Tigers blast Hutch 83-70, go into break with 7-0 record in Jayhawk Conference

In a showdown of the only two unbeaten teams in the Jayhawk Conference, the No. 11-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team won its 10^th game in a row with a convincing 83-70 victory at No. 19-ranked Hutchinson Community College on Saturday.

The victory improves Cowley's record to 12-1 overall and 7-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. Hutchinson (10-2) falls into a tie for third place in the conference with Butler with a record of 5-1, while Barton (6-1) is in second place in the conference.

On Saturday, Cowley led nearly from start to finish and led by as many as 19 points (34-15) in the opening half of play.

"I thought the guys came ready to play," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "They bought into the game plan, and I thought they executed what we were trying to do."

The Blue Dragons, coached by former Tiger head coach Tommy DeSalme, closed the half on a 15-1 run to pull within 35-30.

However, that would be as close as Hutchinson would get as the Tigers shot 62.5 percent from the floor while out-scoring the Blue Dragons 48-40 in the second half.

"Hutch is well coached, so we knew they would make a run," Jackson said. "Fortunately, we were able to withstand their push, and we made plays when we needed to."

Sophomore Corey Thomas scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and finished a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor to go along with nine rebounds. Fellow sophomore Jeff Nwankwo added 19 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting, while sophomores Damare Smith (14 points, nine assists) and Arzhonte Dallas (10 points) contributed to the win.

"The sophomores really stepped up for us," Jackson said. "Jeff, Corey, Damare, and Arzhonte showed their experience at this level. They were level headed and even keel the entire game. When you play Hutchinson, you have to be that way."

The loss snapped Hutchinson's six-game winning streak. Kamryn Thomas led four Blue Dragons in double figures with 14 points but made only 6-of-16 shots from the floor, as Hutchinson shot just 32.9 percent as a team.

Cowley, picked eighth in the Jayhawk Conference, enters Winter break atop the Jayhawk Conference standings.

"It is nice going into the break with a big win, but we still have a long way to go," Jackson said. "We need to keep working on things to improve on. There is no time for pats on the back."

The Tigers will return to action on Wednesday, January 3, when they host Colby at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans are 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the conference.

Box score:

Cowley (83): Jeff Nwankwo 8-11 0-0 19, Corey Thomas 9-9 2-3 21, Avante Nichols 1-5 2-3 4, Arzhonte Dallas 4-11 1-2 10, Marcus Zeigler 2-9 1-2 5, Shamarrie Hugie 1-3 0-0 2, Damare Smith 4-8 2-2 14, Leslie Owens 3-9 2-2 8, Lam Kuany 0-2 0-1 0, Faustin Phanor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 32-67 10-15 83.

Hutch (70): Dadrevius Weathers 4-8 3-4 11, Valentino Simon 4-8 3-4 12, Zoe Holman 1-8 3-6 6, John-Paul Ricks 3-10 4-6 11, Kamryn Thomas 6-16 1-1 14, Dallas Whitney 2-6 0-0 6, Russell Branch 1-2 0-0 3, Kobe Smith 0-1 0-2 0, Kernan Bundy 1-8 3-4 5, Edwin Daniel 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 23-70 17-27 70.

Three-pointers: Cowley 9-26 (Smith 4-7, Nwankwo 3-4, Dallas 1-7, Thomas 1-1, Hugie 0-2, Nichols 0-1), Hutch 7-20 (Whitney 2-3, Thomas 1-4, Holman 1-3, Ricks 1-2, Branch 1-2, Simon 1-1, Bundy 0-2, Daniel 0-2, Weathers 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 38 (Thomas 9), Hutch 48 (Simon 11). Assists: Cowley 16 (Smith 9), Hutch 13 (Ricks 5). Turnovers: Cowley 14, Hutch 13. Total fouls: Cowley 17, Hutch 14. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.