Tiger men pick up 89-77 road win at Seward

Finishing with five players in double figures, the Cowley College men's basketball team built a big first-half lead at Seward on Tuesday and were in control throughout the second half of an 89-77 win at the Greenhouse in Liberal, KS.

The victory, the fifth in a row for the Tigers, improves Cowley's record to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"Seward hasn't been the best of places for us to play the last few years, but we found a way to get it done," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "I thought we did a good job of executing our game plan in the first half defensively, and it allowed us to get out and get some easy points. Credit to the guys for competing for 40 minutes at a tough place to play."

Leading 37-32 late in the first half, Cowley closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 49-34 lead into the halftime intermission.

Cowley would maintain a double-digit lead throughout the second half and was led in scoring by sophomore Arzhonte Dallas, who finished with 17 points and four steals. Jeff Nwankwo and reserve Shamarrie Hugie added 13 points apiece.

"Shamarrie really stepped up for us off the bench," Jackson said. "If he can buy into being consistent defensively, he could be a game changer for us."

Corey Thomas and Avante Nichols were the other Tigers in double figures, finishing with 12 points apiece.

Seward's Carson Bennett led all scorers with 19 points as the Saints are now 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Cowley will attempt to stay unbeaten in the conference when they host Coffeyville Saturday at 3 p.m. The Red Ravens are 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"Coffeyville is Coffeyville," Jackson said. "They will guard and rebound, and they got some guys who can fill it up. They are tough. We will need to compete for a full 40 minutes if we want to have a chance."