BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

It was Izeah Reed's night to shine as the Winter Homecoming King scored 10 points in a 78-41 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory over Liberal.

Standout Ian Premer contributed 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Ben Nicholson delivered 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jacob Hall scored 11 points as four starters scored in double figures.

"We were good all-around with four guys in double figures," Premer said. "We knew we had to come with aggression."

The No. 5 ranked Panthers (14-1, 4-0 WAC) won their 11th consecutive game, eighth in a row over Liberal (3-13, 0-5 WAC). 

To say it was a zany night would be an understatement.

Nicholson was tagged with a technical for a verbal comment. Daxton Minton was slapped with a technical for clapping his hands. The Panthers' student crowd backed Minton by also clapping their hands together. Minton had the misfortune drawing blood after skinning his elbow, forcing him to take off his patented undershirt that protects his arms.

Premer converted a dunk that didn't count, missed a dunk and converted a late-game rebound dunk after making six consecutive dunks at Liberal. On free throws, he shot an airball, fired one off the backboard and finally converted a charity toss. 

Premer's wild night featured 15 of 19 field goals and 12 second-chance points. The Panthers' 2-point accuracy was 73% on 33 of 45 attempts. Nicholson made a 3-pointer as the Panthers made 1 of 9 attempts. Great Bend scored 18 second-chance points off 18 offensive boards.

"With offensive rebounding, you've got to want to do it," Premer said. "We're a big, athletic team."

The Panthers erased any thoughts of a Liberal upset with a superb 26-5 start off 11 of 17 first-quarter shooting. When the Panthers missed, they simply converted the offensive rebound for two points.

Great Bend's defense applied ball pressure and dominated the game inside the paint. Liberal attempted 26 3-pointers and 23 2-pointers.

Liberal's flashy Jakyree Washington provided a spark with a trio of 3-pointers and a big smile after trading barbs with the Panther students. James Fieser added 11 points.

After building a 30-point plus lead, Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh was dissatisfied with several turnovers that cast a shadow on 15 of 23 second-half shooting.

"We have the same expectations no matter who is playing," Kriegh said. "We had four turnovers in a row that third quarter."

The Panthers take their show on the road to Dodge City and Garden City next week, weather permitting.

 Liberal 5 17 13 6 — 41

Great Bend 26 20 24 8 — 78

LIBERAL (3-13, 0-5) (FG 3 FT TP)—Washington (3-9) 3-3 12, Fieser 5-15 (0-4) 1-4 11, Porras 0-0 1-4 1, Holman 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Hernandez 1-7 (0-3) 2-4 4, Cotter 1-2 (0-1) 4-4 6, Diego 2-10 (1-7) 0-0 5, Gonzalez 1-4 (0-1) 0-0 2, Totals 13-49 (4-26) 11-19 41

GREAT BEND (14-1, 4-0)—Ian Premer 15-19 1-4 31, Nicholson 7-8 (1-2) 4-5 19, Jacob Hall 4-8 (0-2) 3-4 11, Reed 5-7 0-4 10, Minton 1-4 (0-2) 0-2 2, Stroup 1-3 (0-1) 1-2 3, Ethan Somers (0-1) 0-0 0, Wondra 1-1 0-0 2, Stuhlsatz 0-1 0-0 0, 0, Jose Silva Castillo (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 34-54 (1-9) 9-21 78

Technical fouls—Nicholson, Minton

WAC BOYS

Great Bend 4-0 14-1

Hays High 3-1 8-7

Dodge City 2-1 5-10

Garden City 1-3 3-11

Liberal 0-5 3-13

2-7—Great Bend 78, Liberal 41; Hays High 61, Dodge City 44; Garden City at Woodward, Okla.