BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

After getting outscored 18-0 on 3-pointers, Great Bend 's basketball team trailed Hays High 27-24 in an electric showdown for first place in the Western Athletic Conference.

Panther point guard Daxton Minton delivered a momentum-shifting second half with a trio of 3-pointers that sparked the Panthers' 64-52 victory over the defending WAC champions. Minton converted a pair of his patented set shot 3-pointers around Ben Nicholson's 3-pointer for a 35-27 lead.

Minton made a third 3-pointer and scored 13 second-half points to key a crucial 27-10 scoring burst that was capped by Ian Premer's first slam dunk for a 51-37 lead over the Indians before a raucous near capacity home crowd. Premer scored 26 points with 11 rebounds and two slam dunks before a crowd that featured Kansas State head football coach Chris Klieman.

"Coach 'K' told us to play with confidence and believe in yourself," Minton said. "I took that to heart. It feels good to see that first shot go down. My teammates could see I was 'feeling it.' They got me the ball."

Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh saw the Panthers convert 4 of 7 second-half 3-pointers after an 0-for-9 first half from the perimeter. The Panthers made 17 of 26 second-half field goals in a 40-point second half behind excellent ball movement and a quicker pace.

"We wanted to getting good shots and that comes down to swinging the basketball," Kriegh said. "That first half, we played too much 'iso' ball rather than work together."

The Indians' defensive game plan of collapsing on Premer and enticing the Panthers into launching 3-pointers worked for a half. The Panthers made 9 of 27 field goals (33%).

Kriegh knew the Panthers would have to prove they could make a perimeter shot to beat the Indians' defense.

"Hays was sagging off our perimeter shooters," Kriegh said. "Dax did a great job. He was our spark tonight. We shot the ball better and believed in what we were doing."

No. 4 state-ranked 5A Great Bend (13-1, 3-0 WAC) takes charge of the WAC and hands Hays (7-6, 2-1 WAC) its first league loss with a 23-10 third quarter edge.

"We'll let this sink in and celebrate this victory," Kriegh said. "We played some of the best minutes we've played all season. Hopefully, we can continue that trend." 

Hays sharpshooter Tiger Johnson and Dawson Ruder combined for six first-half 3-pointers for a 27-24 halftime lead. Johnson and Ruder each scored 17 points. The Indians made 2 of 10 3-pointers after halftime  and 8 of 28 second-half field goals against improved defense.

"We get everybody's best shot," Minton said. "Coach told us to see where the shooters were and get a hand in their face."

Hays High 12 15 10 15 — 52

Great Bend 11 13 23 17 — 64

HAYS HIGH (7-6, 2-1)—Johnson 5-11 (5-9) 2-2 17, Ruder 6-13 (2-3) 3-4 17, Cano 4-11 (1-5) 1-2 11, Fox 0-3 1-4 1, Lindenmeyer 1-3 (0-1) 0-0 2, Oakley 2-8 (0-2) 1-3 5, Totals 18-50 (8-21) 8-15 52

GREAT BEND (13-1, 3-0)—Ian Premer 11-16 (0-3) 4-7 26, Minton 5-8 (3-5) 1-3 14, Nicholson 5-12 (1-5) 0-0 11, Hall 2-9 (0-2) 3-6 7, Stroup 2-3 0-0 4, Reed 1-5 0-2, Totals 26-53 (4-16) 8-16 64

Technical foul—Hall

HAYS GIRLS 65, PANTHERS 39  The No. 2 ranked 5A Hays High's girls trailed 9-2 keyed by a flawless start by the Panthers.

The unbeaten Indians responded with a brilliant stretch of perfection with a shocking 35-1 scoring run for a 36-10 lead. By halftime, the Indians (13-0, 3-0 WAC) led 42-15 before coasting home.

The Panthers (4-10, 0-4 WAC) faced a running clock for the third time in three WAC games, but Alyssa McCauley (14 points) and DeShawnna Bryant (12) enjoyed season-best efforts against the WAC's strongest basketball team.

McCauley converted 4-of-4 on 3-pointers. Bryant attacked aggressively inside, using well-crafted bank shots for five field goals against a powerful frontline.

Hays High 18 24 16 7 — 65

Great Bend 9 6 13 11 —39

HAYS HIGH (13-0, 3-0)—Schmeidler 6-12 (3-6) 0-0 15, Linenberger 5-12 2-4 12, Martin 4-9 (1-3) 2-2 11, Kenlee Winter (2-4) 1-2 7, Armbruster (1-3) 0-0 3, Dreher 1-1 2-2 4, Kanak 1-1 3-4 5, Buckles 2-7 2-2 6, Humphrey 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Zoe Winter 0-4 2-2 2, Totals 22-54 (7-17) 14-16 65

GREAT BEND (4-10, 0-4)—McCauley 4-5 (4-4) 2-4 14, Bryant 5-12 2-2 12, Ellegood 2-7 (0-1) 1-2 5, Meredith Mazouch 1-4 0-0 2, Reimer 0-4 (0-1) 0-0 0, Harbaugh 1-1 0-0 2, Siefkes 1 0-0 2, Prendergast 1-3 0-2 2, Mayers 0-2 0-0 0, Katherine Mazouch 0-2 (0-1) 0-0, Totals 15-41 (4-7) 5-10 39