Broncbuster men hit a wall; lose second straight

The GCCC Broncbusters and the Frank Phillips Plainsmen traded early six-point leads in the 1st half and then traded baskets for a long stretch of the 2nd half before the Plainsmen pulled away late to beat GCCC 86-75.

It was a back-and-forth game that featured eight ties and 12 lead changes. The final lead change came with 6:08 left in the game as the Plainsmen turned a 64-63 deficit into a 71-64 lead over a span of 90 seconds. Late in the game, Frank Phillips controlled the glass as Alize Johnson, Isaiah Palmer and Kwanique Martin took over. Johnson led the way with a double-double, 21 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Martin’s 18 points, 15 of those in the 2nd half, and Palmer’s 12 points and 9 boards. Josh Fleming led the Busters with 14 points, but he was only 6 of 18 from the field, 0 for 3 from beyond the arc. Diontae Jones added 10 points and 6 rebounds; Aaron Ray also had for GCCC.

The Broncbuster shot 42% from the field, but just 2 of 12 from 3-point range, while the Plainsmen hit 45% of their shots, including 8 of 14 treys for 42%. Both teams shot around 63% from the charity stripe, 14 of 22 for GCCC and 20 of 32 for Frank Phillips, with most of those attempts coming in the last 5 minutes. The Broncbusters scored 16 points off turnovers to the Plainsmen’s 11, but GCCC got only 14 second chance points while Frank Phillips got 21.

The Broncbuster men fall to 6-3 on the young season will be back in action at the Pepsi Classic this coming Friday and Saturday.