Broncbusters pound Neosho; now 6-0

By Mike Pilosof

Photo by Adam Shrimplin

Dodge City, KS-And to think, Mohamed Diarra nearly didn't come back to Garden City this summer. Through six games, first-year Head Coach Bill Morosco is thankful he did.

The sophomore post recorded his fourth straight double-double with 24 points and 16 rebounds, Josh Nwankwo bounced pack to pour in 21 points on 5-of-11 from downtown, and Garden City improved to 6-0 with a 100-66 victory over Neosho Saturday afternoon at the Student Activity Center. It's the Broncbusters best start since 2011.

Garden City finished 11-of-29 from beyond the arc (38 percent), outrebounded the Panthers 50-36, and scored 27 points off 17 Neosho turnovers.

The Broncbusters got off to a quick start in this one. Marko Dosen got free for a layup, Heru Bligen canned two free throws, and Diarra forced his way to the basket for two, putting the finishing touches on a 14-6 run that had Garden City up, 24-13 with 11:43 to play in the first half. They stretched that to 19 on Diarra's emphatic and-1 slam, which was followed by June Lewis's deep 3-pointer that made it 45-24. The Broncbusters were up 14 going into the locker room.

The second half was a mere formality.

Garden City outscored the Panthers 51-31 over the final 20 minutes, connecting on 7-of-15 from deep. They built the lead to 30 on Bligen's layup halfway through period and were up by as many as 34 following Zac Taylor's 3-pointer from the wing.

Bligen scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds for Garden City, which eclipsed the century mark for the fourth time in their first six games. Hunter added 10 points four rebounds, and three assists, and Lewis had 10 in 22 minutes off the bench.

Micah Jones paced the Panthers with 20 points, Jerry Carraway chipped in 16, and Zaakir Sawyer had 10.