James special in Broncbusters win at Indy; women lose 4th quarter lead
Independence, KS-Garden City Coach Brady Trenkle knows a thing or two about bad luck.
Last year, he lost both Jamar Gilbert and Diontae Jones to injuries heading into the postseason. It was a big-time blow as the Broncbusters were eliminated by Hutchinson in the Region VI quarterfinals.
On Wednesday during pregame warmups, Trenkle’s most vital piece Victor Dukes rolled his ankle after tripping over a basketball, while reserve Jaymond Kelly was so sick with the flu that team trainers placed him in a quarantine.
“When Victor did that I thought to myself: here we go again,” Trenkle said. “Then Jaymond was having issues with his stomach.”
Fortunately for Trenkle, his shorthanded Broncbusters were at the top of their game, even if their health was from it.
Naradain James led four Garden City players in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds, and the Broncbusters fought off Independence for a 79-74 win at Pirates Fieldhouse. It was the first time the brown and gold recorded consecutive victories since Dec. 10.
“This was a really good road win,” Trenkle explained. “Independence has beaten a lot of good teams this year. We knew it would be a battle.”
After falling down 4-0 in the first minute, Garden City roared back. James steal and jam followed by Troy Stancil’s 3-pointer and Gilbert’s elbow jumper gave the Broncbusters a 22-13 advantage with 10:00 to go in the first half.
Then the sleeping giant finally awoke.
“Every time we build a lead I know the other team is going to make a run,” Trenkle said. “That’s just basketball.”
DaJon Streater scored eight of his team-best 28 points over the final six minutes of the half, igniting a 21-6 surge that put the Pirates in front 34-28 at the 2:40 mark.
“DaJon did not play against us the last time,” Trenkle said. “But we knew he was a big-time scorer. They just kept coming at us.”
Garden City (15-7, 11-7) righted the ship thanks to Gilbert and Josh Fleming, who combined to hit three straight treys as the Broncbusters outscored the Pirates 11-3 over the final 2:20 of the period to take a 39-37 lead into the intermission.
“We responded when we fell down,” Trenkle said. “This is a talented group, and when we are shorthanded, other guys have to step up. They did that tonight.”
It appeared the Broncbusters were well on their way to making this one a laugher in the second half. Aaron Ray knocked down a jumper and hit two free throws; Ben Howze added a twisting layup and Fleming a three-point play that gave Garden City a 64-49 lead with 9:46 remaining in the game.
“Credit Indy,” Trenkle said. “They hit shots and made us work down the stretch. This is not an easy place to play.”
Backup shooting guard DeAnthony McCallum led the Independence (10-11, 7-11) resurgence, scoring eight of his team’s next nine points to cut the deficit to 10.
The Pirates kept coming, while the Broncbusters went silent.
Garden City scored just one bucket over a four-minute stretch while Streater nailed a 3-pointer and split a pair of free throws before Tyrone Riley added a layup off an offensive rebound that made it a one-point contest with 2:23 left.
“There was no way this was going to be an easy win,” Trenkle said. “I told Tony (Turner) that every team in this league is good, including his.”
But as they did all night, Garden City countered, this time with a knockout blow.
With the shot clock ticking down, James buried a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to stretch the lead to four. Then, in the waning seconds, it was Gilbert, floating to the corner and draining a triple with eight seconds to play, locking up the Broncbusters fourth road win of the season.
“People think I’m just talking when I say that all these teams are good,” Trenkle said. “I mean look at Colby, they beat Dodge tonight. Pratt went into Dodge and won earlier this year. That’s how it is every night.”
Gilbert, filling in for the injured Dukes, scored 12 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for Garden City. Jefkins Agyeman-Budu added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
McCallum scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half for Independence, who lost for the second time in their last three games.
Next up: Garden City at Dodge City-Saturday, Feb. 4-3 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app
Women
Independence, KS-Following his team’s loss to Allen on Saturday night, Garden City Coach Nick Salazar was visibly frustrated.
“Our struggles are all on me,” he said. “I put this team together.”
On Wednesday, his team had a chance to end a five-game skid, but a five-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter was too much to overcome.
Erica Moore tied a season high with 17 points while her team grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and won the battle on the glass 42-34, as Independence enacted some revenge with a 54-46 victory over Garden City at Pirates Fieldhouse.
“You can’t have stretches where you score six points early on and then don’t score again,” Salazar said. “It’s unacceptable. I hope these players are as frustrated as I am.”
Monica Barefield enjoyed one of her best shooting halves of the season, draining three treys in the first 11 minutes of the game. But Garden City (7-15, 5-13) still trailed by eight.
“We go through these lulls,” Salazar said. “It happens every game.”
The Broncbusters pushed their way back into the game in the second, holding the Pirates scoreless for the first 6:30 while reeling off seven straight points to pull to within one. They trailed by two at the half.
“I always tell our team that when you play on the road, you have to automatically come out like you’re trailing by 10,” Salazar said. “I thought our effort was there, but our execution, when we needed it, was not.”
That effort kept Garden City within three going into the fourth. Then DeRae Lewis, who returned after serving a one-game suspension, hit two free throws to begin the final period. Then Barefield connected on her only field goal of the second half, and Kavita Akula drilled a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Broncbusters a 43-39 edge with 7:32 to play.
“When you go in front, you have to have that killer mentality,” Salazar said. “We don’t have that. It’s been that way all season.”
Jay-Nee Alston, who missed a game-tying triple when the teams first met back in November, connected on a 3 from the right corner to knot the game at 44 with 3:12 remaining. On the Pirates next trip down the floor, Moore splashed home a trey from the top of the key, as Independence (10-12, 7-11) used a 9-0 run late to put the game away.
“When you give up 19 offensive rebounds, you’re not going to win many games,” Salazar said. “And we had a big problem with grabbing loose balls tonight.”
Barefield scored 11 points to pace Garden City but had had just 2 points over the final three quarters and missed eight of her final nine attempts from the field. Lewis fouled out with nine points and 14 boards, and Jessica Carrillo chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.
Alston added nine for the Pirates, who ended a three-game losing streak to Garden City. Alex Akuen grabbed 13 boards and scored seven points off the bench.
Next up: Garden City at Dodge City-Saturday, Feb. 4-12:45 p.m. pregame; 1 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and mobile app: KWKR
