Humphrey goes nuclear as Garden City tops No. 21 Cloud County

Concordia, KS-Rusty Elmore didn't have to call many offensive sets on Saturday. In fact, it was pretty simple: give the ball to DaJion Humphrey and get the heck out of the way. 

The sophomore poured in a career-high 34 points and tied the school record with seven 3's, David Elliott added 13 including a clutch triple in the final two minutes of overtime, and Garden City beat No. 21 Cloud County, 74-67 at Arley Bryant Gymnasium. The Broncbusters won for the fourth time in their last five games, improving to 11-4 overall and 6-4 in the Jayhawk. They are now tied for third in the conference standings. 

"There were times tonight that I thought we were dead in the water," Elmore said afterwards. "They guarded the living daylights out of us. I literally looked over at our staff and asked them what do we run? I mean, we literally couldn't get anything going. But thankfully we have DaJion Humphrey."

The sharpshooter, who is now sixth in the conference in scoring, tied Kendale Hampton's single-game mark for 3's in a game, finishing 7-of-12 from long range. He was 11-of-20 from the field and added four rebounds.  

"That's the first time I've scored 30 points in a game probably since high school," Humphrey said with a smile. "I feel like as far as me being the leader, this team will go as far as me and Buru (Naivalurua) will go. Today was a much-needed win, and I am so happy for our team. That was gritty win right there." 

The Broncbusters, like most teams have this season, struggled with the Thunderbirds length and half-court, pressure man-to-man defense, which was the main reason Elmore's squad was down 19-9 halfway through the opening period. But with the game teetering, Garden City responded with a 19-3 surge. Elliott connected from deep, Humphrey drilled a 3 and hit a layup, and the Broncbusters were up 28-22 with 1:48 remaining. They led by two at the break. 

"Hats off to Coach Bobby (Naubert)," Humphrey added. We were in the gym all week, sometimes two or three times a day working on things."

That work paid off down the stretch when Garden City was staring at a seven-point deficit with less than 10 minutes to go. Humphrey, the transfer from Holy Cross, who won a pair of state titles at Southfield Christian in Detroit, swished a midrange jumper, Naivalurua fed Larry Olayinka for a dunk, and Humphrey canned back-to-back treys to cut the Cloud County lead to 55-54 with 4:17 remaining. Then, trailing by one with 1:33 on the clock, Naivalurua made a layup to give Garden City a 59-58 advantage. 

"Winning these types of games never gets old," Elmore explained.

After Justin Graham hit 1-of-2 from the line to tie the game with 27 seconds to play, Garden City still had a chance to win in regulation. But Naivalurua's open 3 from the top of the key clanged off the back rim, sending the game into overtime. 

"We won this game because of our defense," Elmore said. "When it mattered, we guarded them like they guarded us. That's why we won the game."

It was all Garden City in the extra session. Naivalurua connected on a floater in the paint, Jaborri McGhee swished two free throws, and Elliott, who was hampered in the second half by a hip injury drilled a 25-footer from the right wing, putting the Broncbusters up, 69-62 with less than two minutes remaining. 

Elliott pulled down 11 rebounds for Garden City, which won the game despite shooting a season-low 37 percent from the field. They also improved to 4-1 on the road. McGhee finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and three steals in 43 minutes. 

Graham paced the Thunderbirds with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He had nine rebounds and four assists. 

Notes: Humphrey tied Hampton's school record for 3's in a game. Hampton went 7-of-17 from distance at Pratt on Feb. 14, 2018.