Coffeyville takes two from Garden City
Women
Coffeyville, KS-Heading into their showdown with Coffeyville, Garden City Coach Nick Salazar believed the two teams were very evenly matched. And while that appeared true on paper, the game never played out that way.
Instead, the fourth-year head coach was left wondering what could have been.
Desiree Nelson hit five treys and finished with 17 points, Lucy Burke drilled three 3-pointers, and Coffeyville rolled to a 79-56 victory Wednesday night at Red Ravens Field House.
“It’s all about toughness,” Salazar said. “We have to have mental toughness; especially when we play on the road.”
Neither team looked sharp at the start, but it was Garden City (6-8, 4-6) who scored the first four points of the game. However, their lead was short lived. Antionette Daniels hit a pair of free throws and Burke connected from long distance giving the Red Ravens a lead they would never relinquish.
“I felt like we matched them pretty well,” Salazar said.
Coffeyville surged in front with a 13-0 run and never looked back. And when the first-quarter buzzer sounded, the Broncbusters were staring at a 16-point deficit.
“We have stretches where we look really good,” Salazar explained. “But then we have the times where we don’t look so good.”
The second quarter was definitely the good side of Garden City. The Broncbusters outscored the Red Ravens 24-15, fueled by an 11-3 run to close the half as the brown and gold pulled to within seven at the break.
But that brief glimpse of greatness disappeared after halftime, and an 11-0 Coffeyville spurt, sparked by Nelson’s three triples in the third quarter, put the game out of reach.
“We have to get this thing figured out,” Salazar said.
Garden City shot 34 percent from the floor. It was the ninth time this season that they shot under 40.
“Our shots aren’t falling right now,” Salazar said. “It’s not like we are taking bad shots. We are getting the shots that we want. We just have to knock them down. “
Akula led the Broncbusters with 12 points on 4-of-9 from downtown. Jessica Carrillo added nine points and 11 boards and Angel Muir played one of her most complete games with nine points and nine rebounds. But Monica Barefield missed 16 of her 19 shots and DeRae Lewis was on the bench for most of the game in foul trouble. She tallied six.
Alaine Fisher scored 15 for Coffeyville, who won their third straight game. The Red Ravens also nailed 10 3-pointers; it was their fifth straight game hitting 10 or more.
Next up: Garden City at Neosho County-Saturday, January 7-1:45 p.m. pregame; 2 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and mobile app: KWKR
Men
Coffeyville, KS-It’s a scary proposition to think what it would look like if Garden City put a complete game together.
For five minutes on Wednesday night, the Broncbusters looked unbeatable. Unfortunately, the final 35 did not play out the same away.
Jordan Taylor drilled four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 19 points, Travis Washington added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Coffeyville stormed back from 13 down to beat Garden City 89-84 at Red Ravens Fieldhouse.
“My guys played so hard,” Garden City Coach Brady Trenkle said. “That’s one thing I told them in the locker room: if you left it all out on the floor, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Coffeyville is a good team.”
You could argue that the Red Ravens are borderline great, especially how they withstood a furious rush by Garden City (10-4, 6-4) to begin the game.
Victor Dukes put the Broncbusters up 5-0 with a layup and a 3-pointer, Aaron Ray hit two triples and completed a three-point play, and Garden City had a 17-4 edge at the 15:30 mark of the first half. That’s when everything changed.
With a chance to extend to a 15-point lead, Broncbuster post Ben Howze tried to split two defenders. As he did so, he landed awkwardly on his back. The sophomore then hobbled his way to the locker room.
“Ben played hurt tonight,” Trenkle explained. There is no doubt about that.”
That event seemed to take the life out of the Broncbuster cause. Coffeyville (11-3, 7-3) took full advantage.
The Red Ravens responded with a 23-5 run and never looked back, eventually building their lead to as many as eight in the first half. They led by five at the break.
“We took some possessions off tonight,” Trenkle said. “Our guys know that. It’s unfortunate, but you can’t do that on the road.”
Coffeyville’s swarming three-quarters court press forced Garden City into 18 turnovers, and it changed the complexity of the game.
“When you turn it over that many times, you’re not going to win,” Trenkle added.”
But as the game appeared to be getting away from them, Garden City still had a chance to take the lead in the final six minutes.
After falling down 68-61, Jamar Gilbert answered with a deep 3-pointer and Ben Howze completed a three-point play to pull the Broncbusters to within two. But Naradin James missed a game-tying jumper from the free throw line with 6:22 to play; Josh Fleming’s go-ahead trey rimmed out with 5:20 to go before a critical turnover sealed Garden City’s fate with 4:30 left.
“We had our chances to go in front,” Trenkle said. “We just never took advantage of them.”
The Red Ravens quickly stretched the lead to nine when Greg Poleon grabbed an offensive rebound and laid the ball back in softly off the glass for an 80-71 advantage with just over two minutes remaining.
“Coffeyville should be 13-0,” Trenkle said. “They might be the best team in our league. They have one of the best coaches of all time. Heck, the court is named after him.”
That coach Jay Herkleman watched his team go from uninspired to unstoppable, all within a five-minute stretch. And when it was all said and done, the Red Ravens won their third straight contest.
Malik Keith sparked Coffeyville off the bench with 10 points and eight boards. Poleon added nine points and five rebounds, and little used Jordan Newby hit two monster triples during that 23-4 stretch in the first half. He netted seven.
Dukes scored 17 for Garden City, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end. Ray fouled out with 14; Fleming added 13 and Howze had 10. James chipped in nine points and 10 boards.
“I’m telling you that this team will be there come March,” Trenkle said. “We have one of the most talented teams in the conference. We just have to put everything together.”
Next up: Garden City at Neosho County-Saturday, January 7-4 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and mobile app: KWKR
