But Spray and Premer went back to work by combining for 11 consecutive Panther points for a 51-39 lead. Council fed Spray on a nifty assist.
“Thank goodness Maddox (Spray) was here tonight,” said Great Bend coach Kyle Kriegh. “He attacked the basket and brought some energy. Ian always does dirty work and gets some boards. Every time Braylon shoots, you think it’s going in. He knows what a good shot is.”
Manhattan Home School (11-3) was paced by Cody Schurle with 21 points and Wertenberger and Aden Mericle added nine apiece. Panther Maddox Spray frustrated leading scorer Grant Amerin to zero field goals and four missed free throws through three quarters.
Overall, Kriegh believed it wasn’t the Panthers’ best intensity or quality of play.
“Moving into the next round we’re happy about. Maybe we were overlooking them. We were passive and it showed. They were well coached and played well. They know how to win. I don’t think anybody sitting on our bench was happy with how we played. There were 50-50 balls they outhustled us.”
Great Bend (5-5) will meet Wichita Collegiate (10-0) in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal.
Great Bend captured its eighth Bluestem championship in 2020 in coach Tim Brooks’ greatest game. They shocked the 3A Spartans 60-35 as Dalton Miller held future Kansas Jayhawk standout Gradey Dick to 12 consecutive missed field goals. The Panthers outscored the Spartans 39-0 from 3-point range.
Great Bend 18 12 10 25 – 65
Manhattan Home 13 9 11 19 – 54
GREAT BEND (5-5)—Premer 7-12 6-7 21, Spray 8-16 12 18, Council 4-8 2-2 13, Dicks 1-1 0-0 3, Stuhlsatz 2-5 0-0 4, Scheuerman 1-4 0-2 2, Hall 0-1 0-0 0, Coombs 1-4 0-0 2, Totals 25-52 9-13 65
MANHATTAN HOME (11-3)—Grant Amerin 7, Aden Merrick 9, Schurle 21, Wertenberger 9, Schrader 8
3-pointers—GB 6-18 (Council 3-6, Dicks 1-1, Spray 1-3, Premer 1-3, Stuhlsatz 0-1, Scheuerman 0-2, Coombs 0-2); MH 4 (Schurle 2, Wertenberger 1, Amerin 1)WICHITA COLLEGIATE 58, GODDARD 43 – Wichita Collegiate rolled past the Goddard Lions 58-43 keyed by a 20-5 run in the fourth quarter.
Goddard trailed 27-23 at halftime behind 14 of 18 free throws. AJ Batiste and Jaden Parker each scored 14 points. Goddard’s Nick Rogers scored 15 points.
Goddard 13 10 12 8 — 43
Collegiate 20 7 12 19 — 58
GODDARD (3-6)—Rogers 4 6-8 15, Bay 4 1-3 10, Jasnaski 2 2-4 6, Healy 1 2-2 4, Durbin 2 0-0 4, Davis 1 0-0 2, Sell 1 0-0 2, Totals 15 11-17 43
COLLEGIATE (10-0)—Batiste 6 0-0 14, Parker 6 2-3 14, Rasberry 4 0-0 10, Hines-Turner 4 0-0 8, Shackleford 1 0-0 3, Fair 1 0-0 2, Ahmad 1 0-0 2, Drumright 0 1-2 1, Totals 24 5-8 58
3-pointers—G (Rogers 1, Bay 1); WC 5 (Batiste 2, Rasberry 2, Shackelford 1)
ARKANSAS CITY 61, WICHITA TRINITY 40 — Arkansas City’s Cadon Clark scored 16 points and Welch added 13 points. Jacob Wuthnow led Trinity with 14 points.
Trinity 5 13 13 9—40
Ark City 19 11 19 12—61
WICHITA TRINITY (4-6)—Wuthnow 6 0-0 14, Roberson 4 0-0 11, Zimmerman 2 0-0 5, Draper 2 0-0 5, Wertenberger 1 0-0 3, Shaffer 1 0-0 2, Totals 16 0-0 40
ARKANSAS CITY (5-5)—Clark 6 3-3 16, Welch 6 0-1 13, Pierce 5 0-0 10, Frazier 3 2-3 8;, Abrams 2 0-0 6, Pierce 1 2-2 4, Brantley 1 2-2 4, Totals 24 9-11 61
3-pointers—AC 4 (Abrams 2, Clark 1, Welch 1); WT 8 (Roberson 3, Wuthnow 2, Zimmerman 1, Draper 1, Wertenberger 1)
EL DORADO BLUESTEM CLASSIC
THURSDAY—Kapaun Mt. Carmel def. El Dorado; Arkansas City 61, Wichita Trinity 40; Wichita Collegiate 58, Goddard 43; Great Bend 65, Manhattan Home School 54
FRIDAY—El Dorado 2-7 vs. Wichita Trinity 4-6, 2:30; Manhattan Home School 11-3 vs. Goddard 3-6, 4:15; Semifinals, Collegiate 10-0 vs. Great Bend 5-5, 6; Kapaun Mt. Carmel 10-1 vs. Arkansas City, 5-5, 7:45
SATURDAY—1ST—4:15; 3RD—2:30; 5TH—12:30; 7TH—11 a.m