BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
If first impressions mean anything, Great Bend's boys basketball team is must-see entertainment.
The Panthers free-wheeling style was ignited by impeccable pressure defense that sparked a dominating 71-44 non-league victory over Salina South Friday at the Fieldhouse.
An appreciative home crowd saw Cooper Ohmacht feed all-league Ian Premer, who drove home a slam dunk for back-to-back baskets to start the season. Premer scored 27 points off 12-of-16 shooting.
Ian Premer made it a family affair when he rebounded the first varsity attempt by his freshman brother Alec into a 3-point play off a rebound. Jaxon Wondra delivered a memorable first varsity point with a banked-in free throw.
Ian Premer later passed around his good will with an assist to Ben Nicholson for a slam dunk and 20-10 lead.
"It was awesome to get a dunk after Ian set me up," said Nicholson, who scored 11 points.
The Panthers disrupted the Cougars with an effective halfcourt trap that created eight first-quarter Cougar turnovers. Defensive specialist Izaeh Reed drew three charging fouls. Ohnmacht used his quickness for several steals.
"Our guys played well. It was good to see the guys execute," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. "It's cool to see them have fun."
The Cougars slowed the Panthers with an effective zone defense that keyed an 11-2 scoring run to close within 35-26 at halftime.
Kriegh said the Panthers were able to attack the zone with drives and good interior passing. Jacob Hall helped balance Premer's scoring with a crisp 13-point outing.
"We got the ball inside with some drives," he said. "We can do a lot of good things when Jacob Hall catches in the right spots."
Great Bend converted 8 of 12 shots in the third quarter for a 57-33 lead. The Panthers re-established second-half control to extend their lead to 68-38 to trigger a running clock with 4:20 left.
Great Bend committed two second-half turnovers. The Panthers converted 30 of 50 field goals for 60%, 28 of 41 (68%) inside the 3-point stripe.
Salina South's Jace Humphrey converted a trio of 3-pointers for 14 points and Gavin DeVoe and Sawyer Walker each added nine points. The Cougars made 14 of 37 field goals with 14 turnovers.
Great Bend (1-0) plays 2A Sterling Tuesday at the Kingman Tournament.
Salina South 19 20 15 3 — 57
Great Bend 8 6 3 3 — 20
SALINA SOUTH (0-1)—(FG 3 FT TP)—Humphrey 4-11 (3-7) 3-4 14, Augustine 0-1 0-0 0, Wilcox 0-2 (0-1) 1-2 1, Henley 1-2 3-4 5, DeVoe 3-5 3-5 9, Rassette 0-1 (0-1) 0-0 0, Walker 3-9 (3-8) 0-0 9, Small 2-5 (0-1) 0-0 4, Curtis 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 14-37 (6-18) 10-15 44
GREAT BEND (1-0)—(FG 3 FT TP)—Ian Premer 12-16 3-4 27, Nicholson 5-14 (1-5) 0-0 11, Ohnmacht 3-6 (0-1) 0-0 6, Reed 2-2 0-0 4, Minton 1-2 1-3 3, Stroup 1-1 0-0 2, Hall 5-6 (0-1) 3-6 13, Wondra 0-0 2-2 2, Somers 1-2 (1-1) 0-0 3, Alec Premer 0-1 (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 30-50 (2-9) 9-15 71
Salina South 10 16 7 11— 44
Great Bend 20 15 22 14 — 71
