Humphrey and Naivalurua explode for 65 points as Garden City powers past Hutch
Two years ago, Tommy DeSalme’s in-your-face, full-court, man-to-man press, pushed Cowley within 40 minutes of a National Championship. But on Saturday, Garden City masterfully eradicated it, rendering it completely ineffective in the second half.
DaJion Humphrey and Buru Naivalurua combined for 65 points, Jaborri McGhee chipped in 17 points, seven assists, and three steals, and Garden City eviscerated powerhouse Hutchinson, 117-97 at Conestoga Arena. With the win, Garden City improved to 12-5 overall and 7-5 in the Jayhawk. They also moved within a game of second place in the standings.
“This was an unbelievable team win,” Head Coach, Rusty Elmore said afterwards. This was a tall task for Buru (Naivalurua) and he answered it. He was unbelievable tonight.”
The Australian, who arrived on campus last January, posted his eighth double-double of the season with 30 points and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes. He was 11-of-13 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line.
“We kind of got a glimpse of what we can be today,” Elmore added. “We can enjoy this one momentarily, but we have to jump right back into it.”
There were six lead changes and five ties in the first 17 minutes of the first half. But when Humphrey slipped a pocket pass to Naivalurua for a right-handed layup, the Broncbusters took a 38-37 advantage with 4:08 to go. McGhee followed with a jaw-dropping breakaway-dunk, and after Hutchinson went back up by three, Humphrey quickly answered with back-to-back long balls. Naivalurua then beat the halftime buzzer with a slick three-point play as Garden City closed the period by scoring the final five points to take a 52-47 advantage into the locker room.
The Broncbusters never trailed after that.
Despite the offensive pyrotechnics of sharpshooter Jayden Garrison, who tied a career-high with seven triples, Garden City continuously had the answer. Boston Harker hit a driving layup five minutes into the final period to give Garden City a 10-point cushion. Less than a minute later, Humphrey drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key followed by a pair of free throws that put the Broncbusters up, 78-64 with 13:03 remaining.
“This was a really good test for this team,” Elmore said.
After Garrison’s trey cut the lead to 86-77 with 10 minutes to go, Naivalurua made a layup, and Elliott swished a 3 from the right wing. But the shot that broke the Blue Dragons back came with less than eight minutes to go when Naivalurua beat the shot-clock buzzer with a straight-on 3-pointer to make it 96-81.
Humphrey finished 9-of-12 from the field and 13-of-16 from the line for Garden City, which shot a season-best 63 percent as a team. Harker added 15 points and five assists.
Garrison scored 31 points for Hutchinson, which dropped to 12-6 overall and 6-6 in conference play. Ra’Sean Frederick and Aaron Franklin each scored 16.
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