Garden City finishes strong; earns second straight conference win

Pratt, KS-Garden City hit a milestone on Wednesday night.  

Antonio Chol, who missed Monday's game vs. Cloud County with an ankle injury, returned to score 23 points in 32 minutes off the bench, Boston Harker added 17, and Garden City won consecutive conference games for the first time this season with an 88-77 victory at the Beaver Dome.  

Josiah Sabino and Emmanuel Manyuon each scored 15 for the Broncbusters, which improved to 9-8 overall and 4-7 in conference play.   

Hunter Vaughn poured in 26 points for Pratt, which fell to 8-8 overall and 4-6 in the league. Leading scorer Jarret Dingle was limited to just 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting. He played only 20 minutes because of foul trouble.  

After a slow start that saw Garden City fall behind 9-3 after Vaughn connected on a 15-foot jump shot, the Broncbusters answered with a 14-3 run. Chol rose up for a 12-footer, and the Broncbusters led, 17-12. 

Sabino's three-point play with 3:42 remaining gave Garden City a 41-33 edge. Manyuon added a deep triple, and the Broncbusters had a seven-point cushion at the half.  

The Beavers responded with seven straight points to begin the second period, and when Parker Whisenhunt swished a baseline jumper, the game was tied at 52.  

The Broncbusters scored the next nine points, but Pratt stormed back on the heels of a 15-3 surge polished off by a Vaughn floater and a Joseph Opareke free throw that gave the Beavers a 67-64 lead with 9:42 left.  

Harker came right back and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Manyuon rattled home a pair of free throws, and Sabino cashed in from deep, giving the Broncbuster the lead for good. 

They outscored Pratt the rest of the way 24-10 and led by as many as 14.  

Caleb Smith, who was facing his former team for the first time, finished with eight points off the bench. Sabino pulled down nine boards.