Garden City downs Labette; improves to 5-0

By Mike Pilosof

Dodge City, KS-Mohamed Diarra has done some serious work through five games for Garden City.

The nation's leading rebounder pulled down 23 more on Friday night and dropped in 19 points, Heru Bligen scored 21, and Garden City improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2017 with a 96-72 victory over Labette at the Student Activity Center. The Broncbusters, who are one of only four unbeatens left in the Jayhawk Conference, have beaten their five opponents by an average of 42 points. They are currently 11^th in the nation in scoring at 103.6 per game.

The Broncbusters stayed unbeaten despite a cold night from downtown. Bill Morosco's bunch finished just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc, but they won the rebounding battle 54-36 and grabbed 15 offensive boards that turned into 14 points. Garden City also got 41 points from its bench and dished out 16 assists on 37 made baskets.

This was not the cleanest game of the Morosco era. That was evident by the season-high 27 turnovers caused by Labette's constant trapping, which had the Broncbusters down by as many as 11 following Pierce Thomas's layup that made it 27-16 with 11:17 to play in the first half. But Garden City stormed back, utilizing a 34-9 run, which was capped by Bligen's driving layup and Micah Octave's two free throws that completed a 27-point swing in just under eight minutes that gave the Broncbusters a 50-34 edge. Bligen added two more freebies; then ducked underneath the rim for a reverse kiss off the glass while the defense suffocated the Cardinals, limiting them to just one field goal over the final 3:40 to take a 54-36 lead into the locker room.

Garden City kept the pressure on in the second half. Freshmen point guard Tone Hunter connected from 17 feet out, Bligen followed with a midrange jumper, Diarra rattled the rim with a two-handed flush coming off Octave's offensive rebound before powering one down with the right, giving the Broncbusters their largest lead of the night, 92-66 with 3:36 to go.

Bligen ripped down nine rebounds, and Diarra dished out team-best five assists for Garden City. Hunter scored 14 points in 37 minutes, and Zac Taylor added 16 off the bench.

Bryson Dennis was the lone Cardinal in double figures with 17 points on 6-of-13 from the field. The rest of the team however combined to go 23-of-79 (29 percent) from the floor.

Next up: Garden City vs. Neosho-Saturday, Nov. 13-2 p.m.