Unselfish attack leads Broncbusters past Kansas Wesleyan
By Mike Pilosof
Garden City, KS-Through four game games, the Broncbusters have had no problems scoring the basketball.
Not much changed on Tuesday night.
Theo Holloway, Jeff Otchere and Elvis Harvey each tallied 14 points as Garden City bullied Kansas Wesleyan 97-75 at Conestoga Arena to improve to 4-0.
"That was a pretty good shooting team we faced tonight," Broncbusters Head Coach Brady Trenkle said afterwards. "We knew they were pretty good."
Kansas Wesleyan drilled 10-of-18 from 3 on the night and were 7-of-12 over the final 20 minutes. But the Coyotes were no match for the Broncbusters unselfish, balanced attack.
Garden City dished out a season-best 23 assists on 35 made field goals while 11 different players scored.
"We still haven't done a good job of being consistent," Trenkle said. "But it's a win, so we will take it."
Truth be told, this game was never in doubt. After Kansas Wesleyan pulled to within 12-10 early in the first half, the Broncbusters blitzed them by shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor while closing the frame on a 39-18 run to take a 23-point advantage into the break.
The lead swelled to as many as 35 in the second half following Jeff Otchere's thunderous slam with 12:10 left in the game. It was one of three dunks for the freshman over the final 20 minutes.
"Jeff's wingspan is amazing," Trenkle said. "We see what that guy can do in practice every day, so nothing surprises us."
Jamir Thomas recorded his second double-double of the season, totaling 13 points and 11 rebounds in 17 minutes. He was 4-of-6 shooting and was one of four Broncbusters in double figures.
"We have a young group, but a lot of these guys can score," Trenkle added. "It's a really fun group."
Russhard Cruckshank put up his most complete game of the season, scoring eight points, pulling down two boards and dishing out five dimes in a team-high 25 minutes. Garden City outscored the Coyotes 44-10 in the paint and tallied 22 points off of 13 Kansas Wesleyan turnovers.
Next up: Garden City at Butler-Saturday, Nov. 11-7:30 p.m. on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app