By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A basket from senior Maddox Spray. Two deep threes from senior Carter Coombs. And an even later 3-pointer from sophomore Daxton Minton. The 11 Panther points scored in the final 79 seconds of Wednesday's Class 5A state opener against were an exercise in futility against an unbeaten Maize South team that made all 10 of its free throw attempts in the final eight minutes. Great Bend was never out of sight but fell to the Mavs 61-53 at White Auditorium in Emporia.
"They're good but our kids proved they can play with the No. 1 team in the state," said Panther coach Kyle Kriegh. "They're 22-0 and we're right there within two points twice in the third quarter. I think our kids deserve a lot of credit."
Great Bend trailed 26-18 at the half and fell further behind at 29-20 early in the third. Maize South's 6-5 senior Darius Felton picked up a fourth foul less than two minutes into the period and it was game on for the Panthers.
Sophomore Jacob Hall started things off with a three, then sophomore Ian Premer hit a jumper to cut the gap to 29-27 with 4:45 to play in the third. Free throws from freshman Cooper Ohnmacht kept the gap at 31-29 in a tightly-called frame. Maverick senior Jeron Askren started a Maize South run with a pair of baskets that ended with a 43-34 score with a quarter to play.
Ohnmacht made another free throw early in the fourth as Maize South piled up three fouls in under three minutes. But the Mavs were able to stretch things back out at the free throw line. Maize South made 20 of its 24 shots from the stripe in the game. Great Bend went 11-for-20 from the line.
"That's what we talked about as a coaching staff," Kriegh said. "We knew it'd be tough coming here and shooting pressure free throws. Hopefully, this experience helps us in the future."
Premer scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:54 remaining with the Panthers trailing 53-42. Felton and senior guard Michael Kates combined to go 8-for-8 from the line late in the game as the Panther offense warmed on the other end.
Maize South scored the first five points in the game before senior Maddox Spray pulled up with a jumper 67 seconds in. Spray scored four points in the opening frame but the Panthers still fell behind 19-8 after one quarter. Maverick senior Sammy Dresie had three putbacks in the quarter. Hall and Premer each scored four points in the second quarter as the Mavs maintained their 26-18 advantage into the half.
Felton scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in just 20 minutes of action for Maize South. Askren added 14 points, and Kates finished with 13 points.
Spray scored 10 points and grabbed six boards in his final game as a Panther. Six of those points came in the fourth quarter. Coombs finished nine points, including six in the final 42 seconds, and Hall scored eight points. Senior Parker Dicks scored four points, and Minton and Ohnmacht each finished with three points.
Great Bend finishes the season at 17-6. The Panthers say goodbye to just three seniors in Spray, Coombs, and Dicks.
"Awesome group of kids," Kriegh said. "Lots of time in the gym. I couldn't ask for anything more from those guys."