No. 11-ranked Tigers improve to 6-0 in the conference with a 76-55 road win

Traveling to play defending conference champion Dodge City on Wednesday night, the No. 11-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team used a big second half to blow past the Conquistadors 76-55.

The victory was the ninth in a row for the Tigers, as they are now 11-1 overall and 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"It wasn't pretty, but we found a way," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "We woke up and started guarding and rebounding in the second half."

Cowley raced out to a 12-3 lead in Wednesday's game before Dodge City rallied to lead 26-23 following a three-pointer by Gavin Shannon with 5:15 left in the first half. The Tigers would regain the lead and went into halftime with a 35-33 advantage.

Sophomore Corey Thomas scored 13 of his season-high 22 points in the opening half.

"CT really stepped up for us offensively and took advantage of some interior opportunities," Jackson said.

Cowley would score the first six points of the second half and went in front by double digits (52-42) following a layup by freshman Leslie Owens with 11:15 remaining.

Leading 58-51, Cowley would outscore Dodge City 18-4 over the final nine minutes of play.

The Tigers held the Conquistadors to 29.7 percent shooting from the floor, as Dodge City is now 5-7 overall and 3-3 in the conference. Gavin Shannon led Dodge City with 16 points and eight rebounds, but made only 4-of-12 shot attempts.

After Thomas's 22 points and 11 rebounds, Arzhonte Dallas added 13 points, and freshman Marcus Zeigler came off the bench to score 11 points.

Cowley will remain on the road to play at No. 19-ranked Hutchinson Community College on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Blue Dragons (10-1), winners of six games in a row, are the only other unbeaten team in the conference with a record of 5-0.

"Hutch is playing extremely well and leads the league in a number of categories," Jackson said. "They are well coached and balanced all across the board. We will have our hands full. We have to have two great practices to give ourselves any chance on the road and in that arena."

Box score:

Cowley (76): Damare Smith 3-8 1-2 8, Jeff Nwankwo 4-11 0-0 8, Corey Thomas 9-14 3-4 22, Avante Nichols 2-3 4-4 8, Arzhonte Dallas 4-9 4-4 13, Leslie Owens 2-8 2-3 6, Shamarrie Hugie 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Zeigler 4-9 1-2 11, Faustin Phanor 0-0 0-0 0, Devin Brown 0-0 0-0 0, David Hill 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 28-64 15-19 76.

Dodge (55): Jamari Gamble 1-4 0-0 2, Delroy Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Chevalier Emery 3-10 0-0 6, Jayse Boatright 1-1 0-0 2, Gavin Shannon 4-12 4-9 16, Tyler Williams 1-3 2-2 4, Avnoor Bhullar 2-8 1-1 5, Jackson Swartz 5-7 5-5 15, Hunter Duncan 1-5 0-0 2, Tyree Jackson 0-4 0-0 0, Dawson Taylor 1-4 0-0 3, Marius Canery 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 19-64 12-17 55.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-17 (Zeigler 2-3, Dallas 1-4, Smith 1-3, Thomas 1-2, Nwankwo 0-3, Owens 0-1, Hill 0-1), Dodge 5-21 (Shannon 4-6, Taylor 1-3, Emery 0-4, Gamble 0-2, Bhullar 0-2, Jackson 0-2, CAnery 0-1, Swartz 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 38 (Nwankwo, Thomas), Dodge 38 (Shannon 8). Assists: Cowley 7 (Dallas 3), Dodge 8 (Emery 4). Turnovers: Cowley 11, Dodge 17. Total fouls: Cowley 19, Dodge 16. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Emery.