The Great Bend Panthers will be staying on the road on Friday to face off against the Liberal Redskins at 7:30 p.m. on February 2nd. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
Last Friday, Great Bend came up short against the Indians and fell 59-47. Great Bend has not had much luck with the Indians recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
Meanwhile, Liberal was beaten by the Bulldogs 75-37 on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, Liberal can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 191st in Kansas, while the Bulldogs are ranked 28th in Oklahoma).
Despite the defeat, Liberal got a solid performance out of Zayden Martinez, who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Martinez hasn't dropped below two steals for four straight games. Another player making a difference was J. Brooks Kappelmann, who scored four points along with eight rebounds.
Great Bend's record now sits at 9-5. Liberal's record is now 5-9.
Great Bend strolled past the Redskins in their previous meeting back in February of 2023 by a score of 74-56. Does Great Bend have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Redskins turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
