By MIKE KESSINGER

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mkessinger@gctelegram.com

With it all over and the final score in Garden City Community College's favor, the Broncbusters could breathe easy. Even if it had taken every bit of energy each player had right down to the final second.

The fact is, the Busters won 68-62 against Pratt. It's all that matters. Especially for a team that was winless in the first two games since their return from Christmas break. On Wednesday night at Perryman Athletic Conference the Busters picked up their first Jayhawk Conference win of the season, and picked up some momentum to go along with it.

"I was happy with the way the kids played in the last few minutes," Garden City head coach Kris Baumann said. "I was happy with the way we finished the game. I thought we handled pressure pretty well late in the game."

It was a good thing for the Busters to handle the pressure. Through the entire second half Garden City (12-4, 1-2) was holding on tight as Pratt kept surging the final 20 minutes. It just wouldn't be enough for the Beavers, who went into halftime trailing by 15.

"It feels real good, because three in a row (losses) would have kind of been depressing," Busters center Sterling Link said. "We needed that win to get back in to the swing of things. It's a big confidence booster."

In the first half, Link was giving the Busters a huge boost in the low post. The 6-foot-9 sophomore scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half, connecting on his first four field goal attempts. Garden City will need his production after teammate Chris Roquemore, who split time with Link, was dismissed from the team earlier in the week.

"At first I was kind of struggling and coach had been on me a lot," Link said. "I have to produce more. I have to step up. Some changes have been made on the team and whatnot. That's my whole mentality, I have to step up and make plays for my team."

In the second half though, Pratt made it hard for Link to get his hands on the ball, and with that, the Garden City lead that was 15 at halftime was cut to two when the Beavers' T.J. Hardeman hit a pair of technical free throws called on the Busters' Tim Brown.

Pratt was never able to get any sort of lead though. Damien Young made sure of that. The Garden City guard hit four 3-pointers in the game on his way to 16 points. His final two 3-pointers came at key moments in the second half to give the Busters momentum.

"Everybody on the team knows he's capable of making shots for us," Baumann said of Young. "We expect him to make big shots and he stepped up and made big shots. We were happy for him."

In the final 35 seconds Corey Claitt took care of the Busters final four points as he scored them all at the free throw line. It was the icing for Garden City, who is hoping to have all the pieces put together soon.

"We are starting to get there," Link said. " We're still gelling. You have to get everybody on the same page. That's all."

Claitt finished with game-high honors for Garden City with 17 points. Link tallied a double-double as he grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with his 13 points.

Will Collins led the way for Pratt with 17 points.

The Busters will be at home Saturday to face conference rival Cloud County Community College. The game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

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Pratt 24 38 -- 62

Garden City 39 29 -- 68

PRATT: Jones 1-3 0-2 2, Rivas 1-5 2-5 4, Whitten 5-10 0-3 10, Collins 7-16 1-3 17, Hammond 5-12 3-4 15, Jackson 2-3 0-3 4, Hardeman 2-4 2-2 6, Lollar 0-0 0-0 0, Bolling 1-4 0-0 2, Crittenden 0-4 2-2 2. Totals -- 24-61 10-24 62.

GARDEN CITY (12-4, 1-2): Flemming 2-7 2-2 7, Ragan 1-6 3-3 6, Claitt 4-12 9-13 17, White 2-3 1-2 5, Brown 0-1 0-4 0, Young 6-13 0-0 16, Tarvin 0-2 4-4 4, Baird 0-1 0-0 0, Ottley 0-0 0-0 0, Link 6-11 1-1 13. Totals -- 21-56 20-29 68.

3-Point Goals -- Pratt 4-20 (Collins 2-8, Hammond 2-6, Crittenden 0-2, Hardeman 0-2, Bolling 0-1); Garden City 6-19 (Young 4-9, Ragan 1-4, Flemming 1-2, Claitt 0-3, Tarvin 0-1). Fouled out -- Whitten, Pratt. Rebounds -- Pratt 33 (Rivas 11); Garden City 55 (Link 12, Claitt 9, Flemming 8). Assists -- Pratt 7 (Jones 4); Garden City 5 (Ragan 2). Total fouls -- Pratt 22, Garden City 22.