Buffs survive Lakin road test

Story by Garden City High School Sports Information

It seems as though there is never an easy way for the Garden City High School boys’ basketball team to either win a close game, or to fall short in another tightly-contested battle.

That was the situation the Buffs found themselves on Tuesday night in a road test at Lakin, just three days after losing a heartbreaker at Holcomb by two points.

Somehow, though, the Buffs did just enough to close out a 48-44 victory over the Broncs to improve their season record to 6-3, equaling the number of wins they had all of last year. Lakin, meanwhile, saw its record slip to 2-5.

“I thought for the most part we did a good job of getting the shots we wanted, but many just didn’t fall,” head coach Luke Swedberg said. “We were able to find ways to attack their zone. I think Lakin did a good job of disrupting some of our shots at the rim, but we’ve got to be able finish shots that are close.”

Things didn’t start off well for the Buffs in this one, just as it has been on several occasions in the 2025-26 campaign.

Lakin’s leading scorer, French foreign exchange student Florian Canac scored the Broncs’ first five points and then Jesse Peregrino added a 3-pointer to leave the Buffs in an early 8-5 hole. Getting some of their own long-range scoring from Daniel Monarrez and Mackoy Hemmert, the Buffs trimmed the first quarter deficit to 15-14.

“They’ve got a point guard (Canac) who can make plays in different ways, and I think we did a good job in stretches of containing him,” Swedberg said of Canac (14 points). “We had a couple of letdowns, but good players find ways to help their team.”

Those two accounted for 10 of the Buffs’ 13, second-quarter points while the defense put the clamps on the Broncs’ shooters, limiting them to 10 points that produced a 27-25 halftime edge. Sophomore Aydyn Holloway, son of former GCHS boys’ coach Jacy Holloway, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Broncs close.

In the third quarter, the Buffs built a 10-point advantage at 38-28 only to see the Broncs score the final four points of the period to make it 38-32 heading to the concluding quarter.

Garden City had leads of as many as nine points twice, the last at 43-34, before Lakin rallied and got two 3-pointers, one each from Canac and Holloway, the last one with 0:10 seconds remaining to make it a 46-44 cliffhanger. Hemmert cinched the victory by cashing in on two free throws with 0:07 showing.

Monarrez and Hemmert were the scoring leaders for the Buffs with 18 and 16 points, respectively. The Buffs, however, were only 8-of-15 from the free throw line. Lakin, meanwhile, got 14 points from Canac, 12 points from Peregrino and Holloway chipped in with his trio of 3-pointers.

“I think we did a nice job of passing the ball well and we were able to find guys open both inside and outside,” Swedberg said. “There were not a lot of possessions in the second half that I didn’t like.”

It was a good test against a young Lakin team with some talented shooters and athleticism, Swedberg said, and he’s happy to be able to get a win out of it.

“We did a lot of good things that will help us down the road,” Swedberg said.

Statistically, neither team shot the ball particularly well. The Buffs finished by hitting 18 of 61 for 34 percent compared to Lakin’s 16 for 48 (33 percent).

The Buffs dominated the rebounding with a 47-27 commanding margin as Drew Strecker pulled down a game-high 15 boards. The Buffs had 12 assists, 10 turnovers and 5 steals while Lakin had 9 assists, 14 turnovers and 7 steals.

The Buffs can now move their focus to the Western Athletic Conference where they will turn right around and play Thursday against Great Bend at home (7:45 p.m.) The game was moved from Friday due to weather forecasts that call for possibly 4-6 inches of snow and high wind.

The Panthers are now 4-4, having started 4-0, but have been without all-state forward Ian Premer (Notre Dame bound for football) for the last few games. Premer, a 6-6 forward averaging 23 points per game, is reportedly sidelined indefinitely due to an injury, according to The Great Bend Tribune.

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Tuesday, Jan. 6

At Lakin High School

GARDEN CITY 48, LAKIN 44

Garden City (48) — Rosales 1 0-0 2, Monarrez 8 0-2 18, J. Jagels 1 4-7 6, Hemmert 6 2-2 16, Strecker 2 2-4 6. Totals 18 8-15 48.

Lakin (44) — Canac 5 2-2 14, Clymer 0 2-2 2, Bemis 2 0-0 5, Holloway 3 0-0 9, Peregrino 5 0-1 12, Line 1 0-0 2. Totals 16, 4-5 44.

Garden City (5-3)…14…13…11…10…–…48

Lakin (2-4)…15…10…7…12…–…44

3-point goals—Garden City 4 (Monarrez 2, Hemmert 2); Lakin 8 (Canac 2, Bemis 1, Holloway 3, Peregrino 2). Fouls—Garden City 12, Lakin 17. Fouled Out–Lakin (Peregrino).