Tigers show grit in 66-60 win at No. 21-ranked Barton

Racing out to a 15-2 lead at No. 21-ranked Barton Community College Tuesday in Great Bend, the Cowley College men's basketball team never trailed in the 66-60 road win.

The Tigers held a 34-22 halftime lead and held off every comeback attempt by the Cougars in the second half to pick up its first conference win. Cowley is now 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the Jayhawk Conference, while Barton falls to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

"This was a circle the wagons game for us," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "Playing our third straight ranked opponent, the guys found a way to be tougher tonight. We got off to a great start. We were attacking the glass aggressively. Xavier (Ziggy) Washington, Cam (Cameron Jernigan), and Demetrius Rives all set the tone rebounding."

The trio combined for 20 of Cowley's 42 rebounds, while sophomore Mekhi Cameron came up huge, finishing with 22 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor.

"Mekhi stepped up down the stretch," Jackson said. "Teams have been keying in on him, but he found a way to take advantage of opportunities tonight."

Cowley held Barton to a season-low 31 percent shooting. Hannes Star led the Cougars with 13 points, but he made just 2-of-10 shots from the floor.

The Tigers will look to even their record in conference play when they take on Northwest Kansas Tech Saturday at 4 p.m. in Goodland, KS.

"Northwest Tech has a really good team," Jackson said. "They are well-coached and have two legitimate scorers that can cause a lot of problems. It's a very difficult road trip. They play very well at home, so we will need to have two great practices leading into the game to give ourselves a chance."