Harmon, Broncbusters, Rally Past Seward County; Face Hutchinson on Tuesday

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Mike Harmon had less than 72 hours to prepare for his first game as a head coach. The assistant coach sprung into action Wednesday, enduring a brutal 28-14 run by visiting Hutchinson in his first time in the saddle.

Harmon called everyone he could to prepare for a win-or-go-home contest on Saturday. The advice he got instilled at halftime, leading his team back from the brink.

The Garden City Broncbusters survived a scare against the 11th-seeded Seward County Saints, erasing a seven-point halftime deficit, for a 78-65 victory in the first round of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Tournament Playoffs. The Broncbusters out-scored the Saints, 47-27, for Harmon’s first career victory as a head coach.

“I’m just happy that this team believed in me,” Harmon said. “We continue to dance, that’s all I’m happy about.”

Garden City (19-12, 15-10 KJCCC) had no problems in the regular season against Seward County, averaging 91.5 points in the two wins. SCCC opened the game with phenomenal defense, holding GCCC to just one field goal in the first three minutes, taking a 10-2 lead.

Carson Bennett and Mathias M’Madi were incredible in the first half, competing for 26 of Seward’s 38.
Seward County (8-23, 6-19 KJCCC) center Lovasova Andriatsarafara fell victim to foul trouble early on, allowing Garden City to adjust down low. Broncbusters’ center Charles Chukwu kept his team in the game in the first half, delivering 13 points.

“The crazy part about him, he had 19 points, I still felt like he could’ve done more,” Harmon added.
Chukwu delivered a perfect performance, making all six of his field goals, adding seven rebounds and four blocks. The Tulsa transfer was tied for the most blocks per game in Jayhawk play this season.

It was his fellow forward who led the Garden City back. Thomas Tut punctuated the comeback with a 23-point, 12-rebound second half. It was the message from Coach Harmon that got him going late.

“He told me ‘Thomas, this is it right here? Are you going to let your season end tonight, or get a win and keep moving forward?'” Tut said.

His confidence dribbling the basketball sparked the rest of his team back. Garden City held Seward without a field goal for nearly seven minutes to retake the lead and continued to build on it through Tut’s finishing.

Tut and Chukwu, after scoring a combined 18 against No. 16 Hutchinson, poured in 44 of their team’s 78 points on Saturday. Tut’s double-double was his 13th of the season.

“He trusted himself. He got to the paint, played off two feet,” Harmon said. “Everything else took care of itself after that.”

Garden City advances to face No. 3 Hutchinson on Tuesday. GCCC lost both games against the Blue Dragons this season and will look for its first win over Hutchinson in three matchups.

The time of Tuesday’s game is still to be determined.

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