BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
It was deja vu for Great Bend's No. 4 ranked Panthers.
Hesston snapped the Panthers' 14-game winning streak 54-40 Tuesday to ruin Great Bend's Senior Night for its first loss since Dec. 14. The well-coached Swathers outplayed and outexecuted the Panthers.
The loss was an instant replay of Great Bend's 53-41 loss to Central Kansas League member Haven at the Kingman Tournament.
The Swathers outscored the Panthers 18-3 on 3-pointers. They controlled the game's tempo with a patient offense and superb defense that held the Panthers to 15 of 48 field goals (31%). Hesston shot 17 of 34 (50%) and converted 6 of 16 3-pointers. More importantly, Hesston shut down the Panthers' fast-break transition game.
Hesston's 3A all-stater Reed Friesen outplayed counterpart Ian Premer with 18 points, double digit rebounding and a pair of 3-pointers. Premer, recovering from an ankle sprain, lacked his normal lift, but hustled for 14 points, four on offensive boards. Hesston collapsed defensively on Premer and checked him off the offensive boards.
The Panthers were a step off, a step behind all night. After a 23-23 halftime tie, Hesston took total command with 9 of 12 shooting to build a 48-32 lead. The Panthers started the second half scoring on one of eight offensive possessions.
"It was recipe for disaster, a lot of things," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. ". It was an ugly one. We were a step behind and short on most of our shots. We didn't make free throws and gave up wide open 3s."
Four Swathers knocked down 3-pointers with eight players scoring.
"Hesston does a nice job moving the basketball," Kriegh said. "They deserve credit, but we've got to do a better job playing defense. We've got to communicate a lot more."
The night started with Panther Ben Nicholson throwing down a dunk, but he quickly departed with two fouls. The Panthers started missing 3-pointers at the outset. Daxton Minton converted a 3-pointer, but the Panthers missed 13 tries from long range. Later on, Izeah Reed was shaken up and missed valuable time when he landed in the stands while trying to save the basketball.
Jacob Hall chipped in 12 points, but no Panther shot better than 50% from the field. Great Bend also misfired on unguarded free throws, converting 9 of 21 charity tosses.
"Hesston plays good defense. There's a reason why they win games," Kriegh said. "Our big guys, Ian and Jacob, competed inside with 14 and 12. The difference was on the perimeter. They made 3s and we didn't make free throws."
Great Bend (17-2, 7-0 WAC) owns the best record in the 5A West, but head to Hays (12-7, 6-1 WAC) as a road underdog facing the prospect of a 2-game losing streak heading to postseason play next week.
"We've got to be tough and play through things," Kriegh said. "Weve got to do things that got us through our first 18 games. Hays will play us tough. They'll be ready."
Hesston 11 12 19 12 — 54
Great Bend 11 12 7 10 — 40
HESSTON (18-2) (FG 3 FT TP)—Friesen 5-8 (2-2) 6-8 18, Deutschendorf 2-6 (0-1) 4-6 8, Unruh 2-5 (0-2) 1-2 5, Lumberas 2-4 (1-3) 0-0 5, Humphreys (1-2) 0-0 3, Gonzalez 1-2 (0-1) 0-0 2, Bartell -2 3-4 7, Larson (2-5) 0-0 6, Totals 17-34 (6-16) 14-20 54
GREAT BEND (17-2) (FG 3 FT TP)—Ian Premer 6-16 (0-3) 2-5 14, Jacob Hall 4-9 (0-3) 4-4 12, Nicholson 2-4 (0-1) 3-6 7, Reed 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Minton 1-10 (1-5) 0-0 3, Strup 1-2 0-2 2, Ohnmacht 1-5 (0-1) 0-4 2, Totals 15-48 (1-14) 9-21 40
Technical—Ian Premer
SWATHER GIRLS 66, PANTHERS 32 — Great Bend's girls (6-13) started a 3-game schedule facing a trio of unbeaten state-ranked powers with a 66-32 setback to No. 1 ranked Hesston, last year's 3A state runner-up.
Hesston's Missouri State commit Kendal Brueggen scored 24 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Brueggen glided past the Panther defense while dishing off several assists. Jacy Proctor scored 13 points and Abby Proctor added nine points. The Swathers (20-0) converted 28 of 52 field goals (54%) with an effective transition game fueled by 21 Panther turnovers..
There were a few bright spots for the Panthers, who were outmatched skillwise. The Panthers hustled from start-to-finish and made the Swathers work for their points.
Cassie Ellegood continued a strong late-season surge with a team leading seven points, several steals and an assist. Hard-charging DeShawnna Bryant hustled for six points with an assist and a steal. Most Panther baskets were hard earned off a nifty assist or solid ball movement.
"Cassie brought momentum after Dodge City and put up some points in our last home game," said Great Bend coach Jade Winter. "I told the girls they played hard tonight. The girls gave it their all. We went after loose balls and tried to contain Hesston."
The Panthers' gauntlet continues at Hays High (19-0) Friday and will continue next week against either Hays or Topeka Seaman (18-0).
"Our next two games aren't any easier," Winter said. "We've got to try and build off this game on what we did correctly and learn from our mistakes and correct them."
Hesston 15 24 23 4 — 66
Great Bend 5 13 7 5 — 32
HESSTON (20-0) (FG 3 FT TP)—Brueggen 11-16 (2-4) 0-0 24, Jacy Proctor 5-8 3-4 13, Abby Proctor 2-5 (1-3) 4-4 9, Mason 4-6 0-2 8, Yoder 2-3 (0-1) 0-0 4, Krehbiel 1-1 0-0 2, Grilliot 1-3 0-0 2, Magill 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 1-4 (0-1) 0-0 2, Lehman 0-3 0-0 0, Warden (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 28-52 (3-12) 7-10 66
GREAT BEND (6-13) (FG 3 FT TP)—Ellegood 3-11 (0-1) 1-2 7, Bryant 2-6 (0-1) 2-4 6, Reimer 2-5 (1-2) 0-0 5, Harbaugh 1-4 2-2 4, McCauley (1-5) 1-2 4, Prendergast 1-1 0-0 2, Mayers 1-6 (0-3) 2-2 4, Katherine Mazouch 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Meredith Mazouch (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 11-41 (2-14) 8-12 32
2 Topeka Seaman 17-0 vs. 15 Great Bend 6-13; 7 Hutchinson 13-5 vs. vs. 10 Salina South 10-9
