Broncbusters topple defending national champs; advance to region final four

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-Payback is a beautiful thing, especially when it comes at the expense of an opponent's season. And as the student section waived goodbye to Hall of Fame Coach, Jay Herkelman, whose second-half ejection had the crowd at a fever pitch, the Broncbusters put to rest the demons of a mid-November loss that still haunted the brown and gold.

Mo Diarra poured in 23 points, Zac Taylor nailed two momentum-shifting 3's in the second half, and Garden City avenged a double-overtime loss to the Red Ravens back on Nov. 20 with an 84-67 rout of Coffeyville in the second round of the Region VI Tournament on Tuesday night at Conestoga Arena. With the win, the Broncbusters advanced to play fourth-ranked Dodge City in the region semifinals on Friday afternoon in Salina.

"I'm so proud of this group," Head Coach, Bill Morosco said afterwards. "We played with a lot of energy tonight, and it showed."

Garden City flew around defensively all night, forcing 20 Coffeyville turnovers. They also controlled the pace on the other end, outscoring the defending national champions 40-26 in the paint.

"We had to be aggressive," Morosco said. "That is a dangerous team that came in here playing really well."

The only anxious moments came over the final four minutes of the first half, when Garden City was limited to just two points. They missed seven free throws and were down by as many as eight. They trailed 40-34 at the intermission.

"We missed a ton of easy looks in the first half," Morosco stated. "We knew what we had to do."

Over the final 20 minutes, the Broncbusters blitzed and battered Herkelman's Red Ravens, revitalizing 'press city' while utilizing a 14-7 run to take a 48-47 lead following Diarra's layup with 13:22 remaining. Once Blaise Keita answered on the other end, Diarra swished two free throws; then drilled a deep 2-pointer, and Micah Octave made a driving layup to give the home squad a 54-51 edge. Heru Bligen completed a three-point play, and Diarra connected on a step-back triple from the left wing making it a nine-point contest.

"I really think our press dictated the game," Morosco said. "We got into them defensively, and our offense fed off that."

It also incensed Herkelman, who, after giving official Jason Johnson an earful, was whistled for a technical foul. Josh Nwankwo sank the two freebies followed by Diarra's two charity shots, and Garden City had a 66-53 lead with 8:12 to go.

"Our crowd has been amazing all season," Morosco added. "Tonight, was no exception."

With Conestoga Arena as loud as it's been all season, Taylor, a freshman whose minutes have fluctuated all year, took advantage of his second-half run, nailing a right-wing trey that pushed the advantage to 19. They built it to as many as 20 over the final three minutes.

Nwankwo totaled 13 points off the bench for Garden City, which advanced to the region final four for the first time since 2018. Blilgen added 10 points and four assists, and Octave had seven points, 12 rebounds, and three steals.

Love Bettis paced Coffeyville with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while Keita pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Next up: Garden City vs. Dodge City-Region Semifinals-Salina, KS., Friday, March 4-3 p.m. CDT