Broncbusters fall in Morosco's return to Independence

By Mike Pilosof

Independence, KS-Bill Morosco's return to the gym he navigated for two seasons was anything but kind on Saturday.  

Ian Hardy was one of six Pirates in double figures with 19 points, Lucas Kroft and Rodney Munson combined for 32 off the bench, and Independence snapped a four-game losing streak with a 92-86 victory at the Field House. It was Garden City's second straight loss after beginning the season 7-0.

After holding their first seven opponents under 40 percent shooting, the Broncbuster defense has come back down to earth. Coffeyville shot 47 percent last Saturday, and Independence connected on 50 percent in this one. Garden City's bench was also outscored, 33-12.

After trailing by as many as eight in the first half, Garden City rallied thanks to a relentless press that forced four straight turnovers. Marko Dosen nailed a 3-pointer, Tone Hunter maneuvered his way to the rim, and Jyre McCloud, who made his season debut on Saturday, knocked down a 10-footer to give the Broncbusters a 45-42 advantage with 25 seconds left in the half. Only Hardy's layup before the buzzer stemmed the tide.

Garden City kept attacking in the second half, and when Hunter hit a trey 60 seconds into the final period, the Broncbusters had a 50-46 advantage.  

But no matter what momentum Morosco's team managed to muster all afternoon, the Pirates never allowed them to pull away.

Leading 67-61 with 11 minutes to go, Independence scored six straight points capped by Rodney Munson's jumper that knotted the score. Once the Broncbusters pushed their advantage back to five on Josh Nwankwo's three-point play, and Micah Octave's tip back, Kroft buried a 3 on the other end followed by a pair of Munson free throws that put the Pirates up one.

But this game was defined by what didn't happen, and over the course of the final 3:30, Garden City managed just two buckets missing four out of their final five shots while turning the ball over five times. Meantime, Hardy canned two freebies, and following a Pirate timeout, Kroft wandered free to the right wing and buried a 3-pointer to put Independence up, 86-82 with 1:17 remaining.

Hunter scored 30 points for the third time this season for Garden City, which shot just 3-of-18 from downtown. Heru Bligen added 17, and Nwankwo scored 12 in 34 minutes.

Hardy was 7-of-13 from the field for the Pirates, which beat the Broncbusters for the fifth straight time. Shamann Artis canned three triples, and Jason Baker scored 10.

Next up: Garden City vs. Colby-Wednesday, Dec. 1-7:30 p.m.