Buffaloes’ Three-Point Barrage Guides Garden City to Senior Night Win

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Head coach Luke Swedberg’s vision for Garden City is to be a free-flowing team, which moves the basketball to every part of the court. He wants every player on the floor to have the confidence to shoot from the perimeter, a team that can rain three-pointers on any night.

His team’s three-pointers were the difference on Tuesday night.

The Garden City Buffaloes sank 11 three-pointers at The Garden, earning another home victory with a 56-52 win over the Dodge City Red Demons. The Buffaloes close their home schedule winning eight of their 10 games in Swedberg’s first season.

“We were 11-of-26 for the game, that’s a really nice game shooting the basketball,” Swedberg praised. “That’s something we want to shoot for, is about being 40 per cent from beyond the arch. Some days you don’t get there, some days you do, but I thought the guys did a great job staying poised and finding the right shots.”

Garden City (8-10, 3-3 WAC) opened the game with another dynamic first quarter. Emilio Zundt and Maliek Kinney combined for four three-pointers in the first frame, leading 8-1 early.

It was senior night for Zundt, who put together a masterful 14-point first-half performance. He would finish with 18 in the game, leading the Buffaloes in scoring for the 11th time in 18 games.

“When the basketball moved in the first half, we generally moved it enough to find a guy open,” Swedberg said. “We were able to knock down some shots.”

The Buffaloes’ undoing against Dodge City (7-10, 2-3 WAC) was their rough second half, shooting just 25 percent as a team. Tuesday night saw a much-needed improvement from the Buffaloes.

Sophomore Daniel Monarrez was key in the third quarter, scoring six points and chipping in some assists. His bounce pass to an open Brody Burns helped the Buffaloes stretch the lead to eight heading into the fourth.

“Daniel’s definitely come a long way, but he puts in a lot of hard work,” Swedberg said. “He’s done a great job of sticking with it.”

Burns was pivotal on his Senior Night. The forward closed with seven second-half points to help the Buffaloes hold their lead. Late free throws from Raul Munoz and Zundt helped keep the lead afloat.

Garden City travels to Hays for their penultimate game of the season on Friday, against the Indians. Coverage on 99.9 ‘The Rock’ begins following the conclusion of girl’s basketball’s 6:00 P.M. tipoff.

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