BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
KINGMAN — When Cooper Ohnmacht's 3-point play drew Great Bend within 43-37, the Panthers had their chance to chase down the upset-minded Haven Wildcats at the Eagle Basketball Classic.
Haven's 5-8 point guard Nash Wray put his foot on the pedal and left Panther defenders Daxton Minton, Ben Nicholson, Ian Premer, Jaxon Wondra and Ohnmacht in the dust on a 94-foot dash to the basket and a 3-point play for a 46-37 lead.
Wray finished off a vintage 16-point night with six free throws while drawing a charging call on Ohnmacht. Nash was tagged with a last-minute technical foul, but had the last laugh when he hoisted the Eagle Classic championship trophy after Haven's 53-41 victory over No. 5 ranked Great Bend.
The feisty Nash could've asked counterpart Daxton Minton about being snubbed on the All-Tournament team during their lively in-game debates. Nash, much like Minton, spent much of the night picking himself up after an inevitable collision. He coaxed the officials into allowing him to tie a shoe only for an official to remind him who was in charge.
Haven's Gatlin Rinehart and Dalton Bontrager earned all-tournament honors.
Haven slowed the Panthers' offense to a halfcourt game with a patented 1-3-1 defense, which Great Bend never exploited. The Wildcats bet heavily on the Panthers inability to convert outside shots, which paid dividends on Great Bend's 0-for-15 perimeter shooting.
The Wildcats (4-0) had no such issue with 8 of 17 outside shooting to outscore the Panthers 24-0 from long range. Five Wildcats converted 3-pointers as the Panthers elected to protect the paint rather than contest Haven's 3-point shooters.
Wray drilled the first 3-pointer as four Wildcats connected in an opening first-quarter salvo for a 15-6 lead.
"They hit some 3s, and letting them have that hurt us," said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh.
All-tournament Ian Premer led the Panthers with 16 points and all-tournament Minton chipped in eight points. Ohnmacht added nine points plus solid defense. The Panthers converted 16 of 22 field goals inside the 3-point line, 73%. But the lack of more shots inside the stripe with a 0% percent percentage from outside doomed the Panthers.
Great Bend made 16 of 37 field goals after averaging 67 points and more than 60 field goal attempts per game.
"We didn't stick to our game plan," Kriegh said. "We can be better."
The Panthers played lock-down defense to start the second half, but missed a golden opportunity with six turnovers on their first eight offensive possessions. Haven's Detrick Nisly and Brogan Wray converted 3-pointers to maintain a 36-24 lead after three quarters.
Kriegh commended reserve Jaxon Wondra for providing a spark with six points off the bench. Starter Jacob Hall (10 ppg) missed the game with a broken nose.
The Panthers (3-1) play Emporia Tuesday and travel to Pratt Friday.
Haven 15 11 8 19 — 53
Great Bend 6 11 7 17 — 41
HAVEN (4-0) (FG 3 FT TP)—Nash Wray 4-11 (2-6) 6-7 16; Rinehart 3-8 (2-3) 3-4 11; Bontrager 2-4 2-2 6; Nisly (2-4) 0-0 6; Brogan Wray 1-4 (1-3) 2-2 5; Richey 2-4 0-0 4; Jacques (1-1) 1-2 4; Patry 0-0 1-4 1; Totals 15-36 (8-17) 15-21 53
GREAT BEND (3-1) (FG 3 FT TP)—Ian Premer 6-11 (0-4) 4-6 16; Ohnmacht 3-8 (0-4) 3-3 9; Minton 4-5 (0-1) 0-1 8; Nicholson (0-3) 2-2 2; Somers 0-1 0-0 0; Reed 0-4 (0-1) 0-0 0; Wondra 3-4 (0-1) 0-0 6; Alec Premer (0-1) 0-0 0; Totals 16-37 (0-15) 9-12 41
ALL-TOURNAMENT--Haven (Gatlin Rinehart, Dalton Bontrager); Great Bend (Ian Premer, Daxton Minton); Sterling (Blake Smith, Boston Ekart); Meade (Samuel Lynn); Kingman (Ben Bradshaw)
KINGMAN BOYS—1ST—Haven 53, Great Bend 41; 3RD—Sterling 64, Meade 44; 5TH—Kingman 58, Clearwater 47; POOL PLAY A—Great Bend 62, Sterling 61; Meade 67, Kingman 44; Great Bend 69, Clearwater 22; Sterling 80 Clearwater 34; POOL PLAY B—Haven 62, Meade 37; Haven, Kingman; Meade, Kingman
