Broncbusters win overtime thriller vs. Pratt

Pratt, KS-This could easily go down as the win of the year for Rusty Elmore's bunch. 

Buru Naivalurua and Boston Harker combined for 47 points, David Elliott added 19, and the 24^th-ranked Broncbusters topped Pratt, 94-90 in overtime Saturday afternoon at the Beaver Dome. It was Garden City's fourth straight win, improving to 19-7 overall and 14-7 in conference play while moving into a three-way tie for third with Butler and Barton. They are only one game back of second-place Coffeyville. 

"I have never been prouder of a team than I am today," Elmore said afterwards. "We were extremely shorthanded, and these guys found a way."

Using only a six-man rotation (Carter Davis only played two minutes), every Garden City starter scored in double figures. DaJion Humphrey finished with 17, and Logan Feltman, who started his first game of the season, tallied 11 in 36 minutes. The Broncbusters shot 51 percent from the floor, marking the 10^th time this season they hit 50 or better.

"Pratt is a really good team, and I was worried last night because we knew we were going to have to play our guys big minutes in this game," Elmore explained. "That's what makes this win even more satisfying."

The Beavers, which had four players in double figures led by Sterling Young and DJ Bailey, who each scored 18 points, shot 52 percent from the field and were 8-of-19 on 3s. They also turned 13 Broncbuster turnovers into 16 points and outscored Garden City's bench 39-0.  

Elmore's squad appeared to be running away with this one after Humphrey buried an 18-foot pullup to give the Broncbusters a 60-42 advantage with 14:34 remaining. But after a Pratt timeout, the Beavers stormed back with a 16-4 run to make it a six-point contest. After Garden City responded with seven straight points, the Beavers answered again. Quintin Metcalf hit a wide-open shot from the top of the key, Chidiebere Obichere connected from deep; then hit a foul-line jumper, and the Beavers had a 77-76 lead with 2:47 to go.  

Things looked bleak for Garden City down the stretch. They shot just 43 percent over the final 20 minutes and missed 10 of their 13 3-point attempts in the second half. But trailing by three in the final two minutes and with the shot clock winding down, Naivalurua swished a high-arching rainbow from 25 feet, tying the game at 79. After Metcalf hit two free throws on the other end to give Pratt a two-point edge with 1:01 left, Humphrey connected on a baseline shot over Quai Kellman, who bumped the sophomore transfer as he went up. Humphrey though missed the go-ahead free throw, and after Pratt squandered a chance to win the game on Metcalf's jumper that barely ticked iron, Logan Feltman grabbed the rebound and was fouled. But the freshman missed the front-end of a 1-and-1, sending the game into overtime.  

"We were resilient, that's for sure," Elmore said.  

That perseverance paid off in the extra frame as the Broncbusters scored the first four points to make it 85-81. But Pratt, like they did for much of the second half, refused to go away, and Young's off-balance 3-pointer from the left wing cut the Broncbuster lead to 91-90 with 15 seconds left. After Harker lost the ball out of bounds on Garden City's ensuing possession, the Beavers had a chance to steal the game. But Metcalf missed two shots in close, Elliott and Feltman combined to hit 3-of-4 free throws, and the Broncbusters won their second overtime conteset of the season.  

"The good thing is that we get Larry (Olayinka) back on Wednesday Elmore said. "And hopefully Jaborri (McGhee) right after that." 

McGhee, who missed the game with a bone bruise in his lower leg, could be back by next Saturday's showdown with Butler. Olayinka was serving the last part of a two-game suspension.  

The Broncbusters controlled the game for much of the afternoon. They sprinted out to a 9-1 advantage and took their first double-digit lead when Harker, who scored 17 points in the first half, canned a trey from the top of the key to make it 19-8 halfway through the first period. Elliott's fallaway 3-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer gave Garden City their largest edge of the frame, 46-34 going to the locker room.