers travel to Liberal (4-9, 0-3 WAC) Friday. The Redskins defeated Gruver, Texas 69-59 and Guymon, Okla. 67-40 recently.

Dodge City 12 8 12 19 – 51

Great Bend 5 12 9 17 – 43

GREAT BEND (4-9, 1-2)—Sage Koelsch 15, Stefan Spray 9, Council 6, Joseph Moeder 6, Maddox Spray 5, Mathew Moeder 2.