Tigers hold off pesky Pratt squad, finish 7-1 against Jayhawk West

The No. 23-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team completed its run of Jayhawk West opponents with a 105-100 win at Pratt Community College on Saturday. With the victory, the Tigers improve its record to 7-3 overall and 7-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

The Tigers have won seven of eight games against Jayhawk West opponents and will now prepare to play 12 straight games against teams from the Jayhawk East.

Pratt out-shot Cowley 54.3 percent to 32.6 percent from the floor, but the difference in the game came down to free-throw shooting and turnovers. The Tigers went 35-of-45 from the foul line, while Pratt made only 18 of its 38 free-throw attempts. Cowley also forced the Beavers into 10 more turnovers in the game.

"We got great shots all night, we just could not make them," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "Credit to our guys in finding a way to tough one out on the road."

The Tigers held a slim 43-42 lead at the end of the first half before a back and forth second half saw the Beavers grab a 77-73 advantage following a layup by Nasan Ayala with 6:40 remaining.

However, the Tigers answered with an 11-0 run to regain the lead for good. Still, there were some tense moments in the victory as Pratt's Kion Hill missed a game-tying three-point attempt with seven seconds remaining.

Forced to foul, Pratt sent Cowley sophomore Mike'l Henderson to the line and he knocked down both free throws to seal the five-point win.

Henderson came off the bench to go 11-of-11 from the foul line and led all scorers with 26 points. Henderson has now scored 55 points in the past two games.

"Mike'l was really special," DeSalme said. "He continues to make the right decisions with the basketball and is playing with great pace and leadership."

Dalen Ridgnal was once again a force inside as he registered his ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 25 points and 19 rebounds.

Tommy Thomas led six Pratt players in double figures as he finished with 22 points. The Beavers are now 2-6 overall and 1-6 in the Jayhawk East.

Cowley will return home to face Independence Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates are 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Jayhawk East.

"Starting the East portion of our schedule, we will need to protect our homecourt," DeSalme said. "We will need to be ready to play at a high level."

Box score:

Cowley (105): Moun'tae Edmundson 3-14 3-4 12, Shemarri Allen 2-10 5-6 9, Cevin Clark 4-15 5-7 15, Dalen Ridgnal 7-18 10-15 25, Biar Garang 0-1 0-0 0, Mike'l Henderson 6-15 11-11 26, Clarence King 3-5 0-0 6, Jacquez Yow 3-5 0-0 7, Josiah Harris 2-4 1-2 5, Raishaun Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Kobe Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron Robins 0-1 0-0 0, Tarese Morse 0-1 0-0 0, Jayden McCray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-92 35-45 105.

Pratt (100): Harrison Eghan 4-6 2-7 10, Nasan Ayala 3-6 0-1 6, Malcolm Whitlow 4-7 2-3 10, Tommy Thomas 7-12 7-10 22, Carlos Montiel 3-5 0-0 6, D.J. Bailey 1-3 0-1 2, A.J. Weston 0-2 0-2 0, Eric Rhymes 4-6 1-3 11, Kion Hill 5-10 0-2 13, Cam Morris 7-12 5-7 19, Julian Eziukwu 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 38-70 18-38 100.

Three-pointers: Cowley 10-47 (Edmundson 3-14, Henderson 3-9, Clark 2-9, Ridgnal 1-7, Yow 1-3, Allen 0-1, Garang 0-1, King 0-1, Brown 0-1, Morse 0-1), Pratt 6-22 (Hill 3-7, Rhymes 2-3, Thomas 1-3, Whitlow 0-2, Montiel 0-2, Bailey 0-2, Eghan 0-1, Weston 0-1, Morris 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 45 (Ridgnal 19), Pratt 44 (Morris 9). Assists: Cowley 14 (Allen 5), Pratt 22 (Bailey 5). Turnovers: Cowley 20, Pratt 30. Total fouls: Cowley 26, Pratt 30. Fouled out: Clark, Whitlow. Technicals: Bailey.