Tigers’ comeback bid comes up just short in 108-99 loss in national championship game

So Close. In an all Kansas affair in the national championship game of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, the 10^th-seeded Coffeyville Red Ravens built a 24-point second-half lead and had to hold on with everything they had to win its second-ever national championship, 108-99 over the eighth-seeded Cowley Tigers Saturday at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS.

After trailing 64-40, Cowley (24-5) fought all the way back to within 102-99 with just over a minute left but were unable to complete another 20-plus point comeback at the national tournament as they finish as the national runner-up for the second time in school-history and the first time since the 1952-53 season.

"I was OK with whatever happened today, yes we wanted to win a national championship, but I also knew that if I didn't win it a really good friend of mine (Jay Herkelman) was going to win it," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said.

Facing off for the third time this season, after splitting two regular season meetings and sharing the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division title, Coffeyville (27-3) won the rubber match to be named national champion.

The game featured three lead changes and three ties in the first six minutes. However, Coffeyville used a 24-6 run to lead 39-21 following a basket by Blaise Keita with 7:20 left in the opening half.

The Red Ravens' lead would grow to 20 (51-31) after a basket by Larry White with 2:45 left before halftime and Coffeyville went into the half leading 60-40.

Coffeyville was led by Keita's 15 first half points, while Tylor Perry added 14 points as the Red Ravens shot 63.4 percent in the first half.

Mike'l Henderson led the Tigers with 12 first-half points, but Cowley shot only 35 percent and turned the ball over 10 times. 

Coffeyville would score the first four points of the second half to lead 64-40. Having already come back from a 25-point second-half deficit only two days before, the Tigers knew they were not out of it.

Cowley would shave 10 points off its 24-point deficit to trail 79-65 midway through the second half. The Tigers continued to chip away and got within 102-99 following a basket by sophomore Jacquez Yow with 1:12 remaining.

Cowley had possession of the ball down three when Yow missed inside and the rebound went out of bounds off the Tigers with 21.9 seconds left. Forced to foul, Perry made a pair of free throws to increase Coffeyville's lead to 104-99 and after a turnover on the Tigers the Red Ravens held on for the 108-99 win.

"We knew we were not out of it and made an incredible run without Dalen (Ridgnal)," DeSalme said. "We had a great opportunity to win a national championship. I told the team the effort we put in defines us as a great team. We came up short tonight, but this is an incredible group of kids and an assistant coach in Eric Nitsche. These sophomores put us on a national stage and we were all lucky to watch it."

The loss snapped Cowley's 15-game winning streak and was just the second loss for the Tigers in its past 25 games.

Keita went 13-of-16 from the floor and led seven Coffeyville players in double figures with 27 points.

Dalen Ridgnal, Cowley's leading scorer, had to sit out the majority of the second half due to injury. He finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Mike'l Henderson led the Tigers with 21 points, while Yow added 15 points and eight rebounds.

Ridgnal, Henderson, and Clark will go down among the top-20 scorers all-time in Cowley history.

Other sophomores that helped Cowley win back-to-back conference titles, win its first region title in 64 years, and finish as the national runner-up were Shemarri Allen, Moun'tae Edmundson, Jacquez Yow, Clarence King, and Biar Garang.

Ridgnal and Henderson were named to the All-Tournament team. After a 1-3 start to the season, the Tigers made everyone associated with the program proud by the way they came back to finish their history making season.

"We set a lot of records and it was a great championship game between two teams from the Jayhawk East," DeSalme said. "We put on a show. We have got to reload and recruit great players that want to be Cowley Tigers. This was an incredible group that put us on a national stage."

Box score:

Coffeyville (108): Bostyn Holt 5-11 2-2 12, Tylor Perry 5-12 6-9 18, Love Bettis 4-8 4-4 12, Markeith Browning 5-11 1-3 11, Blaise Keita 13-16 1-1 27, Larry White 4-4 3-5 11, Kevaughn Ellis 6-8 1-2 14, Jalen Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Hayden Brittingham 0-3 3-4 3. Totals: 42-75 21-30 108.

Cowley (99): Mike'l Henderson 7-19 4-4 21, Moun'tae Edmundson 3-10 1-1 8, Shemarri Allen 4-6 3-4 11, Cevin Clark 3-10 2-3 11, Dalen Ridgnal 4-6 6-8 17, Kobe Campbell 1-2 0-0 2, Clarence King 2-5 4-5 9, Raishaun Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Tarese Morse 0-1 0-0 0, Jacquez Yow 4-9 7-7 15, Josiah Harris 1-1 1-2 3. Totals: 30-73 28-34 99.

Three-pointers: Perry 2-8, Ellis 1-3, Bettis 0-2, Browning 0-2, Smith 0-1), Cowley 11-35 (Henderson 3-10, Clark 3-8, Ridgnal 3-5, Edmundson 1-7, King 1-1, Yow 0-2, Allen 0-1, Brown 0-1). Rebounds: Coffeyville 44 (Holt 13), Cowley 37 (Yow 8). Assists: Coffeyville 19 (Perry 7), Cowley 12 (Allen 5). Turnovers: Coffeyville 15, Cowley 16. Total fouls: Coffeyville 27, Cowley 28. Fouled out: Holt, Keita, Allen, Clark). Technicals: none.