Broncbusters lose to Hutch in regular-season finale

Garden City, KS-It's amazing how quickly momentum can shift.

Dadrevius Weathers poured in 27 points on 13-of-17 shooting, John-Paul Ricks added 18 points and nine assists, and Hutchinson stormed past Garden City, 96-78 Wednesday night at Conestoga Arena. The Broncbusters finished the regular season 18-12 and 14-10 in conference play. They will host Seward County in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m.  

The loss spoiled another magnificent performance by Brody Robinson, who recorded a 25-point, 10-assist double-double in 38 minutes for Garden City. He was 8-of-14 from the field and 7-of-7 at the line.  

And to think what could have been. 

After a bit of an uneven start, Garden City built a five-point lead thanks to Elijah Roberts' contested 3-pointer and Charles Chukwu's spinning layup that made it 31-26 with 5:55 to go in the first half. Moments later, Robinson canned a triple to give the Broncbusters their largest lead of the night, 34-28.  

But the Blue Dragons, which improved to 25-5 overall and 20-4 in conference play, trimmed the deficit to two before the break.  

Then the fireworks happened. 

With less than 10 minutes to go in the game, Garden City Head Coach, Rusty Elmore was given a technical foul. Moments later, he was ejected, sending the Broncbusters into a tailspin that they never recovered from.  

When the veteran coach was sent to the locker room, Garden City was down 68-64. From there, it was a Blue Dragon avalanche as Tommy DeSalme's team outscored the Broncbusters 28-14 over the final 9:58. 

Braxton Jones, who appeared to roll his ankle late in the second half, finished with 19 points and five assists for the Broncbusters, which lost for the second time in their last three games. Thomas Tut had 10 points, and Jordan Frazier scored nine. 

Valentino Simon and Landon Wagler combined for 29 points for Hutchinson, who earned a first-round bye in the Region VI Tournament. They await the winner of the Garden City-Seward game.