Garden City rebounds with a 43-point win over Sterling

Garden City, KS-If you ask Rusty Elmore, even 48 hours was way too long to get back on the court. But after Saturday's road loss to Coffeyville, Monday was just what the first-year coach's team needed. 

Larry Olayinka scored a season-high 16 points off the bench, Buru Naivalurua added 16 and eight boards, and Garden City snapped a two-game losing streak with a 103-60 victory over Sterling College at Conestoga Arena.

"We still have to be a lot better," Associate Head Coach, Bobby Naubert said after the game. "We have to pay attention to the details because in conference play, those things will be extremely important for us."

Against the Red Ravens, the Broncbusters saw a nine-point lead erode after they failed to score over the final 4:33 of the first half. Two days later, their offense was humming, hitting the century mark for the first time this year while shooting a season-best 59 percent from the field. They also had 26 assists on their 39 made baskets and out rebounded Sterling, 50-16. 

"You can look at the score and like what you saw, but our defensive intensity has to go way up," Naubert admitted. "We have to take pride in guarding our guy; then finish the possession."

After a back-and-forth first five minutes, Garden City went on the attack. Boston Harker, who entered Monday night shooting nearly 40 percent from downtown, swished a 3 from the wing, Logan Feltman completed a pair of three-point plays, and the Broncbusters used a 19-2 run to open a 36-14 lead with 6:38 to go in the half. It was all part of a stretch in which Garden City outscored the Warriors 40-19 over the final 14 minutes of the period to take a 50-29 lead into the locker room.

"We did some good things," Naubert added. "We had 26 assists tonight, so guys were playing unselfish basketball. We were moving the ball really well, and guys were making the extra pass."

Garden City missed only 11 shots in the second half and was 5-of-10 from downtown, putting together their most lopsided victory of the 2022-23 campaign. Meantime, they limited Sterling to just 37 percent shooting, although the Warriors drilled 10 3's. The Broncbusters also outscored them, 56-12 in the paint. 

Naivalurua, who had a slew of impressive dunks including a breakaway jam off a steal that gave Garden City a 71-40 advantage with 11:49 remaining, finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks for Garden City, which improved to 5-2 overall. McGhee, who setup all four Naivalurua dunks, chipped in 14 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Harker scored 13, and Elliott had 12 points and nine rebounds. 

Harrison Hughes paced Sterling with 21 points and five assists in 40 minutes.