Neves scores 20; Broncbusters demolish NW Tech

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Garden City, KS-It was another blowout win for Antwain Scales.

Kealani Neves scored 20 points, Ashton McCorry added nine points and seven rebounds, and Garden City topped Northwest Tech, 67-42 Saturday afternoon at Conestoga Arena. With the win, the Broncbusters improved to 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the Jayhawk, their best start in nine years. It was also Scales 202^nd career victory.

The Broncbusters shot 48 percent from the field (29-of-60), outrebounded the Mavericks 40-30, and produced 36 points in the paint. It was their second straight game shooting over 45 percent.

And besides one offensive lull in the second quarter, it was all Garden City from the get-go.

The Broncbusters trailed for all of 22 seconds in this one, utilizing an early 11-0 run to build a nine-point lead. They were up nine going into the second and had a 13-point cushion following Justis Odom's layup that made it, 27-14 with 8:36 to go in the half. Incredibly though, Garden City didn't score for the rest of the period. The Mavericks countered with a 9-0 surge, and when Moniek Meeringa drilled a 12-foot jumper, NW Tech had sliced the Broncbusters' lead to 27-23 at the break.

That was the only drama that unfolded.

Garden City answered with a 40-point second half, and with the Broncbusters leading by just four midway through the third, Scales' bunch closed the period on a 14-4 run. In the fourth, Desiree smith made a driving layup, Neves knocked down a contested 2-pointer, and McCorry banked home a reverse layup, putting Garden City up, 60-36. It was all part of a stretch that saw the Broncbuster score 14 unanswered points while holding the Mavericks scoreless for more than six minutes. They eventually built the lead to as many as 27 following two free throws by Keyhana Turner that made it 63-36 with 3:34 remaining.

Neves finished 9-of-18 for Garden City, which won its third straight game. Odom chipped in 11 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, and Alexis Smith dished out a season-best seven assists.

Natalia Lara scored 15 points to pace the Mavericks, which lost its seventh straight game.

Next up: Garden City at Cowley-Monday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. CDT