Broncbusters crush New Mexico Military on opening night

Roswell, NM-It's only one game, but the Broncbusters looked sharp on opening night. 

DaJion Humphrey scored 25 points, Buru Naivalurua added 19 and nine boards, and Garden City roared past New Mexico Military, 96-80 Tuesday night at Cahoon Gymnasium. 

"To come in here and play in this type of environment in the first game of the season and play the way that we did is pretty impressive," Head Coach, Rusty Elmore said afterwards. 

Garden City shot a blistering 54 percent form the field and was 12-of-23 (52 percent) on 3's. They dished out 21 assists on their 31 made baskets and turned 18 Bronco turnovers into 19 points. 

"It wasn't perfect, but it's a good way to start," Elmore added. 

The Broncbusters trailed for all of 1:28. In fact, right from the jump, they were the aggressor when Central Michigan transfer, Aundre Polk whipped a pass to Naivalurua, who spun to the rim before flushing home a two-handed jam on the games' first possession. Less than a minute later Polk swished a 3-pointer form the wing followed by a nifty Naivalurua layup to make it 7-4. 

"I really liked our intensity level," Elmore said.

New Mexico Military, which was coming off an 18-win campaign in 2021-22, took its lone lead of the night when Jonathan Burroughs buried a 3-pointer in transition five minutes into the contest. But David Elliott, who played in five games last year at Loyola Marymount, swished two free throws, Polk nailed another 3, and Naivalurua canned an open jump shot to put Garden City up, 19-13. Logan Feltman, who originally signed at Colby before following Elmore to Garden City, got to the rim for 2, Elliott connected on a long ball; then made four straight free throws, and Humphrey dropped in two freebies, capping off an 18-2 spurt that had the Broncbusters ahead, 30-15 with 7:30 left in the half.  

"I thought David got us going in that first half," Elmore said. "He handled their pressure really well."

Elliott stole the show over the first 20 minutes, and his emphatic dunk off a spinning drive from the top of the key with 1:09 left drew plenty of oohs and aahs from the cadets who packed the newly renovated Cahoon Gym. That was followed by a Jaborri McGhee jam and a Feltman lay-up at the buzzer, putting the Broncbusters up by 16 at the break. 

"In the second half, I don't think we handled their pressure as well, but a big reason for that is losing David," Elmore added. 

Elliott, who finished the night with 17 points in 21 minutes, was ejected with 12 minutes to go when the official said he stepped onto the floor. His last contribution of the night: a 15-foot jumper that gave the Broncbusters a 67-41 advantage with 13:14 to play. 

"We've got a quick turnaround," Elmore stated. "In 48 hours, we've got Frank Phillips coming to our place."

Feltman poured in 15 points, had two blocks, and four rebounds for Garden City. Boston Harker chipped in six points and a game-high seven assists in 38 minutes. 

Yanis Ndjonga paced New Mexico Military with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Quentin Bolton posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.