Tigers fall to Butler in overtime

The Cowley College men's basketball team gave the No. 25-ranked Butler Community College Grizzlies all they could handle on Monday Night in El Dorado before falling in overtime by a score of 70-59.

Butler entered the game unbeaten at home (10-0), while Cowley has just one win away from W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The Grizzlies would lead Monday's game 10-4 after the first five minutes of play, but Cowley rallied to lead 22-16 following a three-pointer by Mekhi Cameron with 7:12 left in the opening half. The Tigers would score only three more points the remainder of the half, yet went into the break leading 25-24.

Cowley would fall behind 40-33 eight minutes into the second half before rallying to tie the game at 50-50 following a basket by Raishaun Brown with 1:38 remaining.

Neither team would score again in regulation as the game went to overtime tied at 50-50.

"You hold Butler to 50 points in regulation, on their home court, you need to find a way to win that game," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

Butler would score the first six points of the extra session and led 62-53 following a three-pointer by Treylon Payne with 1:45 left in overtime. With Cowley forced to foul in order to try and come back, the Grizzlies would go 10-of-10 from the foul line and out-score the Tigers 20-9 in the extra session.

"I liked what we were doing the first 40 minutes, then we just kind of folded in overtime," Jackson said. "We have got to find a way to finish the tough plays."

Butler finished 18-of-23 from the foul line, while Cowley made just 12-of-21 free throw attempts.

"If you are struggling to score, you better make your free throws and we were not able to do that," Jackson said.

Freshman Trevion Alexander was a bright spot in the loss as he came off the bench to grab a game-high six rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

"Trevion has taken advantage of his opportunities and I hope he continues to progress," Jackson said.

Raishaun Brown and Clarence King shared game-high honors for Cowley with 15 points apiece. The duo combined to make 11-of-16 field goal attempts, while the rest of the team combined to go 10-of-34.

Butler was led by Keyon Thomas' 18 points and eight assists. The Grizzlies are now 15-5 overall and 9-5 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Cowley is now 10-10 overall and 6-8 in the conference. The Tigers will attempt to get back in the victory column when they play at Northwest Kansas Technical College Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Mavericks (6-13) are currently in last place in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 3-10.

"It's a long trip and our third game in five days, but there are no excuses," Jackson said. "We have got to find a way to earn a road win. We will keep fighting and working to finish games down the stretch."

Box score:

Cowley (59): Raishaun Brown 5-7 4-7 15, Mekhi Cameron 3-7 1-2 10, Clarence King 6-9 3-6 15, Xavier Valley 1-7 3-4 5, Kennedy Willis 1-2 0-0 2, Xavier Washington 1-3 0-0 3, Emmanuel Austin 1-3 0-0 2, Christian Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Trevion Alexander 1-2 1-2 3, Chris Spenkuch 2-7 0-0 4, KJ Spiller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-50 12-21 59.

Butler (70): Treylon Payne 3-13 4-4 11, Eden Holt 5-14 0-0 15, Jaden Okon 4-6 3-4 11, Isaiah Williams 0-4 7-8 7, Keyon Thomas 6-10 4-4 18, Shawn Warrior 0-0 0-0 0, Isaac Ondekane 4-6 0-3 8. Totals: 22-53 18-23 70.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-19 (Cameron 3-6, Brown 1-2, Washington 1-2, Valley 0-4, King 0-2, Williams 0-2, Spiller 0-1), Butler 8-25 (Holt 5-10, Thomas 2-5, Payne 1-8, Williams 0-2). Rebounds: Cowley 28 (Alexander 6), Butler 30 (Ondekane 6). Assists: Cowley 12 (five players with 2), Butler 18 (Payne 8). Turnovers: Cowley 13, Butler 10. Total fouls: Cowley 18, Butler 14. Fouled out: Willis. Technicals: none.