When Antonio Hanson plays basketball, it's with a chip on his shoulder. There's no concrete motivation for what drives the 6-foot-2 guard from Independence Community College, it's just there.

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Garden City Community College's Corey Claitt, right, lays up a shot over Independence's Michael Craion in the lane Saturday during the Thanksgiving Classic at Perryman Athletic Complex.

Saturday night in a 72-59 win over Garden City Community College at Perryman Athletic Complex, the chip on the shoulder was on full display, as were Hanson's talents as the Liberal native led the Pirates with 17 points for Independence's fifth straight win.

"Every night I have a chip on my shoulder, I don't know why but it keeps me going," Hanson said. "I don't care if we're playing in front of one person or in front of 1,000 people. I want whoever is in the stands to see me and say 'he plays basketball the right way, he always plays hard,' and if that's what comes out of it, I know we've got a chance to win. And if we win, I've been succesful."

Hanson has signed to play at Georgia Southern next season, where he will be a teammate of former Garden City All-American Julian Allen.

"Hanson played really good, I thought he showed a lot of poise and hit some big shots," said Garden City coach Kris Baumann. "We dug ourselves a big hole early and were never able to get out of it."

Garden City (9-2) hung tough with the Pirates until about midway through the first half, when Independence (6-3) reeled off an 11-0 run for a 33-17 lead. The Broncbusters went into halftime trailing, 39-26.

In the second half, Garden City clawed its way back to within five points at the six minute mark, and again at 61-56 with just under three minutes to play, but couldn't make up the difference. Hanson hit a 3-pointer to stop the first Broncbuster rally, then nailed two free throws to kill the second.

"If I only score two points and we win, it's a great day," Hanson said. "What matters isn't stats, but the wins and losses."

Freshman forward Chris Roquemore received his second technical foul in four games in the first half, and never re-entered the game after blocking two shots and scoring two points in under 10 minutes.

"I didn't put him back in because I didn't see where he could help us," Baumann said.

Corey Claitt led Garden City with 21 points and hit 10-of-12 free throws.

Claitt and backcourt mate Jordan Ragan were a combined 7-of-32 shooting from the field and Garden City hit just 19 of 67 shots on the game for an anemic 28 percent clip. Tyrone Flemming had his first double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Garden City returns to action Friday at the Jayhawk Shootout, taking on Fort Scott at 9 p.m.

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Independence (6-3, 0-0): Hanson 5-14 4-4 17, Stukes 3-6 1-2 7, Donald Rowe 3-7 2-2 8, Daniel Rowe 6-10 3-5 15, Kelley 1-3 0-1 3, Nebojsa 0-1 0-0 0, Moss 3-8 7-9 13, Heard 1-4 0-0 2, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Bush 1-3 1-4 3, Egbe 0-2 0-0 0, Craion 2-8 0-0 4. Totals -- 25-66 18-26 72.

GCCC (9-2, 0-0): Flemming 8-14 0-2 17, Ragan 2-13 3-4 9, Claitt 5-19 10-12 21, White 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 2-7 0-3 4, Young 1-3 3-5 5, Tarvin 0-3 1-2 1, Roquemore 1-2 0-0 2, Link 0-5 0-2 0. Totals -- 19-67 17-30 59.

Halftime: Independence 39-26. 3-Point Goals -- Independence 4-17 (Hanson 3-8, Kelley 1-2, Donald Rowe 0-2, Moss 0-2, Daniel Rowe 0-1, Heard 0-1, Craion 0-1); GCCC 4-18 (Ragan 2-7, Claitt 1-5, Flemming 1-3, Young 0-2, Tarvin 0-1). Rebounds -- Independence 50 (Craion 8, Hanson 7); GCCC 52 (Flemming 11, Claitt 9). Assists -- Independence 6 (Hanson, Daniel Rowe 2); GCCC 5 (Ragan 2). Steals -- Independence 12 (Hanson 5); GCCC 7 (Ragan 3).

Lady Busters lose third straight

The Garden City Community College women's basketball team continued its recent struggles Saturday, falling to Northeastern Colorado 69-54 at the Perryman Athletic Complex.

Despite double-digit efforts from Janel Durler, Trista Schmitt and Whitnie Young, the Lady Busters (3-7) trailed 34-27 at the half and shot only .309 on the night. Durler and Schmitt has 12 points, while Young led Garden City with 14 points.

The Lady Busters only had three other players put points on the board.

The loss closes out an anaemic 0-3 finish at the Thanksgiving Classic, Garden City's final home tournament of the season. The Lady Busters will look to rebound tomorrow when they travel to Lamar, Colo. to take on Lamar Community College. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

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NE Colorado: Conner 5-13 6-10 19, Howard 5-16 0-0 11, Garner 4-5 1-1 9, Forbes 2-11 1-2 5, Bennett 1-5 1-2 3, Neill 1-3 2-2 5, Creamer 1-2 1-2 3, Kroeger 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Priest 3-5 0-0 6, Forstmann 3-9 2-4 8. Totals -- 25-69 14-26 69.

GCCC (3-7, 0-0): Durler 5-11 2-5 12, L. Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Schmitt 2-5 1-2 5, Novack 4-11 2-2 12, A. 2-7 0-0 6, Young 3-14 6-10 14, Burnett 0-0 0-1 0, Johnson 0-1 0-1 0, Jones 1-4 3-7 5. Totals -- 17-55 14-28 54.

Halftime -- NE Colorado 34-27. 3-Point Goals -- NE Colorado 5-17 (Conner 3-7 Howard 1-3, Neill 1-2, Forbes 0-2, Priest 0-2, Garner 0-1; GCCC 6-22 (Young 2-8, Novack 2-7, A. Brown 2-5, Schmitt 0-2). Rebounds -- NE Colorado 58 (Forbes 10, Priest 8); GCCC 41 (Jones 9, Schmitt 7). Assists -- NE Colorado 9 (Bennett 3); GCCC 5 (Durler, A. Brown 2). Steals -- NE Colorado 7 (Conner, Bennett 2); GCCC 3 (Three with one).