Broncbusters dominant in 17-point win over NW Tech

Garden City, KS-Back-to-back dominant performances by Garden City. 

Buru Naivalurua had 19 points, DaJion Humphrey and Jaborri McGhee combined for 31, and Garden City blew past Northwest Tech, 84-67 on Saturday night at Conestoga Arena. The Broncbusters have now won five out of their last six games, improving to 9-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play.  

Larry Olayinka, who started for the fourth time in the last five outings, finished with 12 points in 16 highly efficient minutes. He was one of four Broncbuster starters to score in double figures. 

"We got off to a slow start, but then we figured some things out," Head Coach, Rusty Elmore said. "Typical Broncbuster start though."

Just like Wednesday night when Seward County ripped off the first seven points, Garden City found themselves in a quick six-point hole to begin the game thanks to a pair of early turnovers. But after a 30-second timeout, Boston Harker hit a 3; then found Olayinka for a layup, McGhee got all the way to the rim, and Garden City was up one.  

"We just have to find a way to start games faster," Elmore said. "That's two games in a row that's happened." 

Garden City never trailed after that.   

Leading by two late in the first half, the Broncbusters closed the period on an 11-2 run. Logan Feltman and Boston Harker connected from deep, and David Elliott splashed a 25-footer as time expired to give Garden City a 43-32 halftime advantage.  

"If we fix the turnover issues, we might become a pretty good team," Elmore said. "But I thought, overall, our guys played pretty well today."

Despite 19 more giveaways on Saturday, the Broncbusters were never really challenged. McGhee's 3-pointer and two free throws followed by Olayinka's two-handed slam had Garden City up 63-45 with 8:52 to go. A few minutes later, Cooper Autry buried a triple from the left corner, and the Broncbusters led by 25.  

Garden City, which shot 51 percent from the floor, had 28 assists on their 30 made baskets. They were 11-of-24 (46 percent) from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Mavericks 37-24. The Broncbusters led for the final 35 minutes of the game.  

Keyishon Miller led Northwest Tech with 15 points, and Tiaden Conner chipped in 12.