Men’s basketball goes 2-0 at Red Devil Classic

Playing a pair of NJCAA Division II schools and former Jayhawk Conference rivals, Labette and Allen, Friday and Saturday at the Red Devil Classic in Iola, KS, the Cowley College men's basketball team out-lasted both opponents to improve to 3-1 on the season. On Friday, Cowley knocked off host Allen Community College 62-57 before coming back on Saturday to defeat Labette 80-73.

On Friday, a three-pointer by sophomore Raishaun Brown, just before halftime, gave Cowley a 37-26 advantage over Allen.

"We really shot it well in the first half and did a good job of sharing the ball," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

Cowley continued to lead by double digits (57-47) with just over two minutes left before the Red Devils cut it to a one-possession game on a pair of free-throws by Cedric Rollerson with 14 seconds remaining. The Red Devils would steal the ensuing inbounds pass and had a chance to pull within one-point of the lead, but Zabriel Boozer missed a shot inside and Clarence King would grab the rebound and go on to knock down a pair of free throws to seal the five-point win.

"We had some careless turnovers and didn't share the ball as well in the second half," Jackson said. "Give Allen and Coach (Andy) Shaw credit, they had a good crowd and good energy in the gym. It is hard to go to Allen and win, so we were glad to get out of there with the victory."

Xavier Washington (13 points) and Kennedy Willis (nine points) provided Cowley with a spark off the bench as Washington went 3-of-3 from three-point range and Willis played 30 minutes.

Mekhi Cameron added 13 points, while Brown finished with 10 points and three steals.

Ahmed Mahgoub was the lone Red Devil to finish in double figures as he finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Allen is now 2-1 overall.

On Saturday, Cowley would face Labette. The teams traded baskets the majority of the opening half before the Cardinals' got a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to lead 36-34.

Labette would go on to lead 54-47 seven minutes into the second half and 68-66 with five minutes

remaining. However, Cowley would regain the lead thanks to a 10-2 run and the Tigers would go on to salt the game away at the free-throw line.

"As ugly and sloppy as we were in the first half, I thought we played to our capabilities in the second half," Jackson said.

Washington went 15-of-19 from the line and finished with a game-high 22 points as the Tigers out-scored Labette 30-12 from the charity stripe.

"We kept being aggressive and did a good job of getting to the free-throw line," Jackson said.

Brown recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Cameron and King added 16 and 11 points, respectively. Chris Spenkuch also played well, finishing with six points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action.

Bryson Dennis led Labette with 13 points as they are now 1-2 on the season.

Cowley will now prepare to take part in the Maverick Classic Friday and Saturday in Tonkawa, OK. On Friday, the Tigers will face Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at 6 p.m. before facing Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa Saturday at 3 p.m. Cowley defeated NOC-Enid 62-55 in its season-opener before dropping a 77-72 contest against NOC-Tonkawa in its second game of the season.

"This will give us a conference home-and-home feel," Jackson said. "We need the practice time after playing four games in six days. I am excited to see how we respond."

Box score from Friday:

Cowley (62): Raishaun Brown 3-6 2-2 10, Mekhi Cameron 4-10 2-2 13, Clarence King 3-8 3-4 9, Faustin Phanor 1-1 0-0 2, Chris Spenkuch 1-1 0-1 2, Xavier Washington 5-7 0-0 13, Emmanuel Austin 2-4 0-0 4, Xavier Valley 0-1 0-0 0, Trevion Alexander 0-3 0-0 0, Kennedy Willis 4-9 1-2 9, KJ Spiller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-51 8-11 62.

Allen (57): Cedric Rollerson 2-9 2-2 6, Nick Whittick 2-9 3-4 7, Ed Wright 2-10 2-2 8, Tyren Shelley 2-6 0-0 6, Ahmed Mahgoub 5-6 0-0 11, Chris Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Meyer 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Lawrence 2-4 0-0 4, Malachi Martin 1-1 1-1 3, Zabriel Boozer 4-10 1-1 9, Brayden Thompson 1-4 1-3 3, Xavier Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-59 10-13 57.

Three-pointers: Cowley 8-16 (Cameron 3-7, Washington 3-3, Brown 2-4, King 0-2), Allen 5-18 (Wright 2-6, Shelley 2-6, Mahgoub 1-2, Rollerson 0-4). Rebounds: Cowley 32 (Cameron, King 6), Allen 37 (Boozer 5). Assists: Cowley 15 (Cameron 4), Allen 10 (Whittick 3). Turnovers: Cowley 20, Allen 14. Total fouls: Cowley 12, Allen 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.

Box score from Saturday:

Labette (73): Devin Longstreet 2-7 1-2 5, Bryson Dennis 5-13 0-0 13, Mohamad Diallo 4-9 3-6 12, Pierce Thomas 3-5 0-2 8, Tyler Cauley 1-3 0-0 3, Ignatius Patt 1-5 3-4 6, Kevin Fulton 1-6 0-0 2, Kawasiki Ricks 1-4 2-2 5, Armond Williams 3-9 2-3 9, Jalen Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Uriah Logan 0-0 0-0 0, Nickhai Howard 1-5 0-0 3, Brandon Taylor 2-6 0-0 6, Julius Lymon 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 24-75 12-21 73.

Cowley (80): Raishaun Brown 3-5 3-6 11, Mekhi Cameron 5-17 4-4 16, Clarence King 3-10 5-8 11, Trevion Alexander 0-4 1-2 1, Kennedy Willis 3-8 0-1 6, Xavier Washington 3-16 15-19 22, Emmanuel Austin 0-2 0-2 0, Xavier Valley 3-6 0-0 7, Brandon Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Spenkuch 2-7 2-2 6. Totals: 22-76 30-44 80.

Three-pointers: Labette 13-35 (Dennis 3-7, Taylor 2-5, Thomas 2-2, Diallo 1-5, Williams 1-4, Howard 1-4, Patt 1-2, Ricks 1-1, Cauley 1-1, Longstreet 0-1, Fulton 0-1, Watson 0-1, Lymon 0-1), Cowley 6-20 (Cameron 2-9, Brown 2-2, Washington 1-4, Valley 1-2, King 0-1, Austin 0-1, Jenkins 0-1). Rebounds: Labette 56 (Diallo 8), Cowley 62 (Brown 10). Assists: Labette 21 (Dennis 5), Cowley 21 (King 6). Turnovers: Labette 15, Cowley 15. Total fouls: Labette 29, Cowley 16. Fouled out: Spenkuch. Technicals: Fulton.