Tigers’ magical run continues with 116-97 win over Ranger College

One more! The eighth-seeded Cowley College Tigers are one win away from its first-ever national championship after a 116-97 win over 13^th-seeded Ranger College (TX) Friday at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS.

Both teams entered Friday's contest at the NJCAA Division I National Basketball Tournament on double-digit win streaks, but it was the Tigers who led from start to finish and never trailed in the 19-point victory. Cowley (24-4), winners of 15 games in a row, advances to the national championship game to be played Saturday at 6 p.m. where they will face No. 10-seed Coffeyville. The Red Ravens defeated sixth-seeded Chipola 66-63 on Friday to make it an all Kansas final.

The Tigers will be playing in their second national championship game, the previous time coming in 1953.

"The guys will be ready," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "To get a chance to play for a national championship is a credit to these guys."

The Tigers hit three treys and led 13-4 after the first four minutes of play. Cowley's lead would reach double digits (23-13) on a three-pointer by sophomore Cevin Clark and the Tigers would go in front by as many as 21 points at 43-22 following another three by Clark with 5:40 left before halftime.

The Rangers got a basket by Keisel Tominaga with one second left in the half to pull within 55-42 as they closed on a 20-12 run.

Cowley hit 12-of-27 three-point attempts in the opening half and sophomores Dalen Ridgnal and Moun'tae Edmundson scored 12 points apiece. Tominaga led the Rangers with 12 first half points.

Clark hit his fourth trey to open the second half, and after a basket by Ranger on the other end, connected on a fifth three-pointer to open Cowley's lead to 61-44. Ranger would answer with a 15-5 run to cut the Tigers' lead to 66-59 with16:12 left to play.

However, a technical foul called on the Ranger's Trey Tennyson on the Tigers' next possession allowed Cowley to stop the run with a pair of free throws by Clark, who then promptly hit another three-pointer to push the lead back to 71-59.

The Tigers increased their advantage to 91-75 following a three-point play by sophomore Clarence King with 8:48 left to play and the lead never got under double digits the rest of the way as the Tiger fans in attendance let their voices be heard, loud and proud.

"This feels amazing," Tiger sophomore Jacquez Yow said. "Looking back at starting the season 1-and-3, look where we are now, playing for a chance to win a national championship."

Ridgnal led Cowley with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Clark added 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting from behind the arc. Clark moved into the top-20 on Cowley's all-time scoring list, joining Ridgnal and Henderson as other Tigers in the top-20.

"Our job is not done, we will be ready to go tomorrow and will be locked in," Clark said.

Moun'tae Edmundson added 19 points, while Mike'l Henderson and Shemarri Allen finished with 19 and 14, respectively.

Ranger finishes the season with a record of 22-5 and were led by Tominaga's 26 points.

Cowley has scored over 100 points in each game of the national tournament and 21 times on the season. They have also hit 59 three-pointers in the three games at the tourney.

"Those three-pointers can deflate an opponent," DeSalme said.

Cowley and Coffeyville split two games in the regular season and shared the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division title. The rivals will meet up once more with a national title at stake.

Winners of 23 of its past 24 games, Cowley will look to win one more on Saturday.

"This group has done some amazing things and have bought into our system," DeSalme said. "These guys are winners and deserve this chance to play for a national title."

Box score:

Ranger (97): Tiras Morton 2-6 1-1 5, Peyton Rodgers-Schmidt 2-5 2-2 6, Jorell Saterfield 2-10 4-5 8, Mark Mayle 2-3 2-2 6, Keisel Tominaga 10-21 1-2 26, Lucas Ribeiro 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Tennyson 6-11 0-0 16, Brandon Au 0-0 0-0 0, Starlin Hamilton 2-5 0-0 4, Adel Meleek 1-1 0-0 2, Nika Metskhvarishvil 7-7 7-8 22, Kenyuoe Ondaan 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 35-70 17-20 97.

Cowley (116): Mike'l Henderson 4-12 5-6 16, Moun'tae Edmundson 6-12 3-3 19, Shemarri Allen 3-5 7-8 14, Cevin Clark 7-14 2-2 22, Dalen Ridgnal 9-19 4-6 26, Kobe Campbell 1-2 0-0 2, Clarence King 1-5 2-3 4, Raishaun Brown 2-4 0-0 6, Cameron Robins 0-0 0-0 0, Tarese Morse 0-0 0-0 0, Jacquez Yow 1-1 2-4 4, Josiah Harris 1-2 1-4 3. Totals: 35-76 26-36 116.

Three-pointers: Ranger 10-24 (Tominaga 5-13, Tennyson 4-7, Metskhvarishvil 1-1, Morton 0-2, Hamilton 0-1), Cowley 20-44 (Clark 6-13, Edmundson 4-10, Ridgnal 4-9, Henderson 3-8, Brown 2-2, Allen 1-1, King 0-1). Rebounds: Ranger 39 (Saterfield 12), Cowley 41 (Ridgnal 14). Turnovers: Ranger 18, Cowley 11. Total fouls: Ranger 25, Cowley 18. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Tennyson.