Panthers rally past Liberal
BY JIM MISUNAS
jmiusunas@gtribune.com
LIBERAL – Great Bend guard/quarterback Daxton Minton is determined to earn his ESPN-worthy highlight. Minton delivered an 80-foot pass to standout Ian Premer, who converted a 15-foot jumper for a 52-51 lead over Liberal after three quarters.
The Panthers rallied from a 12-point deficit to down Liberal 70-62 to earn a hard-fought Western Athletic Conference basketball victory.
Crafty Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh substituted Minton for the last-second miracle.
“I told Dax, ‘you know what to do. Do what you do,” Kriegh said. “It’s nice when he has four football receivers in Ian Premer, Jacob Hall, Maddox Spray and Cooper Ohnmacht out there.”
It marked the second time Minton’s floor-length pass delivered a basket after hooking up with Cooper Ohnmacht against Abilene.
The Redskins bombed home five 3-pointers to lead 34-22 in the second quarter. Great Bend outscored the Redskins 48-26 the rest of the game. The Panthers outscored the Redskins 13-1 to close within 37-35 at halftime.
Kriegh liked how the Panthers hung tough to spoil Liberal’s Winter Homecoming. James Fieser scored 20 points and Zayden Martinez added 10 points for Liberal (5-10, 0-3 WAC). The Redskins converted seven 3-pointers to outscore the Panthers 21-9 from long range.
“Our guys maintained their poise, played together and battled back,” Kriegh said. “We were down, but our guys kept going next play mentality. It came down to playing better defense.”
Premer dominated inside with 25 points. Hall (12) and Spray (11) scored in double figures. Parker Dicks (9) and Carter Coombs (8) also contributed to spectacular 29 of 55 shooting (53%).
Kriegh crafted two timely inbounds play for baskets. Minton slipped a pass to Ohnmacht on an inbounds play for a 55-51 lead. Minton’s steal led to a Parker Dicks’ 3-pointer for a 62-55 lead. Hall’s steal led to Coombs’ game-clinching basket for a 66-59 lead.
“Parker’s 3-pointer was big,” Kriegh said. “They expected a pass into the middle and Parker hit a corner 3.”
Great Bend (10-5, 1-2) plays Dodge City at home Tuesday to finish four of five WAC games at home.
Great Bend 16 19 17 18 -- 70
Liberal 21 16 14 10 – 62
GREAT BEND (10-5, 1-2)—Premer 11-17 2-4 25, Hall 5-10 2-3 12, Spray 4-6 2-3 11, Coombs 4-7 0-0 8, Dicks 3-8 1-1 9, Nicholson 0-2 0-0 0, Minton 0-1 1-2 1, Ohnmacht 2-4 0-2 4, Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 29-55 9-15 70.
LIBERAL (5-10, 0-3)—Fieser 4-10 10-11 20, Martinez 2-6 5-6 10, Kappelmann 4-10 0-0 9, Mata 2-6 1-2 6, Torres 2-5 0-0 5, Chamberlain 2-5 0-0 6, Miramontes 1-4 0-1 2, Tafoya 1-2 2-2 4, Totals 18-48 19-22 62.
3-pointers—GB 3-15 (Dicks 2-5, Premer 1-4, Nicholson 0-2, Spray 0-1, Hall 0-1, Coombs 0-2); L 7-15 (Chamberlain 2-5, Kappelmann 1-1, Fieser 1-2, Mata 1-2, Torres 1-3, Martinez 1-1, Miramontes 0-1)
