Garden City uses big second half to advance

Garden City, KS-One subtle substitution changed everything on Saturday. 

Braxton Jones, who missed the entire first half and wasn't expected to play at all because of a foot injury, checked into the game with 19:15 remaining in the second half. And although he only scored four points, the emotional lift it provided his teammates was palpable.  

Thomas Tut scored 25 points and pulled down a season-best 17 rebounds, Brody Robinson finished one assist shy of a triple double, and Garden City advanced to the second round of the Region VI Tournament with a 78-65 victory over Seward County.  

Garden City (19-12, 14-10), which looked a bit deflated in the first half, led for less than 10 seconds in the opening period and trailed by seven at the intermission. But with head coach, Rustly Elmore sitting at home watching while serving a one-game suspension, the Broncbusters needed a spark. That's when the decision was made to get Jones onto the floor. And following a loud ovation when the sophomore guard entered early in the second half, the Broncbusters flipped the switch. 

Garden City, which held Seward County scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half, opened the period on a 10-0 run to take a 41-38 advantage. 

They never trailed again.  

Tut converted a pair of contested layups; then took a Robinson chest pass and hammered home a two-handed dunk, Isaiah Dixon tipped in Tut's missed bunny at the rim, and Robinson snaked inside for an off-balance banker. Charles Chukwu added a two-foot floater, Jones hit a 15-footer just left of the foul line; then followed with a pair of free throws, and Garden City was up 71-63 with 1:30 to go. It was all part of a second-half surge in which the Broncbusters outscored the Saints, 47-27 to take control of the game. 

Robinson tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists for Garden City, which beat Seward County for the third time this season.  

Mathias M'Madi paced the Saints with 20 points and six assists in 38 minutes. Carson Bennett knocked down four 3s and finished with 16 points.