BUFFS ROUNDUP: Wednesday, February 6, 2020
BASKETBALL
The Garden City High School basketball teams returned to the court Tuesday night in Dodge City for Western Athletic Conference action against rival Dodge City. The Buffaloes’ boys came away with a 57-42 victory for their first WAC win of the season while the Lady Buffs fell, 52-38, to the Lady Demons.
BOYS
With three regulars sidelined by injuries, Buffaloes head coach Jacy Holloway had to shuffle his starting lineup and rotation accordingly in their match-up with rival Dodge City.
How they managed to put the band-aid on the playing time, it worked as the Buffs broke a mini two-game losing streak with a solid 57-42 victory over the Red Demons at the DCHS gymnasium.
The victory improved the Buffs’ season record to 6-7 and it was their first WAC victory in four tries as the first half of the double round-robin schedule came to a close. Dodge City dropped to 3-12 overall and 1-3 in the WAC.
The Buffs led a back-and-forth first quarter 16-15 before a 15-9 second stanza advantage gave them a 31-24 halftime advantage. In a low-scoring third quarter in which both teams were about as cold as the outside temperature, the Buffs saw that lead dwindle to 34-31 from a 7-3 deficit in that stretch.
That set the stage for an offensive explosion by the Buffs, scoring 23 points while holding the Demons to just 11 to put the game away.
Neither team shot the ball well, with the Buffs going 11-of-36 (4-of-13 from behind the arc) for 30.6 percent. But the Demons were as icy cold as an igloo at the North Pole, hitting just 13-of-66 field goals (5-of-33 from the 3-point line) for only 19.7 percent.
The free throw line proved to be the big difference in the game as the Buffs utilized 28 Dodge City fouls to hit 31-of-40 charities (77.5 percent). Dodge, meanwhile, hit 11-of-18 from the line.
Dodge City out-rebounded the Buffs, 50-38, as the Demons’ John Johnson grabbed 17 rebounds (12 offensive) to go with a game-high 18 points. The Buffs had a balanced offensive attack, with Azavier Williams leading the way with 17 points. Isaac Flores followed with 11 points while Luke Tolbert and Christian Reyes chipped in with 10 points apiece.
Both teams struggled offensively in handling the ball as the Buffs committed 21 turnovers only to see the Demons guilty of 23 miscues.
The Buffs will return to action on Friday, Feb. 7, with a Homecoming non-league game with Guymon, Okla. The tip-off will follow the Lady Buffs 6 p.m. game at approximately 7:45 p.m.
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Garden City 16 15 3 23 — 57
Dodge City 15 9 7 11 — 42
Garden City (6-7/1-3) – Williams 4-8 7-8 17, Flores 2-6 6-8 11, Tolbert 3-9 3-4 10, C. Reyes 1-1 8-10 10, Springston 0-1 0-0 0, Wiese 0-3 2-4 2, Tanner 0-3 2-2 2, Nguyen 0-3 0-0 0, Nuzum 1-1 0-0 2, Underwood 0-1 3-4 3. Totals 11-36 31-40 57.
3-point goals: Garden City, 4-13 (Williams 2-4, Flores 1-3, Tolbert 1-2, Springsto 0-1, Nguyen 0-3). Rebounds: Garden City 38 (C. Reyes 8). Assists, 8 (Flores 4).
GIRLS
After placing fourth at the Newton Invitational last weekend, the Lady Buffs of Garden City were looking to get back on the winning track Tuesday night in a key Western Athletic Conference match-up in Dodge City.
But a second and third quarter surge by the Lady Red Demons was too much to overcome as the Lady Buffs came up on the short end of a 52-38 score.
Trailing just 9-6 after the first quarter, the Lady Buffs were outscored 19-12 and 16-10 in the middle periods to trail 28-18 at halftime and 44-28 after three stanzas. The Buffs outscored the Demons 10-8 over the closing eight minutes.
The Lady Buffs got 10 points from center Symone Simmons, but she was the lone double-figure scorer for coach Matt Pfeifer. They shot just 39.5 percent from the floor (15-of-38) and didn’t make any of their 12 3-point attempts. They hit 8-of-11 free throws. Dodge City won the rebounding battle, 35-20. Dodge City’s scoring was led by Camree Johnson and Chidera Okoro with 13 points each.
Tuesday’s loss left the Buffs with an 8-6 season record and 2-2 in the WAC. They will host Guymon, Okla., on Friday at 6 p.m. in The Garden for Homecoming. It will be a rematch of the season-opening game in Guymon, in which the Lady Tigers prevailed, 60-50.
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Garden City 6 12 10 10 — 38
Dodge City 9 19 16 8 — 52
Garden City (8-6/2-2) – Beasley 1-6 1-2 3, Calzonetti 2-3 1-1 5, Becerril 0-5 0-0 0, Gallegos 3-8 3-4 9, Simmons 4-5 2-2 10, Meng 1-1 0-0 2, Turner 1-2 0-0 2, Rodriguez 3-8 1-2 7. Totals 15-38 8-11 38.
3-point goals: Garden City (0-12), Beasley 0-5, Becerril 0-4, Gallegos 0-1, Rodriguez 0-2. Rebounds: 20 (Simmons 5). Assists: 8 (Rodriguez 3).
Garden City High School 