Panthers surprise Spartans
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
EL DORADO – When Great Bend surprised Wichita Collegiate in 2020, the Panthers handed Spartan coach Mitch Fiegel a 25-point setback.
Great Bend’s hard-fought 61-55 semifinal victory Friday over the Spartans was equally satisfying. The Panthers’ 15-point lead narrowed to 57-55 when the Panthers committed five consecutive turnovers.
Collegiate’s James Shackelford missed a driving shot and Brett Wetta missed a tip-in for the tie with 44 seconds left.
“Thank goodness, we pulled this one out. We did just enough to win,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “To beat a team of that caliber, shows what our potential is. We wanted to slow them down. They don’t shoot it the best from outside. We packed our 2-3 defense in and switched to 3-2 and played some man. We made them shoot it outside.”
Great Bend’s freshman sensation Ian Premer saved the day when his pin-point pass found a streaking Braylon Council for a layup. Carter Coombs passed to Maddox Spray for the game-clinching insurance basket.
“That was great vision by Ian,” Spray said. “Ian with the eyesight, seeing over everyone because of how tall he is.”
Kriegh said the Panthers smartly attacked for two scores in the final 30 seconds.
“We wanted an attack mentality,” he said. “You can’t play on your heels. We had a good pass and good finish.”
Great Bend (6-5) played spectacular team-oriented basketball for three quarters to build a 48-33 lead on Spray’s driving shot. But Collegiate ended the third quarter with four points and outscored the Panthers 22-9 when the Panthers went without a basket for eight minutes.
Jacob Hall’s free throws handed the Panthers a 57-49 lead at the 2-minute mark. Jaden Parker converted four free throws and Shackelford hit a basket as the Panthers wilted under the Spartans’ pressure.
“I had confidence,” Kriegh said. “The credit goes to the seven guys who played tonight. Our guys got better. They’re learning. We won this game because we’ve played Hutchinson, Garden and Junction.”
Premer led the Panthers with 13 points and Hall (12) and Spray (11) scored in double figures. Premer went scoreless after drawing his fourth foul
Parker, an attacking guard, scored 21 points for No. 4 ranked 3A powerhouse Collegiate (10-1).
Great Bend 9 20 19 13 – 61
Collegiate 13 9 15 18 – 55
GREAT BEND (6-5)—Premer 6-11 0-3 13, Hall 5-10 2-5 12, Spray 3-11 5-5 11, Scheuerman 3-5 2-2 9, Coombs 2-7 1-2 6, Council 2-5 2-2 6, Stuhlsatz 0-6 4-4 4, Totals 21-55 16-23 61
COLLEGIATE (10-1)—Parker 7-17 7-11 21, Hines-Turner 3-10 2-5 8, Batiste 3-10 1-1 8, Ahmad 1-6 2-2 4, Shackelford 2-6 0-0 4, Paspberry 1-4 0-0 3, Chege 1-1 1-1 3, Farr 0-3 2-4 2, Drumright 1-6 0-0 2, Wetta 0-3 0-2 0, Totals 19-66 15-26 55
3-pointers—GB 3-14 (Scheuerman 1-2, Premer 1-2, Coombs 1-3, Council 0-1, Stuhlsatz 0-1, Hall 0-1, Spray 0-4), WC 2-12 (Raspberry 1-1, Batiste 1-3, Fair 0-1, Ahmad 0-2, Drumright 0-5)
