Jones and Robinson carry Garden City to key conference win

Garden City, KS-During a typical work week, Rusty Elmore doesn't sleep much. So, after Wednesday night's victory in Pratt, the veteran head coach stayed up long into the night, devising a game plan to attack one of the best defensive teams in the league.  

And after a bit of a shaky start, those bags glistening under Elmore's eyes on Saturday night were well worth their weight in gold.  

Braxton Jones finished with 24 points, Brody Robinson added 21 points and 10 assists, and Garden City avenged an early-season loss to Cloud County with a 73-65 victory at Conestoga Arena. The Broncbusters improved to 15-7 overall and 11-5 in conference play, moving within two games of fourth-place Butler.  

"This was a battle," Elmore said afterwards. "Cloud County is such a good team, and I have the upmost respect for Devin. I feel he is one of the best coaches in our league." 

Thomas Tut, who logged 29 minutes off the bench, finished with 10 points and 11 boards for Garden City, which improved to 9-2 in their last 11 games. Elijah Roberts added nine points and four boards.  

"I felt like I needed to do whatever I needed to do help our team get this win," Robinson explained. "Whether I was scoring or making plays for other guys, it wasn't just me."

Elmore needed Robinson badly, especially after his team fell into a 17-4 hole. In fact, the Broncbusters managed just two field goals over the first nine minutes of the game. But the sophomore point guard hit a contested jumper to break the seal, Tut followed with a layup, and Garden City appeared to have their feet underneath them.  

"It wasn't the best start by any stretch," Elmore said. "But that's what they do to you. They suffocate you." 

The Thunderbirds length and physically bothered the Broncbusters for a good portion of the first half. But after trailing by as many as 13, Elmore's bunch began to figure things out, and Robinson's sensational three-point play polished off an 18-6 run that pulled Garden City to within one, 23-22 with 6:04 remaining.   

The Broncbusters were down five at the break.  

"From top to bottom, different guys stepped up when they needed to," Robinson said.  

Garden City found its groove early in the second half when Jones buried a 3-pointer from the left wing, giving the home team its first lead of the day, 37-35. Tut nailed a triple the next time down, and Robinson completed a three-point play to make it 45-40 with 12:43 remaining.  

That's when the switch officially flipped for Robinson, whose 32-point second half on Wednesday carried Garden City to the finish line. And while his encore performance didn't light up the box score, it pushed the Broncbusters to within striking distance of one of the top four spots in March's regional tournament.

Robinson swished a step-back 3-pointer over Kyle Mcelroy; then fed Charles Chukwu for a and-1 transition layup. That was followed by Robinson's beautiful dime to Tut for an emphatic dunk and subsequent three-point play, Robinson connected on back-to-back midrange shots, and the Broncbusters had their largest lead of the day, 64-50 with 4:49 to go. 

"Cloud County is a great team, and they are coached really well," Robinson added. "Their defense is next level. So, in a sense, you have to be perfect." 

The Broncbusters, which shot 60 percent from the field on Wednesday, came back down to earth, finishing 23-of-53 (43.4 percent) and just 9-of-28 from 3. But they scored 17 points off 21 Cloud County turnovers and got 21 points from the bench. 

Emmanuel Manyuon scored 21 for the Thunderbirds, which dropped their second straight game to fall to 15-7 overall and 10-6 in league play.