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Panthers sweep Dodge City Thursday
Great Bend uses 52-5 scoring bursts
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Updated: Feb 14, 2025, 11:54 AM
Published: Feb 13, 2025, 9:58 PM

BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

DODGE CITY — When No. 4 state-ranked Great Bend gets dialed in defensively, the Panthers can compete for a 5A state basketball championship.

All-stater Ian Premer highlighted a 28-point night with a windmill slam dunk that keyed a dominating 75-37 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory over Dodge City Thursday.

Great Bend (15-1, 5-0 WAC) owns a 13-game winning streak, dropping Dodge City to 5-11, 2-2 WAC. Great Bend can clinch a postseason home site with a win over Garden City Friday.

The Panthers' defensive and offensive efficiency was hard to believe, outscoring Dodge City 52-5 during a pair of red-hot scoring runs. 

Great Bend opened the game on a 26-4 burst as the Panthers converted 11 of 12 field goals and scored on 12 consecutive offensive possessions when they didn't turn the basketball over. Ian Premer and Ben Nicholson combined for 26 first-quarter points.

Just like that, the Panthers' offense and defense went flat, proving they could lose to anybody, even 3A state-ranked Haven. 

Dodge City outscored the Panthers 22-5 over the next seven minutes. Dodge City converted four 3-pointers and scored off 10 Panther turnovers for a 31-26 score.

"We got too comfortable. The environment here is not very energetic. You've got to bring your own energy, do a better job talking and get after it," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "We took some defensive breaks and gave them open shots. Dodge City can score in streaks. They live and die with the 3-point shot."

Just like that, the Panthers proved they could beat anybody again with lock-down defense and near perfect passing and shooting accuracy.

Great Bend outscored Dodge City 12-1 to end the first half and finished off a dominating 26-1 scoring run with a flawless 14-0 run to open the second half for a 52-5 combined scoring streak.

Nicholson stayed red hot with 18 points. Jacob Hall chipped in 12 points. Dax Minton scored nine points and pulled off his patented inbounds passes for several baskets. Nicholson also dished to Hall on an inbounds play when Dodge City denied Ian Premer.

Great Bend converted 25 of 36 shots from 2-point range (69%) and a season-best 4 of 7 on 3-pointers (57%). The only negative statistic was 17 turnovers.

"We were over 20 assists, which is a positive," Kriegh said. "Ian's windmill dunk was pretty impressive. We had guys off the bench who hit threes. They were a lot more positives than negatives."

Dodge City's Cru Lembright scored nine points. The Red Demons (5-11, 2-2 WAC) made 4 of 25 shots from long range. 

Great Bend 27 16 21 12 — 75

Dodge City 9 18 4 6 — 37

GREAT BEND (15-1, 5-0)—Ian Premer 11-14 6-7 28, Nicholson 7-12 (1-2) 3-4 18, Jacob Hall 6-7 0-0 12, Minton 3-3 (1-1) 2-4 9, Reed 0-1 2-2 2, Stroup 0-2 0-0 0, Ethan Somers (1-2) 0-0 3, Alec Premer (1-1) 0-0 3, Price 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 29-43 (4-7) 13-17 75

DODGE CITY (5-11, 2-2) (FG 3 FT TP)—Lembright 2-11 (1-7) 4-5 9, Williams 2-7 (1-3) 1-2 6, Scheck 2-7 (1-5) 0-1 5, Unzueta 2-5 (0-3) 2-2 5, Schulte 2-6 (1-5) 0-0 5, Reyes 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Drake 0-1) 0-0 0, Presley 1-2 0-0 2, Garcia 1-1 0-0 2, Ochs 0-0 2-2 2, Totals 13-46 (4-25) 7-10 37

WAC BOYS

Great Bend 5-0 15-1

Hays High 3-1 8-7

Dodge City 2-2 5-11

Garden City 1-3 3-12

Liberal 0-5 3-14

2-11—Lakin 77, Liberal 46

2-13—Great Bend 75, Dodge City 37

2-14—Great Bend at Garden City; Liberal at Hays

2-17—Hays at McPherson

PANTHERS 49, DODGE CITY 45 —  Great Bend's girls built a 14-point lead with spectacular basketball before surviving Dodge City's 3-point attack with a hard-fought 49-45 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory.

Alyssa McCauley, Meredith Mazouch and Cassie Ellegood each converted a pair of free throws to stop Dodge City's rally. McCauley converted 2 of 6 late, but made her final free throw for a 49-45 lead. 

The Panthers outscored the Red Demons 14-6 from the free throw line to offset Dodge City's 27-9 advantage from long range.

"Our girls wanted to win tonight," said Great Bend coach Jade Winter. "They weren't going to let Dodge take it away without a fight."

McCauley led the Panthers with a trio of 3-pointers, 14 points and several assists. 

McCauley dished to Ellegood and Chayla Prendergast for back-to-back assists and earned a hockey assist after a give-and-go pass from Ellegood to Meredith Mazouch.

Jillian Reimer scored a career high 11 points and slowed down Red Demon 3-point shooter Addisyn Taylor after halftime.

The Panthers built a 26-12 lead with dominant play before getting outplayed in the final 19 minutes.

"We needed to go out fast and continue to build on it," Winter said. "We got complacent because we were winning. We allowed them to scrap back."

Defending the 3-pointer has been a defensive flaw for the Panthers, but Reimer helped limit Taylor to one 3-pointer after three first-half trifectas.

Taylor scored 18 points and Emily Gutierrez added 13 points, as they combined for eight 3-pointers.

"Jill outworked whoever she guarded tonight," Winter said "She's one of our best defenders. She played hard on defense, denied and fought through screens. I'm glad her offensive game came alive."

The Panthers (5-11, 1-4 WAC) earned their first WAC victory and kept their hopes alive to move up from the 15th seed and avoid a first-round showdown with No. 4 ranked Hays High, the odds-on WAC champion.

Great Bend 18 11 6 14 — 49

Dodge City 5 16 9 15 — 45

GREAT BEND (5-11, 1-4) (FG 3 FT TP)—McCauley 4-7 (3-5) 3-8 14, Reimer 4-5 3-6 11, Ellegood 3-10 3-3 9, Prendergast 2-4 1-2 5, Bryant 2-7 0-0 4, Meredith Mazouch 1-4 2-2 4, Mayers 0-0 1-2 1, Katherine Mazouch 0-4 (0-1) 1-2 1, Totals 16-41 (3-6) 14-25 49

DODGE CITY (1-15, 0-4) (FG 3 FT TP)—Taylor 7-18 (4-12) 0-1 18, Gutierrez (4-11) 1-2 13, Piper Mellinger 3-9 (1-3) 4-5 11, Torrez 1-4 (0-1) 1-2 3; Bell 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Durler 0-1 0-0 0, Steiner 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 14-44 (9-28) 6-10 45

WAC GIRLS

Hays High 4-0 15-0

Liberal 4-1 12-5

Garden City 2-2 8-7

Great Bend 1-4 5-11

Dodge City 0-4 1-15

2-11—Liberal 67, Lakin 33

2-13—Great Bend 49, Dodge City 45

2-14—Great Bend at Garden City; Liberal at Hays

2-17—Hays at McPherson
Oilers lose third-place game to South Gray
SPT_LF_ Coaching timeDSC_47272.jpg
Coach Ryan talking to the oilers in the final game of the 1A DI state basketball championship against South Grey. - photo by Lori Farmer
Updated: Mar 17, 2025, 2:13 AM
Published: Mar 16, 2025, 1:28 AM
BY JIM MISUNAS jmisunas@gbtribune.com DODGE CITY — South Gray converted a trio of 3-pointers in the final minute of regulation and outlasted Central Plains 65-56 in overtime for third place in Saturday's 1A Division 1 state basketball tournament. The Rebels were down 49-44 and the Oilers converted 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute of regulation. But South Gray's Dyson Winfrey and Gavin Wahl made uncontested 3-pointers before Gavin Wahl made a tying 3-pointer despite hustling defense by Oiler Aiden Hekele. The Rebels' Gavin Wahl scored the first basket of overtime and South Gray converted 10 of 10 free throws for a 65-56 lead. The game finished with a unique twist after Hekele committed a foul with 14 seconds left in overtime. South Gray's Zachary Hendrickson was assessed a flagrant foul and ejected for shoving Hekele to the ground. After a brief discussion, game officials Ricci Tucker, Marty Steinert and Wyatt Dautel waved off the final four free throws and allowed the Oilers to inbound the basketball. Crites capped a superb sophomore season with 22 points. Hekele scored 15 points. Camden Stiles scored 11 points. The Oilers distributed 16 assists on 19 baskets. Crites dished out six assists South Gray's Gavin Wahl scored 17 points and Moore added 14 points. The Rebels converted 19 of 19 free throws. The intense battle featured 11 lead changes, eight in the first half. Central Plains took control with a 16-5 scoring burst for a 38-29 lead in the third quarter. Stiles, Crites and Hekele scored all 16 points. At that point, the Oilers had executed a near-perfect game plan guided by coach Michael Ryan. But the Rebels responded with a quick 13-4 burst fueled by a trio of 3-pointers for a 42-42 tie. Stiles converted a 3-pointer and Crites scored off a steal for a 49-44 lead. But the Rebels made their trio of 3-pointers for a 53-53 tie after four quarters. The Oilers return four starters and graduate Hekele, Logan Stroede and Ethan Grubb. Two-time state champion Central Plains (18-6) is 11-4 all-time at the state tournament. The Oilers lost 44-34 to eventual state champion Olpe in the 1A semifinals. Central Plains 13 15 12 13 3— 56 South Gray 11 13 13 16 12 — 65 CENTRAL PLAINS (18-6) (FG 3 FT TP)—Crites 8-15 (2-5) 4-4 22, Stiles 5-11 (4-8) 0-0 14, Hekele 4-9 (2-4) 5-6 15, Siemsen 2-6 (0-1) 1-2 5, Peyton Dody 0-1 0-0 0, Daniels 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-43 (8-19) 10-12 56 SOUTH GRAY (20-5) (FG 3 FT TP)—Gavin Wahl 4-14 (2-6) 7-7 19, Moore (2-8) 8-8 14, Winfrey 2-3 4-4 10, Briscoe 5-8 0-0 10, Cameron Wahl 3-4 (2-2) 0-0 8, Totals 18-43 (10-25) 19-19 65 Rebounds—CP 22 (Siemsen 9); SG 26 (G. Wahl 7). Assists—CP 16 (Crites 6); SG 13 (Moore 7). Steals—CP 4 (Crites 4); SG 3 (C. Wahl 2). Flagrant foul—Z. Hendrickson 1A DIV. 1 BOYS 3-15—1ST—Olpe 47, South Central 34; 3RD—South Gray 65, Central Plains 56 (OT); SEMIFINALS—Olpe 44, Central Plains 34; South Central 64, South Gray 49; FIRST ROUND—Olpe 57, Little River 53; Central Plains 54, Frankfort 44 (OT); South Central 52, Clifton Clyde 38; South Gray 66, Quinter 47 OILERS STATE (11-4) 2025—Oilers 54, Frankfort 22; Olpe 44, Oilers 34; 3RD—South Gray 65, Oilers 56 2019—Oilers 55, Macksville 30; Oilers 59, Caldwell 41; 1ST—Oilers 40, St. John 28 2018—Oilers 58, Inman 42; Oilers 58, Salina Sacred Heart 36; 1ST—Oilers 47, Pittsburg Colgan 34 2015—Oilers 67, Jackson Heights 42; Oilers 69, Olpe 44; 1ST—St. John 49, Oilers 45 2016—Oilers 77, Lawrence Seabury 56; Salina Sacred Heart 62, Oilers 52; 3RD—Oilers 56, Hill City 25 CLAFLIN STATE (6-12) 2007—Olpe 60, Claflin 44 2006—Claflin 61, Lebo 54; Claflin 70, Brewster 55; 1ST—Macksville 55, Claflin 45 2000—Macksville 67, Claflin 64 1993—Frankfort 72, Claflin 64 1992—Pike Valley 67, Claflin 57 1986—Northern Valley 80, Claflin 55 1985—Highland 60, Claflin 56 1984—Pretty Prairie 59, Claflin 42 1983—Oswego 47, Claflin 45 1980—Garden Plain 79, Claflin 53 1977—Claflin 60, Hutchinson Trinity 58; Lebanon 60, Claflin 58; 3RD—Claflin 68, Mankato 50 1956—Claflin 62, Oswego 52; Claflin 56, Pretty Prairie 48; 1ST—Inman 67, Claflin 66 QUIVIRA HEIGHTS STATE (4-5) 1999—Lebo 69, Quivira Heights 47 1995—Brewster 64, Quivira Heights 67 1989—Spearville 88, Quivira Heights 60 1983—Quivira Heights 55, Inman 50; Thayer 64, Quivira Heights 43; 3RD—Quivira Heights 45, Brewster 40 1917—Bushton 28, Potter 6; Bushton 30, Macksville 8; 1ST—Winfield 23, Bushton 21
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