Tigers struggle to find offense in 73-48 road defeat

Unable to generate much offensively, the Cowley College men's basketball team suffered a 73-48 loss at Dodge City on Saturday.

The Tigers shot just 34 percent from the floor as they dropped their third straight game. Cowley is now 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the Jayhawk Conference. Dodge City, picked to finish second in the Jayhawk Conference, has won four games in a row and is now 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

On Saturday, Cowley got off to a good start and led 16-10 following a three-pointer by sophomore Raishaun Brown with 11 minutes left in the opening half. However, the Conquistadors out-scored the Tigers 24-8 to take a 34-24 halftime lead.

With Dodge City leading 38-30 early in the second half, the Conquistadors would score the next 10 straight points to blow the game open.

The Tigers would pull within 55-43 following a basket by Chris Spenkuch with 7:17 remaining, but Dodge City answered with a 15-3 run as they went on to the 25-point win.

Cowley shot a season-low 34 percent from the floor in the defeat.

"We are a JV offense right now," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "We have got to find ways to get guys to start trusting in each other. This game proves we have got a long way to go."

Xavier Valley led Cowley with 13 points, while Brown added 12. Those two went a combined 9-of-20 from the floor, while the rest of the team went a combined 9-of-33.

"Going against a very talented team on the road you have got to be mentally ready to play and I could see in warmups we were not ready," Jackson said.

Kalen Williams led three Dodge City players in double figures with 20 points and six rebounds.

Cowley will look to get back in the win column when they host Barton Community College Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars are 6-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference following an 82-74 loss to Garden City in their last game.

"We need to play with passion, fight and competitiveness if we want to protect our home court," Jackson said.

Box score:

Cowley (48): Kennedy Willis 3-7 2-2 8, Clarence King 1-7 0-0 2, Xavier Valley 5-10 2-2 13, Emmanuel Austin 1-2 0-0 2, Raishaun Brown 4-10 2-2 12, Trevion Alexander 0-1 0-2 0, Chris Spenkuch 1-2 2-4 4, Xavier Washington 0-1 1-2 1, Mekhi Cameron 1-8 0-0 2, KJ Spiller 2-4 0-1 4, Faustin Phanor 0-0 0-1 0, Christian Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-53 9-16 48.

Dodge City (73): Nick Pringle 3-5 0-0 6, Kalen Williams 7-16 3-4 20, Oumar Koureissi 4-5 3-5 11, Themus Fulks 5-8 2-3 12, Mykell Robinson 2-6 2-2 8, Jacquez Schuler 1-2 0-0 3, BJ Freeman 2-6 0-0 5, Jordan Love 2-3 0-0 4, Kerwin Prince 0-2 1-2 1, Kahari Rogers 0-1 0-0 0, Jonathan Breeland 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 27-55 11-16 73.

Three-pointers: Cowley 3-17 (Brown 2-4, Valley 1-3, Cameron 0-5, King 0-2, Austin 0-1, Washington 0-1, Williams 0-1), Dodge City 8-15 (Williams 3-4, Robinson 2-3, Freeman 1-4, Schuler 1-1, Breeland 1-1, Pringle 0-1, Rogers 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 25 (Brown, Spenkuch 5), Dodge City 37 (Pringle 7). Assists: Cowley 6 (six players with 1), Dodge City 12 (Fulks 5). Turnovers: Cowley 18, Dodge City 17. Total fouls: Cowley 12, Dodge City 12. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Dodge City bench.