Buster men outlast Air Force Prep
Sterling, CO (westernkansasnews.com)-A sense of uneasiness was hanging over Garden City entering Thursday night’s game with Air Force Prep. Earlier in the week, backup point guard Zach Beard left the team for undisclosed reasons. But any adversity was quickly doused with one of the most complete performances of the young season.
Davon Anderson scored a game-high 19 points and the Busters held Air Force Prep to just 38 percent shooting in a 73-64 victory at the Bank of Colorado Center.
“We contested a lot of their shots tonight,” Head Coach Brady Trenkle said afterwards. “I’m happy; we came back and fought.”
Garden City (7-1, 0-0) led the entire way; although the Huskies (4-3) made things interesting late in the first half.
After the Busters built an early eight-point lead, Air Force Prep used the long ball to stay close-eventually tying the game at 31 on Joe Schneider’s triple from the right wing. The Huskies buried five treys in the first 20 minutes.
But the Busters responded with a 10-3 run and took a 41-34 lead into the locker room. In fact, Trenkle’s team held the Huskies scoreless for nearly seven minutes.
In the second half, Air Force Prep twice cut into double-digit deficits only to have Anderson counter by finding his way to the rim and the foul line. The sophomore transfer was 7-of-9 from the stripe. He also pulled down eight rebounds.
Tyrell Springer scored 14 points, pulled down two rebounds and recorded two more steals for Garden City. Tidell Pierre added 12 points and nine boards.
Jason Anderson led the way for Air Force prep with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Tristan Owens fouled out with 12 points.
Tip ins: It was the first meeting between Garden City and Air Force Prep since 2007 (Busters won that won 61-55); it’s only the third game played between the two programs in the last 11 years…The Busters shot 25-of-50 from the field-their best shooting percentage of the season and the first time they shot 50 percent or better since January 29, 2014 vs. Dodge City…Busters improved to 21-4 in non-conference games under Trenkle who also picked up his 101st victory as a JUCO coach
Next up: Garden City vs. Northeastern All Stars-Saturday, November 22-2:30 p.m. tip on AM 1030 KBUF; kbufmobile.com and mobile app: KBUF
