Broncbusters down Tigers; earn first conference win of the season

Garden City, KS-Josiah Sabino scored a season-high 23 points, Boston Harker added 18 points and nine assists, and Garden City earned its first conference victory of the season with a 97-89 win over Fort Hays Tech Northwest Tuesday afternoon at Conestoga Arena.  

"I haven't eaten or slept all week," interim coach, Isaiah Tisdale said afterwards. "It feels good to get a win. The team responded well. There are a lot of teams that would have just punted. But our guys stuck with it." 

Antonio Chol finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and Caleb Smith poured in 21 in 28 minutes off the bench for the Broncbusters, which improved to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the Jayhawk. 

"Our guys did a good job of staying with the process," Tisdale added. "They know that it's a long season." 

Besides a few anxious moments down the stretch, Garden City did enough to keep the Tigers at bay for much of the second half. After building a 14-point advantage with 5:47 to play following two free throws by Harker, Fort Hays Tech Northwest answered with a 12-4 run capped off by Kalik Sharpe's wing 3-pointer that pulled the Tigers to within six.  

Garden City avoided disaster on their ensuing possession when Finn Eriksson saved a pass from going out of bounds on the near sideline. Moments later, Sabino banked home a two-footer, giving the Broncbusters an 89-81 advantage. The sophomore transfer added a pair of free throws, Harker knifed through the defense for a layup, and Smith and Eriksson hit a pair of clutch freebies late to extend to an 11-point cushion.  

"That's a pretty good team over there," Tisdale said. "I mean, they lost to Hutchinson in overtime by two or three points, and they played a close game with Coffeyville. So, I was impressed with how locked in our guys were."

The final tally was a bit deceiving considering that the Tigers used a 10-3 surge late in the first half to open up a 38-31 advantage. But Tisdale's bunch responded nicely. Smith made a layup, Chol knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Garden City closed the period on an 18-5 run to take a 49-43 lead into the break.  

Sabino added a career-best 15 rebounds for the Broncbusters, which shot a season-high 63 percent from the floor. They also got much-needed help from the bench as their second unit outscored the Tigers, 39-33.  

Chase Harris finished with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting for Fort Hays Tech Northwest, which fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in league play. Sharpe added 21, and Marquintex Dixon had 19 points and eight rebounds.