Saints Outlast Busters in Slugfest

Saturday's Jayhawk West Conference Opener between Seward County and Garden City was everything we expected and more as the two regional rivals battled things out in a 40 minute test of attrition before the Saints came out on top of a 75-69 victory to continue their seven game win streak and end an 11 game win streak for the Busters.  

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It was a battle of teams coming off of opposite finishes in the Jayhawk West last season in the opener.  The Saints clinched their third straight Jayhawk West title in 2013 while Garden City finished dead last in the nine team race and saw their season come to an end at the hands of Seward last March in the first round of the Region VI Tournament in the Greenhouse.  

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In front of a good Perryman Center crowd, the Saints jumped out in front early on 7-2 against Garden City.  The Busters snuck back into the game later on as the Saints lead was cut to two at 11-9 before the 15:00 mark of the half.  A 10-0 run midway through the half gave Garden City their first lead since the opening seconds of the game, putting the Broncbusters on top of the Saints 19-15 with 10:44 left in the half.  Garden carried the four point lead to the first half media timeout, but with under 8:00 to go in the half, a big pull up three pointer from Malcolm Hill-Bey put Seward back in front 26-25.  Hill-Bey continued a big offensive first half later on, making back to back shots to give the Saints their largest lead of the period at 40-34 with 1:26 left before the break.  Both teams missed on last minute opportunities before the half and they went to the break with the score in favor of the Saints 40-34.    

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Hill-Bey led the way for Seward with 15 first half points while Quentin Purtue and Secean Johnson each pitched in 10.  The rest of the Saints team managed just 5 combined points in the first 20 minutes.  Seward shot just 37% in the first half while Garden City shot 57%, but the Saints outscored the Busters 17-7 at the free throw line to grab the six point lead midway through the contest.  

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After trading baskets early in the second half, the Busters cut into the Seward lead and a pair of Garden City free throws made it a one point game, 50-49 with 14:07 remaining.  A big no call on the Saints end of the floor followed by a technical foul call on Seward Head Coach Bryan Zollinger gave Garden City a pair of free throws and a giftwrapped lead 51-50 with under 11:30 to go in the game.  After Seward came back to tie the game at 53, a mini 5-0 spurt for the Saints put them on top once again, this time 58-53 with 9:11 left.  The Saints extended upon their lead later on as Purtue found a cutting Niem Stevenson for an easy two to make it 66-58 and give Seward County their largest lead of the game.  Seward held the eight point advantage under the 2:00 mark but Garden didn't quit in front of their home crowd, cutting the Saints lead to just three as the clock ticked under a minute.  A missed out of control shot for the Saints was off the mark with under 30 seconds to go, but a huge offensive rebound and putback by Johnson gave the Saints a 73-68 lead.  The Saints hit a pair of free throws down the stretch and hung on to escape the Perryman Center with a 75-69 victory.  

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Seward shot 37% in the game, going exactly 10 for 27 in both halves while the Busters shot 47% in the game but just 35% in the second half.  Seward managed 11 more field goal attempts than Garden City in the game thanks to 18 offensive rebounds in the contest.  After outrebounding their opponents in 15 straight games, Garden City couldn't solve the Saints plan of attack on the glass as Seward outrebounded the Busters 43-31 in this one. 

Hill-Bey led the Saints with a career high 24 points in the victory.  Johnson finished with 20 and Purtue with 11 after a quiet second half.  

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The game featured 59 foul calls and an unbelievable 88 free throws taken, 46 by Seward and 42 by Garden City.  In fact, the Busters finished the game with just one more field goal attempt (43) than free throw attempts with the 42.  

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The Saints earn their seventh straight win in the grinder.  Seward improves to 11-6 overall on the year and most importantly, get their first conference win in their first chance of the season.  Garden City snaps an 11 game win streak, falling to 14-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in Jayhawk West Conference play.  The Saints get the tough task of traveling on the road again Wednesday when they make the trek to the Community Building in Colby to take on an improved Trojans squad while Garden City faces the daunting task of battling Hutchinson in the Sports Arena Wednesday.  

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