Tigers shock No. 6-ranked Dodge City 79-76
Posted: Jan 20, 2022

Tigers' shock No. 6-ranked Dodge City 79-76

Facing a Dodge City team that was atop the Jayhawk Conference standings and had previously handed the Cowley College men's basketball team its largest defeat of the season, the Tigers shocked the sixth-ranked Conquistadors by pulling out a 79-76 victory Wednesday night inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

"We have proven that we can compete with anyone at home," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

Dodge City, which entered the game with a record of 16-2, scored the first six points of Wednesday's game and forced Jackson to use a pair of timeouts in the game's first three and a half minutes.

The Tigers got the message as they fought back to lead 25-15 following a three-pointer by Xavier Valley with 10:15 left in the opening half. Cowley would lead by as many as 14 points before going into halftime with a 43-32 advantage.

Cowley hit 9-of-16 three-pointers in the opening half and were led by Raishaun Brown's 11 points.

The Tigers' lead would grow to 15 points (48-33) one minute into the second half. However, Cowley would score just two points over the next 11 minutes as Dodge City used a 25-2 run to lead 58-50 with eight minutes left.

Cowley fought back by scoring nine straight points to regain the lead and sophomore Clarence King took over by scoring 17 of his game-high 24 points in the final eight minutes.

"Clarence is a big-game player that is fun to watch when he has it going," Jackson said.

Still, the game would not be decided until the final buzzer. Brown hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2.3 seconds left to put Cowley ahead 79-76. With one final chance to tie, Dodge City got the ball in to Themus Fulks who raced up court and fired a running 35-foot three-pointer that was off the mark as time expired.

Cowley, winners of four of its past five games, is now 10-8 overall and improves its record to 6-6 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Brown finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

"Rai has been due for a game like this because of all the time he spends in the gym working on his game," Jackson said.

Valley stepped up with 15 points and five rebounds, while Christian Williams came off the bench to score a season-high eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor. Williams hit both of his three-point attempts as Cowley went 13-of-28 from three-point range.

"Christian gave our team some juice," Jackson said. "I am proud of the way he stepped up and helped the team."

Dodge City (16-3) remains in first place in the Jayhawk Conference, a half game ahead of second place Hutchinson as they are now 11-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Conquistadors were led by Fulks 22 points.

Cowley will play its first of three straight road games when they play at Barton Saturday at 4 p.m. The Cougars are 10-8 overall and 4-8 in the conference.

"We will have an opportunity to see if we have grown up and can play with the effort needed to win on the road," Jackson said. "This is a big stretch for us. We will need to find a way to get road toughness."

Box score:

Dodge City (76): Oumar Koureissi 3-6 3-4 9, Themus Fulks 8-12 5-6 22, Jordan Love 0-2 3-4 3, BJ Freeman 6-18 3-4 17, Nick Pringle 2-2 6-8 10, Jonathan Breeland 0-0 0-0 0, Kalen Williams 2-7 0-0 5, Keandre Bowles 0-0 0-0 0, Kerwin Prince 5-9 0-1 10. Totals: 26-56 20-27 76.

Cowley (79): Raishaun Brown 4-7 3-4 14, Mekhi Cameron 2-7 0-0 6, Clarence King 7-16 7-9 24, Xavier Valley 5-12 2-2 15, Chris Spenkuch 1-1 0-0 2, Xavier Washington 3-4 0-0 6, Emmanuel Austin 0-1 0-0 0, Christian Williams 3-4 0-0 8, Trevion Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Kennedy Willis 1-1 2-2 4, KJ Spiller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 26-55 14-17 79.

Three-pointers: Dodge City 4-20 (Freeman 2-10, Williams 1-4, Fulks 1-2, Love 0-2, Koureissi 0-2), Cowley 13-28 (Valley 3-9, King 3-6, Brown 3-4, Cameron 2-5, Williams 2-2, Austin 0-1, Alexander 0-1). Rebounds: Dodge City 22 (Prince 6), Cowley 31 (Brown, Valley, Willis 5). Assists: Dodge City 8 (Fulks, Freeman 3), Cowley 16 (Brown, Alexander, Willis 3). Turnovers: Dodge City 13, Cowley 15. Total fouls: Dodge City 14, Cowley 21. Fouled out: Pringle, Spenkuch, Willis. Technicals: King.