Tigers’ rain threes in 94-81 road win at Butler

Hitting nearly 50 percent of its three-point attempts, the No. 15-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team picked up a crucial 94-81 road win at Butler Community College Monday in El Dorado, KS.

Just two nights after knocking off No. 5-ranked Coffeyville, the Tigers hit 16-of-34 three-point attempts in the win over the Grizzlies.

"It seemed like every time Butler would get close we would come right down and hit a three," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "We made timely shots and keep getting tougher each game. We beat two of the most physical teams in the Jayhawk East in a 48 hour span."

After going only 1-of-8 in the win over Coffeyville, sophomore Mike'l Henderson was on fire from long range on Monday as he knocked down 8-of-11 three-point attempts and finished with a game-high 29 points.

"That's a testament to a good player being able to have a short memory," DeSalme said.

The victory helps the Tigers keep pace with Coffeyville in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. Cowley (16-4), winners of seven games in a row, is now 16-2 in the Jayhawk East with two conference games remaining.

After falling behind 6-0 for the third straight game, Cowley grabbed its first lead of the game at 15-14 following a three-pointer by Henderson. The Tigers would go on to lead by as many as seven points in the opening half before settling for a 40-37 halftime lead.

The Grizzlies would tie the game at 59-59 following a layup by Noah Thomasson with 11:04 left to play, but the Tigers answered with a pair of three-pointers by Cevin Clark and Henderson to go back up by six.

Leading 72-65 with seven minutes left, Cowley would use a 10-1 run over the next two minutes of play to increase its lead to 82-66.

Butler, which made just 4-of-19 shots from three-point range and shot only 38 percent from the floor, never got within single digits of the lead the remainder of the game.

Tiger sophomore Dalen Ridgnal had another double-double, finishing with 17 points and 14 boards. Ridgnal moved into 15^th place on the Tigers' career scoring list with 925 career points.

DeSalme said it took a team effort to hand Butler just its second home loss of the season. Whether it was Raishaun Brown making big baskets in the first half or Tarese Morse and Josiah Harris making plays in the second half, everyone had a hand in the victory.

"Tarese and Josiah really know their roles right now and are doing good at it," DeSalme said.

Shawn Hopkins led Butler with 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Grizzlies are now 16-5 overall and 14-5 in the conference.

Cowley will play its final regular season home game on Wednesday when they host Cloud County at 7:30 p.m. The T-Birds (6-15) are just 4-15 in the Jayhawk East but are coming off a 70-69 win at Allen Community College on Monday.

"The guys know we need to win these next two games in order to win a conference championship," DeSalme said.

Box score:

Cowley (94): Mike'l Henderson 9-15 3-4 29, Clarence King 1-2 2-2 4, Moun'tae Edmundson 2-9 1-1 7, Cevin Clark 4-8 0-2 11, Dalen Ridgnal 7-16 0-0 17, Kobe Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Shemarri Allen 3-5 3-5 9, Raishaun Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Tarese Morse 1-3 0-0 2, Jacquez Yow 2-5 1-2 5, Josiah Harris 1-2 2-2 4. Totals: 33-70 12-18 94.

Butler (81): Treylon Payne 1-10 7-8 10, DeeJuan Pruitt 3-9 3-4 9, Shawn Hopkins 9-17 4-6 22, Karrington Davis 5-9 2-2 15, Noah Thompson 1-1 7-9 9, Donyae McCaskill 4-9 5-6 13, Keyon Thomas 1-7 1-2 3, Isaiah Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-63 29-37 81.

Three-pointers: Cowley 16-34 (Henderson 8-11, Clark 3-6, Ridgnal 3-6, Edmundson 2-7, King 0-1, Campbell 0-1, Allen 0-1, Brown 0-1), Butler 4-19 (Davis 3-6, Payne 1-7, Thomas 0-3, Hopkins 0-2, Pruitt 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 26 (Ridgnal 14), Butler 43 (Pruitt, Hopkins 11). Assists: Cowley 22 (Allen 6), Butler 14 (Hopkins, Thomasson). Turnovers: Cowley 8, Butler 14. Total fouls: Cowley 24, Butler 20. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.