Broncbusters storm past Frank Phillips

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Borger, TX-So much for first-game road jitters.

Heru Bligen scored 24 points, Tone Hunter added 21 and eight assists, and Garden City improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2018 with an 84-70 rout of Frank Phillips on Tuesday night.

"Our guys just never quit," Head Coach Bill Morosco said afterwards. "I'm proud of how this team responded."

While Bligen and Hunter took care of most of the offensive load, Mohamed Diarra, who was fresh off his school-record 24-rebound outing vs. Friends, tallied his second straight double-double with 18 points and 18 boards. And it was his bucket 17 seconds into the contest that got Garden City going. Josh Nwankwo followed with a layup, Hunter drilled a 3-pointer, and Nwankwo swished consecutive triples to put the Broncbusters up, 11-9. Diarra then dropped in two free throws before ripping the ball away from Jude Tapia and jamming it on the other end for a 25-14 advantage with 10:54 left in the first half.

"When we can get Mo to play with toughness and physicality, he can be a very special player," Morosco said. "When he plays like he did tonight, we are really hard to beat."

Frank Phillips responded in a big way to close the half. DJ Richardson connected on back-to-back 3s, Jaheim Tanksley hit two free throws, and Richardson converted a three-point play, finishing off a 26-14 run that put the Plainsmen on top, 40-39 at the intermission.

"We came out with the intensity to really guard and really rebound," Morosco explained. "And if we can do that consistently, we will be a pretty good team. We had a little bit of a lull before the half, but we answered in a big way."

The Broncbusters dominated the final 20 minutes, outscoring Frank Phillips 45-30. They used a 28-9 run, punctuated by Hunter's long 3-pointer and driving layup that put Garden City up, 64-48, five minutes into the period.

"Frank Phillips had three really good guards, and they put a ton of pressure on our guys," Morosco added.

Garden City kept coming, and Hunter's third triple of the night gave his team their largest lead, 78-54 with 10:04 to play.

Nwankwo added 19 points and five treys for Garden City, which entered play as the nation's 11^th highest scoring team. They shot 41 percent from the floor and was 9-of-22 from downtown. They outrebounded Frank Phillips 51-31.

Richardson tallied 15 points for the Plainsmen, which dropped to 0-2 vs. Jayhawk schools in 2021. Jaheim Tanksley chipped in 14.

Next up: Garden City vs. Labette-Friday, Nov. 12-5 p.m.