Garden City Drops Tight Road Contest to Seward in Late-Game Fight, 81-78

Photo by: Adam Shrimplin/Garden City Athletics

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Liberal, KS – Garden City went into The Greenhouse on Wednesday night knowing it would take a complete 40 minutes to win on the road, and the Broncbusters delivered the kind of fight you want in February. In the end, Seward County made just enough plays late to escape with an 81-78 win, handing GCCC a narrow setback in one of the tighter conference battles of the week.

The opening quarter felt like it was going to be a track meet. Garden City answered every early Seward punch with confident shot-making, especially from Elektra Mjoll, who set the tone from deep. London Turner attacked the paint, created extra chances on the glass, and kept pressure on Seward’s defense as the teams traded the lead back and forth. After ten minutes, GCCC held a 22-20 edge and looked comfortable playing at Seward’s pace.

Seward’s response came in the second quarter. The Saints found rhythm offensively and strung together multiple scoring possessions while Garden City worked through a few empty trips. Even with the Broncbusters continuing to generate looks and battle for rebounds, Seward won the period 29-19, taking a 49-41 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Garden City flipped the script. The Broncbusters tightened up defensively, got stops, and turned that energy into quick offense on the other end. The third quarter was GCCC basketball at its best — poised, physical, and aggressive — as the Broncbusters outscored Seward 22-11 to erase the deficit and surge in front 63-60 heading to the fourth.

The final quarter turned into a possession-by-possession grind. Seward responded with timely buckets and leaned on late free throws to keep the lead from swinging again, edging the fourth 21-15 to seal it. Garden City had its chances down the stretch, continuing to compete on the glass and generate opportunities, but a couple key sequences at the line and on second-chance plays made the difference in a game that stayed within one or two possessions late.

Individually, the Broncbusters got a big night from their perimeter attack and their free-throw production. Mjoll led the way with 20 points and knocked down six three-pointers, while Turner paced GCCC with 21 points in an aggressive, downhill performance. Sokhna Ndiaye added 18 points and was excellent at the stripe, going 9-for-10 to keep Garden City within striking distance throughout the second half.

The loss stings, but the performance showed Garden City can compete with anyone in the conference on any floor. With several tight games recently, the Broncbusters continue to sharpen themselves for the stretch run.

In their last five games, the Broncbusters have gone 3–2, with both losses coming against high-level conference opponents.