Tigers improve to 10-0 in Jayhawk Conference with 83-76 home win

Facing Pratt Community College Wednesday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium, the No. 8-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team raced out to a large lead against the Beavers and never trailed in the 83-76 victory.

The win was Cowley's 13^th in a row, as the Tigers are now 15-1 overall and 10-0 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tigers continue to lead the conference, with Barton and Hutchinson tied for second with records of 8-1.

On Wednesday, Cowley raced out to a 12-2 lead and led by as many as 19 points (28-9) in the first half. Sophomore Arzhonte Dallas scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the opening half as
Cowley built a 44-34 halftime lead.

Fellow sophomore Corey Thomas continued his strong play as he had a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Trailing 58-40, Pratt used a 16-6 run to pull within 64-56 following a basket by Kayvontay Williams with 7:12 remaining. However, Dallas would hit a three-pointer on the Tigers' next possession, and Cowley would hold on for the seven-point win.

"This was a very physical game," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "We found a way to fight through and pull out a win."

Thomas finished with 17 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, while Avante Nichols and Jeff Nwankwo added 10 points apiece for the Tigers.

Williams scored 19 of his team-high 26 points in the second half to lead the Beavers. Pratt is now 5-9 overall and 3-6 in the conference.

Although the team is winning, Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson does not feel his team is playing as well as they were in the first semester.

"We need to find a way to get our rhythm back," Jackson said. "Since we have been back from break, we still have some game slippage that we have to improve on. There are a lot of little mistakes we are making that could come back and cost us."

Cowley will look to clean things up before a tough road test when they play at Cloud County on Saturday at 3 p.m. The T-Birds are 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"The road doesn't get any easier. Cloud is one of the best defensive teams in the country," Jackson said. "They had a full bye week to prepare for us. They are well-coached, so we have to tighten some things up if we are to have a chance to win on the road."

Box score:

Cowley (83): Avante Nichols 4-8 1-2 9, Jeff Nwankwo 2-5 4-4 10, Arzhonte Dallas 7-18 9-9 27, Damare Smith 2-8 4-6 8, Corey Thomas 6-11 5-5 17, Shamarrie Hugie 1-3 0-0 2, Ajai Flagg 1-3 0-0 2, Marcus Zeigler 2-6 1-2 5, Faustin Phanor 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 26-63 24-28 83.

Pratt (76): Caleb Smith 7-15 8-12 23, Devonte Russ 5-11 0-0 11, Deon McLaughlin 1-5 0-0 2, Zion Cruz 1-1 0-0 2, Kayvontay Williams 9-14 4-4 26, Justin Robinson 2-7 2-2 6, Jarrett Dingle 1-7 0-1 2, TJ Nunnery 0-0 0-0 0, Zaquan Jones 1-2 0-1 2, Joseph Opareke 1-2 0-0 2, Allen Martinez 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 28-65 14-20 76.

Three-pointers: Pratt 6-20 (Williams 4-5, Smith 1-4, Russ 1-3, McLaughlin 0-3, Dingle 0-4, Robinson 0-1), Cowley 7-21 (Dallas 4-8, Nwankwo 2-4, Nichols 1-2, Smith 0-5, Hugie 0-1, Zeigler 0-1). Rebounds: Pratt 30 (Russ 9), Cowley 42 (Thomas 18). Assists: Pratt 9 (Robinson 5), Cowley 11 (Smith 4). Turnovers: Pratt 9, Cowley 15. Total fouls: Pratt 24, Cowley 23. Fouled out: Dingle. Technicals: Russ.