Jones posts triple double in rout of Dodge City

Dodge City, KS-When Garden City plays fast, it's tough to stop. Just ask Dodge City Head Coach, Brad Witherspoon, whose team was run off the floor on Wednesday night.  

Braxton Jones posted his first-career triple double with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, Brody Robinson chipped in 26 points and 11 dimes, and Garden City destroyed the Conquistadors, 109-72 at the Student Activity Center.  

Garden City's decisive victory was as loud as it was bold, as Rusty Elmore's squad shot 58 percent from the floor and nailed a season-high 16 triples. They outscored Dodge City by 20 over the first 20 minutes and hung 57 in the final period while posting 30 assists for the second time this year. 

"I'm really proud of our guys for the way they played tonight," Elmore said afterwards. "When we play our game, we are really tough to beat."

And the defensive effort was just as impressive, limiting Dodge City to 40 percent shooting and 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from 3. Garden City also tallied nine blocks, seven of those by Tulsa transfer, Charles Chukwu.  

"A lot of people will look at our offense, but the reality is, we guarded our butts off," Elmore explained. "We made it very difficult on them." 

The 37-point rout is the second largest this season behind only a 41-point victory over Sterling on Nov. 9. It's also the most decisive win in the series dating back to Dec. 4, 2021, when Dodge City beat Garden City, 101-69.  

And it was never really a contest.  

Jordan Frazier started the game on his own personal 6-0 run, Jones capped off a 7-0 surge with a pullup jumper that put the Broncbusters up 10, and Robinson canned a step back 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 24-13 with 10:57 left in the half. Jones added a deep triple, Elijah Roberts deposited a Robinson assist with a 3 from the left wing, and Jones rattled home a 26-footer to give Garden City its largest lead of the opening half, 52-27 with 1:57 to go.  

"This was probably the best game Jordan played all season," Elmore stated.  

While Robinson was the orchestrator, Jones filled the stat sheet in 38 breathtaking minutes. The sophomore finished 8-of-14 from the field and made all four 3-point attempts. And his laser-sharp passing was on full display in the second half, which included a perfect touch pass to Bol Kuir, whose right-handed slam over Jackson Swartz in the final minute, cemented an efficient triple-double.  

Frazier poured in 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting for Garden City, which won for the fifth time in their last six games to improve to 11-6 overall and 7-4 in league play. Chukwu added 12 points, seven blocks, and seven rebounds, and Roberts tallied 10 points in 24 minutes off the bench.  

Avnoor Bhullar paced Dodge City with 15 points. Jamari Gamble scored 12, and Chevalier Emery and Jackson Swartz each had 11.