BY JIM MISUNAS
KINGMAN — Great Bend's boys delivered an epic comeback for a 47-47 tie against Sterling in Thursday's Kingman Basketball Classic. The Panthers missed two chances for a victory in regulation before 2A Sterling outlasted 5A Great Bend 56-50 in an overtime heartbreaker.
The Panthers outscored Sterling 14-7 in the final five minutes for a 47-47 tie. Jacob Hall drilled a pair of clutch 3-pointers and Cayden Scheuerman and Ian Premer converted 3-pointers for a 47-45 score. Carter Coombs made a 15-foot jumper for a 47-47 tie.
When Sterling's Isaac Briar missed a pair of free throws, the Panthers had a chance to steal a victory over trailing for 31 minutes. Premer missed a baseline jumper and Coombs lost his balance attempting a final attempt.
Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh smartly swung the momentum with full-court and half-court trapping defense that forced several Sterling turnovers in the final minutes of regulation. Defensive specialist Tyler Stuhlsatz keyed the defense by drawing three charging fouls. Ian Premer forced back-to-back takeaways in overtime with hustling defensive plays.
"It was time to shake things up. We did some full-court and half-court trap. Our guys hung in there and took it to overtime," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "Sterling is a well-coached basketball team that played well."
Sterling's Colby Beagley converted back-to-back 2-pointers and the Black Bears made five free throws in the extra period. Coombs made a 3-pointer for the Panthers' lone three points. The Panthers converted 7 of 32 3-pointers, amazing since they made four consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth period.
Hall (11) led Great Bend and Scheuerman, Maddox Spray, Premer and Coombs each tallied seven points. Sterling's inside force Gabe Riffel muscled for 15 points and numerous rebounds. Blake Smith scored 11 points and Beagley added nine points.
The Panthers had trouble matching up with the muscular Riffel.
"Sterling does a good job sealing your defense inside," Kriegh said. "We've got to do a tougher job on the boards."
Sterling (3-0) will meet Haven (3-0) in Saturday's championship game. Great Bend (0-2) meets Conway Springs at 4:30 p.m. Friday with the winner playing Kingman for third place.
Sterling 13 8 15 11 9 — 56
Great Bend 7 9 17 14 3 — 50
STERLING (3-0)—Gray 3-5 1-2 7, Briar 2-7 2-4 8, Beagley 3-9 2-5 9, Smith 4-11 2-2 11, Wilson 0-2 2-3 2, Ekart 1-1 2-2 4, Riffel 7-13 1-4 15, Totals 20-48 12-22 56
GREAT BEND (0-2)—Stuhlsatz 2-7 1-2 5, Scheuermer 3-8 0-2 7, Spray 2-4 2-3 7, Council 2-9 0-0 6, Dicks 0-2 0-0 0, Premer 3-9 0-0 7, Hall 4-11 1-1 11, Coombs 3-14 0-0 7, Reed 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-65 4-8 50
3-pointers—S 4-14 (Briar 2-6, Beagley 1-4, Smith 1-4); GB 7-32 (Council 2-8, Spray 1-1, Hall 1-3, Scheuerman 1-3, Premer 1-3, Coombs 1-11, Stuhlsatz 0-1, Dicks 0-2)
HAVEN 53, WICHITA SUNRISE 37
Haven 11 16 12 14 — 53
Wichita Sunrise 5 4 8 20 —37
HAVEN (3-0)—D.J. Miller 5 8-12 20, Sipe 6 2-5 14, Bontrager 3 1-2 7, Yoder 2 0-0 4, Wray 1 1-2 4, Nisly 1 0-2 2, Rinehart 1 0-0 2, Totals
SUNRISE—Figueira 4 1-2 13, Parloric 5 3-6 13, Williams 2 0-0 4, Woolery 1 1-2 4, Hart 1 0-0 3, Totals 13 5-10 37
3-pointers—H 3 (D.J. Miller 2, Wray 1), S 6 (Figueira 4, Hart 1, Woolery 1)
