Late free throws doom Garden City in eight-point loss to Dodge City

Dodge City, KS-Jason Edwards scored 25 points, Chris Robinson added 18, and No. 19 Dodge City snuck by Garden City, 84-76 Saturday afternoon at the Student Activity Center. The loss dropped the Broncbusters to 15-7 overall and 10-7 in conference play. 

Jacobi Sebock added 14 points and 11 boards for Dodge City, which improved to a league best 13-4 and 17-6 overall. Cam Malray netted 13 points and seven boards.  

The Conquistadors, which came into play shooting just 64 percent from the line as a team, won the game despite missing 13 free throws. They shot 44 percent from the field and 8-of-17 on 3s. 

The Broncbusters were 14-of-22 at the line, 8-of-20 from beyond the arc and shot 44 percent from the field. Jaborri McGhee scored 24 points and DaJion Humphrey finished with 23 on 7-of-10 from downtown, marking the second time this season that the sophomore has drained at least seven triples in a game.  

Garden City definitely had their chances in this one but struggled mightily on the glass. They were outrebounded 42-35 and surrendered 13 offensive boards, which led to 17 points.  

Boston Harker's two free throws four minutes into the game gave the Broncbusters their largest advantage of the day at 11-6. But Garden City could never build on that, and in a game that saw 17 lead changes and 13 ties, Rusty Elmore's team was down 43-40 at half.  

Trailing by three midway through the second half, Harker canned a 3-pointer from the wing to knot things up at 61. McGhee followed with a free throw, and Humphrey, who drained three straight triples to end the first half, connected from deep to put Garden City up 68-65 with 7:26 to go. But Dodge City, which led by as many as nine late in the opening period, countered right back when Robinson swished a corner 3. 

Still, following Buru Naivalurua's 2-footer inside, the Broncbusters had a 72-71 advantage with less than five minutes on the clock. But Garden City got stagnant on offense. Jackson Edwards responded with a 3-pointer on the other end, and Sebock connected on two free throws to give the Conquistadors a four-point cushion with less than a minute to play. McGhee, who was solid again in the second half, had two free throws rattle in and out with 30 seconds to go that would have made it a two-point contest. 

Harker finished with 10 points but was just 2-of-7 for Garden City, which remains in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Jayhawk. David Elliott was 1-of-10 in 35 minutes.