BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
SALINA — The classic matchup between old-school basketball and shiny 3-point shooting tilted Great Bend's way in a hard-fought 54-49 Salina Invitational semifinal victory over Salina Central.
Panther standout Ian Premer paved the way with back-to-back 28-point performances and double digit rebounding.
Great Bend outscored the Mustangs 40-14 on 2-pointers and matched Salina Central 11-11 on free throws. The Mustangs gained a 21-point edge by outscoring the Panthers 24-3 from 3-point range.
Premer was a 1-man offensive highlight show with 11 baskets, including a high-flying slam dunk. Crafty Jacob Hall matched Premer's double/double with 11 points and double-digit rebounds.
The momentum shifted when Premer converted the Panthers lone 3-point goal after the Mustangs led 37-29 on Kaden Snyder's 3-pointer. Premer scored eight straight points and Jacob Hall scored off a nifty assist by Daxton Minton for a 10-0 scoring run and a 39-37 lead.
After the Mustangs regained the lead 44-41, the Panthers outscored Salina Central 13-5 keyed by lock-down defense.
Premer scored seven fourth-quarter points for a 49-44 lead. Hall and Izeah Reed clinched the victory by each converting three free throws in the final three minutes.
"That was a good test," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "The guys stuck with it, and thankfully, we got the win. Central is scrappy, but fortunately it was a long game."
The Mustangs converted 6 of 8 first-half 3-pointers on open perimeter shots for a 31-25 halftime lead. Kamryn Jones converted four 3-pointers and scored 20 points. Snyder hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Ironically, the Mustangs shot 8 of 15 (55%) on 3-pointers and 7 of 21 (33%) on 2-pointers against the Panthers' interior defense.
Kriegh assigned Minton after halftime to prevent Kamryn Jones from firing up 3-pointers. The strategy worked flawlessly when Jones shot 1 of 2 after halftime.
Minton denied Jones the basketball and Snyder missed on a 3-pointer on the Mustangs' final chance to tie down 51-48. The Mustangs converted 4 of 15 second-half shots and scored 20 points.
"On box-and-1, Dax did a good job," Kriegh said. "That first half, we left open shooters in our man and zone. We have to understand what every opponent's strength is.
Salina Central 15 16 11 7 — 49
Great Bend 15 10 16 13 — 54
SALINA CENTRAL (5-5) (FG 3 FT TP)—Kamryn Jones 5-10 (4-6) 6-10 20, Snyder 5-9 (3-5) 2-4 15, Cole (1-2) 3-4 6, Greyson Jones 2-4 0-0 4, Ostmeyer 2-6 (0-1) 0-0 4, Peck 0-2 (0-1) 0, Gary 0-3 (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 15-36 (8-15) 11-18 49
GREAT BEND (10-1) (FG 3 FT TP)—Ian Premer 11-19 (1-2) 5-11 28, Jacob Hall 4-11 (0-2) 3-9 11, Nicholson 2-5 (0-2) 0-0 4, Reed 2-6 3-4 7, Minton 1-3 (0-1) 0-1 2, Stroup 1-3 0-0 2, Wondra 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 21-49 (1-8) 11-25 54
Technical foul—Nicholson
SALINA BOYS—1ST—Great Bend 61, Andover 45; 3RD—Salina Central 55, Salina South 54; 5TH—Abilene 67, Wichita South 49; 7TH—Buhler 58, Wamego 51; SECOND ROUND—Great Bend 54, Salina Central 49; Andover 77, Salina South 33; Wichita South def. Buhler; Abilene def. Wamego; FIRST ROUND—Great Bend 72, Wichita South 42; Salina Central 55, Buhler 51; Andover 73, Wamego 33; Salina South 72, Abilene 59
ABILENE GIRLS 47, PANTHERS 40 — The inspired play of Meredith Mazouch and a career-best game by Chayla Prendergast nearly rallied the Great Bend girls from a 12-point deficit.
After losing 35 consecutive basketball games, the Abilene Cowgirls earned a chance at fifth place with a determined 47-40 victory over Great Bend in Friday's Salina Invitational basketball tournament. Abilene (2-7) snapped the 2-year losing streak with a recent victory over Concordia.
After trailing 14-2, the Panthers played their best basketball of the season with a 30-18 scoring stretch that started in the first quarter. After halftime, Meredith Mazouch scored eight points, Prendergast six points and Alyssa McCauley five points for a 32-32 tie. The Panthers hung within 37-36 on a Prendergast basket when the Cowgirls closed with a 10-4 burst.
Abilene's Rinata Heintz and Kimber Taylor converted fourth-quarter 3-pointers and Tessa Herrman capped a career-best 22-point game with seven points in the fourth quarter.
Meredith Mazouch scored 12 points and Prendergast 11 points. The Panthers play Junction City for seventh place at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Great Bend 10 5 11 14 — 40
Abilene 16 10 3 18 — 47
GREAT BEND (3-8) (FG 3 FT TP)—Meredith Mazouch 12, Prendergast 11, Mayers 6, McCauley 5, Bryant 2, Reimer 2, Katherine Mazouch 2
ABILENE (2-7) (FG 3 FT TP)—Tessa Herrman 22, Heintz 7, Taylor 5, McKenna Stover 4, Barberri 4, Crump 3, Crane 2
SALINA GIRLS—1ST—Andover High 61, Buhler 48; 3RD—Salina South 52, Wamego 46; 5TH—Salina Central 58, Abilene 30; 7TH—Great Bend 60, Junction City 25; SECOND ROUND—Buhler 67, Salina South 44; Andover 51, Wamego 35; Abilene 47, Great Bend 40; Salina Central 66, Junction City 12; FIRST ROUND—Buhler 67, Abilene 44; Salina South 42, Great Bend 12; Andover 81, Junction City 16; Wamego 38, Salina Central 34
