Tigers fall flat in 87-71 loss to 16th-ranked Coffeyville

The Cowley College men's basketball team fell behind early in its home game against No. 16-ranked Coffeyville on Wednesday and could never recover in an 87-71 defeat.

Coffeyville scored the first 10 points of Wednesday's contest, forcing Tiger head coach Donnie Jackson to spend two timeouts in the game's first three minutes of play. Cowley appeared to settle down as they pulled within 12-9, but after eight straight points by the Red Ravens, Jackson was forced to call another timeout.

Following the third three-pointer of the first half by Coffeyville's Sotirios Nafpliotis, Cowley trailed 36-21, and Jackson used his final timeout. The Tigers would go into halftime trailing 49-29.

Cowley would out-score Coffeyville 42-38 in the second half, but it was too little too late in the 16-point home loss.

"Coffeyville made us look like a JV team," Jackson said. "We had no competitive fire or fight all night long."

The victory moves Coffeyville (15-4) into sole possession of second place in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 9-4. The Red Ravens, who trail only Dodge City (10-2) in the conference, shot 60.7 percent from the floor and went 14-of-26 from three-point range.

Nafpliotis led six Red Ravens in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Hayden Brittingham added 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists while finishing off slam dunks on three straight second-half possessions.

The Tigers' Mekhi Cameron led all scorers with 18 points, while Jeff Nwankwo came off the bench to finish with 15 points and eight rebounds.

"Jeff was the lone bright spot for us," Jackson said. "He played hard and showed what he can be."

Cowley is now 11-8 overall and 5-8 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Cowley will play at No. 11-ranked Dodge City Saturday at 3 p.m. The Conquistadors are 14-4 on the season and are led by Jason Edwards, who is averaging 22.3 points per game.

"We have to move on quickly and focus on Dodge City," Jackson said. "They are on top of the league for a reason."

Box score:

Coffeyville (87): Hayden Brittingham 5-7 1-2 11, Jordan Wildy 6-9 0-1 13, Camian Shell 2-4 0-0 5, Nathan Johnson 5-10 0-0 13, Sotirios Nafpliotus 5-9 0-0 15, Kyren Angelo 0-0 2-2 2, Landon Glasper 5-8 0-0 13, Amare Haynie 4-6 2-2 11, Devon Junghans 0-0 0-0 0, Izek Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Al-Housseny Diallo 0-0 0-0 0, Javarzia Belton 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 34-56 5-7 87.

Cowley (71): Mekhi Cameron 6-15 2-2 18, Xavier Washington 3-4 1-1 9, Mooch Austin 1-4 0-0 2, Xavier Valley 3-8 0-0 7, Trevion Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Jeff Nwankwo 4-11 7-10 15, Damare Smith 1-5 0-0 3, Demetrius Rives 1-2 0-0 2, Cameron Jernigan 3-3 3-3 9, Lam Kuany 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Greene 3-4 0-0 6. Totals: 25-57 13-16 71.

Three-pointers: Coffeyville 14-26 (Nafpliotis 5-9, Johnson 3-6, Glasper 3-5, Shell 1-3, Haynie 1-2, Wildy 1-1), Cowley 8-23 (Cameron 4-10, Washington 2-2, Valley 1-4, Smith 1-4, Nwankwo 0-3). Rebounds: Coffeyville 28 (Brittingham, Belton 6), Cowley 20 (Nwankwo 8). Assists: Coffeyville 16 (Brittingham, Shell 5), Cowley 9 (Cameron, Valley 2). Turnovers: Coffeyville 11, Cowley 11. Total fouls: Coffeyville 16, Cowley 16. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.