Otero uses strong second half to surge past Garden City

Garden City, KS-It was a second half to forget. 

Felipe Carter scored 12 of his team-best 18 points over the final 20 minutes, Anthony Harris Jr. added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Otero outscored Garden City 42-20 in the second half en route to a 64-49 victory at Conestoga Arena.  

The Broncbusters missed 22 of their 29 shot attempts in the final period turning a seven-point halftime advantage into their worst home loss since a 31-point defeat vs. Seward on March 24, 2021.  

And it really came down to not making shots.  

Brody Robinson's 3-pointer gave Garden City their largest lead, 20-11 with 4:51 to play in the first half. Moments later, he added a nifty assist when he found Bok Kuir for a transition jam, Thomas Tut and Robinson drained four free throws over the final 60 seconds, and the Broncbusters were up 29-22 at the break. 

The second half though was a totally different story. 

Isaiah Dixon's jump shot with 13:14 remaining gave the home team a 38-32 lead. But Otero hit the Broncbusters with an avalanche, responding with a 21-5 run polished off by Harris Jr's steal and subsequent dunk on the other end, putting the Rattlers up, 53-43 with 5:53 remaining.  

All Rusty Elmore could do was shake his head as Garden City never got any closer than seven the rest of the way.  

Braxton Jones paced the Broncbusters (1-2, 0-0) with 16 points but was just 7-of-21 from the field in 30 minutes. Robinson, who committed nine turnovers on Monday night in Lamar, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists but made only three shots. 

Tay Mosher scored 14 points for Otero, which won its second straight game after a 15-point loss to New Mexico on opening night.