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.
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.
LIBERAL GIRLS 67, PANTHERS 40 — Second verse, same as the first.
Liberal's girls triggered a running clock for the second time against the Great Bend girls with a dominating 67-40 Western Athletic Conference basketball victory. Liberal won the first meeting 73-44.
Liberal standout Shamari Lewis cruised through with 17 points and several steals that led to layups. Kylie Rhine busted loose for a 14-point first quarter before missing six consecutive shots.
At times, Great Bend's defense performed superbly with nine blocked shots. DeShawnna Bryant contributed nine points with several assists and steals. Cassie Ellegood showed progress with an 8-point night, and several blocks and steals.
The Panthers did a commendable job driving the ball to the basket. But 14 of 28 free throw shooting prevented the Panthers from making the final score closer.
Liberal's full-court defense overwhelmed the Panthers in the first period en route to a 29-10 lead. The Redskins attacked the basket and converted 19 of 26 free throws.
Great Bend (4-11, 0-4 WAC) finished with 25 turnovers.
"It's hard to simulate that pressure in practice," said Great Bend coach Jade Winter, who earned style points wearing a eye-popping red coat. "When you have a tall girl on the press, that's hard to simulate."
A familiar script saw the Panthers adjust agaunst a team that plays a physical style.
"Liberal fouled us, but we hit 50% on free throws,' she said. "We showed we can't let teams shove us around. Our goal is to be aggressive without fouling."
It's Dodge City or bust Tuesday with the Red Demons (1-14, 0-3) also winless in WAC action.
WAC GIRLS
Hays High 4-0 15-0
Liberal 4-1 11-5
Garden City 2-2 8-6
Dodge City 0-3 1-14
Great Bend 0-4 4-11
2-4—Hays 64, Sunrise 43; Garden City 54, Dodge City 29; Liberal 54, Hooker, Okla. 47
2-7—Liberal 67, Great Bend 40; Hays High 63, Dodge City 19; Garden City at Woodward, Okla.
