BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
HUTCHINSON —Great Bend's Jacob Hall discovered a way to steal the spotlight from teammate Ian Premer with a perfect 18-point night on 7-of-7 field goals and 3-of-3 free throws in a dominating 78-51 opening basketball victory over Andover Central Friday.
"I was proud of myself for doing that," Hall said. "We showed good team chemistry. We were moving the basketball to teammates and got our plays going. We moved the ball at all times and kept moving on offense. If we get a good shot, we're going to take it."
Premer delivered a slam dunk for the first score and dominated the paint with three dunks in a brilliant 30-point effort off 13 of 15 shooting.
The 6-6 Premer and 6-2 Hall were a near-perfect tandem with 48 points and 20 of 22 shooting, including a 3-pointer by each player. Great Bend dominated with 27-of-35 shooting inside the 3-point stripe for a 77% clip. The Panthers shot 63% overall on 32 of 49 field goals.
"Jake flies under the radar," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "On another team without Ian Premer, he'd be the best player on the court and sometimes he's our best player. Jake and Ian have been going against each other since they were 6 years old."
The Jaguars closed within 25-19 on a pair of Sam Tamas field goals after four early 3-pointers. C.J. Allen scored 16 points and Tamas added 10 points.
But the Panthers restored order with a lightning quick 16-0 scoring run for a 41-19 lead. Hall scored 11 points, converting a 3-pointer and a 3-point play, twice off Ian Premer assists. Premer converted a 3-point play after Daxton Minton ignited the run with a layup and a steal off an inbounds play.
Great Bend slowed the Jaguars' attack with a mix of man and zone defenses, with a 1-3-1 look especially effective.
"We need to guard the 3-pointer better. Our 1-3-1 will be good, but we need all five guys on the same page," said Kriegh. "They're smart players who are coachable."
The Panthers' foursome of Hall, Ian Premer, Minton and Tavon Stroup converted 14-of-14 first-half field goals for a 41-21 halftime lead.
Cooper Ohnmacht joined the dunk party with a breathtaking leap of faith showing off his school-record vertical leaping ability.
"We've seen Cooper do that in practice," Kriegh said.
Andover Central 10 11 17 13 — 51
Great Bend 17 24 21 16 — 78
ANDOVER CENTRAL—Allen 5-16 (5-12) 1-1 16; Tamas 3-4 (1-1) 3-5 10; Green 2-10 (0-3) 1-2 5; Inslee 1-5 (1-2) 3-4 6 Gaouge 2-4 (1-2) 0-0 5; Bontrager 0-1 0-0 0; Maron 1-2 (0-1) 0-0 2; Hoepner 3-3 (1-1) 0-0 7; Totals 17-45 (9-22) 8-12 51.
GREAT BEND—Ian Premer 13-15 (1-1) 3-9 30; Jacob Hall 7-7 (1-1) 3-3 18; Ohnmacht 3-7 (2-6) 2-2 10; Stroup 4-8 (0-1) 0-0 8; Alec Premer 2-6 (1-4) 1-2 6; Minton 2-4 (0-1) 0-0 4; Wondra 1-1 0-0 2; Fanshier 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 32-49 (5-14) 9-16 78
ANDOVER CENTRAL GIRLS 41, GREAT BEND 23 — Great Bend's girls played scrappy defense, but a 23-point outing with 26 turnovers spoiled its season opener. Meredith Mazouch and Alex Mayers each scored five points. The Panthers converted 10 of 34 field goals.
After trailing 12-0 with 15 empty possessions, the Panthers outscored the Jaguars 13-9 to close within 21-13. Alex Mayers and Meredith Mazouch converted 3-pointers and Katherine Mazouch made a 3-point play off a Stevie Mayers assist.
Great Bend shut out the Jaguars in the fourth quarter until a last-second score was recorded.
"Our defensive aggressiveness was good at times. We stopped their drives and got in the passing lane," said Great Bend coach Jade Winter, who shook off a loose basketball that struck her on the sideline. "We finished defensive possessions with rebounds when they missed shots."
Andover Central converted a half-dozen 3-pointers for a 26-13 halftime lead that led to a 13-0 scoring run for a 34-13 lead Stevie Mayers ended the run on a Baze Hogan assist. The Panthers were outscored 24-6 on 3-pointers.
Jaguar Reese Wilborn scored 16 points with four 3-pointers.
"Once they made some early 3s, that gave them confidence," Winter said. "They live-and-die with the 3. They didn't hit the 3-pointers after halftime."
The Panthers committed 26 turnovers against the Jaguars' half-court pressure as Andover Central took advantage that aggressive defense was rewarded.
"It's hard to simulate seeing that in practice," Winter said. "We need to set better screens because we're entitled to that spot. We need to play more aggressive and get into each other's space."
Andover Central 12 14 13 2 — 41
Great Bend 2 11 4 6 — 23
ANDOVER CENTRAL—Wilborn 6 (4) 0-0 16, Converse 4 1-3 9, Tyner (2) 0-0 6; Unruh (1) 0-0 3; Cooper 1 0-0 2; Jacobs 1 0-0 2; Barcscewski (1) 0-0 3; Totals 16 (8) 1-2 41
GREAT BEND—Meredith Mazouch 2-6 (1) 0-0 5; Alex Mayers 2-3 (1) 0-0 5; McCauley 2-6 0-0 4; Katherine Mazouch 1-2 1-2 3; Stevie Mayers 1-3 0-2 2 Ringo 1-8 0-0 2; Prendergast 1-4 0-0 2; Hogan 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 10-34 (2) 1-3 23
