Shooting struggles doom Garden City

Garden City, KS-Garden City's shooting struggles continued Wednesday.  

The Broncbusters shot under 40 percent for a third straight game, Jamichael Stillwell had 16 points and 19 boards for Butler, and the Grizzlies outlasted Garden City, 73-68 at Conestoga Arena.  

Brody Robinson scored 19 points for Garden City, which fell to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play. Braxton Jones finished with 16 points in 38 minutes but missed 13 of his 18 shot attempts. Charles Chukwu posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  

Butler, which moved to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in league, scored the first eight points of the game and led by as many as 10 in the opening half after Kaleb Washington's jumper made it 32-22 with 2:44 to go.  

Garden City though managed to make a push towards the end of the period. Robinson found Thomas Tut in stride for a transition layup, and Jones nailed a deep 3-pointer to pull the Broncbusters to within four at the intermission. 

In the second half, Rusty Elmore's group rallied back to grab its first lead. Robinson swished a 15-footer, and Tut knocked down a triple from the top of the key to put Garden City in front, 35-34. Then, Chukwu drained two free throws, and Tut add a pair of freebies to give the Broncbusters their largest advantage, 43-38 with 14:09 remaining.  

But Butler came right back, responding with a 12-5 spurt capped by Jason Drake's wing jumper that put Butler ahead, 50-48. Amare Haynie added a midrange shot, Williams knocked down a 3-pointer, and Butler was up six with less than six minutes to play.  

Garden City managed just three points over the next five minutes after that. 

The Broncbusters were outrebounded, 39-33 and were outscored, 26-24 in the paint.  

Williams netted 23 points and five assists for Butler, which won for the eighth time in their last nine games. Drake added 14 points, and Charles McClennahan Jr. posted 10 points and 11 rebounds.