By RAMA PEROO/Cowley College
With no player on its roster playing more than 20 minutes, the Cowley College men’s basketball team demolished an overmatched Bethel College JV squad by a score of 132-39 Saturday night inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.
The 93-point victory was the largest in school history, surpassing the previous school record win of 91 points against St. Johns College on January 26, 1978.
The Tigers shot 62.9 percent from the floor, hit a season-high 14 three-pointers, and electrified the crowd with numerous dunks in the 93-point victory.
“We wanted the guys to play instinctively without always thinking, and with a game like this, we were able to do that,” Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.
Cowley, winners of five straight games to open the season, had 11 players score in the opening half as they built a commanding 62-18 halftime lead. The Tigers would eclipse the century mark on a slam dunk by Cameron Jernigan with 10:15 remaining.
Cowley had eight players score in double figures and were led by sophomore transfer Demetrius Rives’ 20 points. Fellow sophomore Mooch Austin added a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
“I hope this game gets those two going offensively because we will need those guys,” Jackson said.
Freshman Lam Kuany made the most of his 14 minutes, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Burden High School graduate Lane Toon led the Threshers with nine points and six rebounds.
Cowley will now prepare to open conference play at No. 12-ranked Coffeyville (5-0) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
“The real games start now,” Jackson said. “Coffeyville is tough, and our first few games of conference play are a mean stretch.
Box score:
Bethel (39): Guillem Blanch 2-6 0-0 4, Jordan Flowers 0-8 0-0 0, Joshua Hoar 1-5 0-0 3, Abdur-Raheem Oresany 3-5 1-2 7, Lane Toon 4-9 0-0 9, Riley Parkinson 3-7 0-0 8, Nick Jones 0-0- 0-0 0, John Llamas 0-2 0-0 0, Jack Denton-Cardew 1-6 0-0 3, Donovan Ringenbach 1-3 0-0 2, Miquel Ruiz-Gasull 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 16-55 1-2 39.
Cowley (132): Raishaun Brown 4-8 0-0 12, Mekhi Cameron 5-9 0-0 10, Xavier Washington 5-7 0-0 10, Cameron Jernigan 6-8 2-2 14, Trevion Alexander 3-4 2-3 9, Mooch Austin 6-7 1-1 16, Xavier Valley 3-8 0-0 9, Damare Smith 5-7 1-2 12, Demetrius Rives 10-13 0-0 20, Kobe Davis 3-6 0-0 8, Lam Kuany 5-10 0-0 10, Jackson Greene 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 56-89 6-8 132.
Three-pointers: Bethel 6-26 (Parkinson 2-4, Hoar 1-5, Toon 1-5, Denton-Cardew 1-4, Ruiz-Gasull 1-4, Blanch 0-2, Flowers 0-2), Cowley 14-38 (Brown 4-8, Austin 3-3, Valley 3-7, Davis 2-5, Smith 1-3, Alexander 1-2, Cameron 0-3, Rives 0-3, Kuany 0-2, Washington 0-1, Green 0-1). Rebounds: Bethel 26 (Toon 6), Cowley 37 (Kuany 7). Assists: Bethel 7 (Raheem-Oresany 2), Cowley 22 (Smith 6). Turnovers: Bethel 16, Cowley 4. Total fouls: Bethel 5, Cowley 7. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.
Women Finish Non-Con Play 5-1
With conference play starting on Wednesday, the Cowley College women’s basketball team beat up a couple of junior varsity squads to finish non-conference play with a record of 5-1. The Lady Tigers knocked off the Friends University JV 65-43 on Friday before dispatching the Bethany College JV 76-35 Saturday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.
“We improved a little bit, got a lot of kids in, so I was pleased,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. “It was nice to see us continue to develop.”
On Friday, Cowley held its starters out and gave other players on the roster a chance to shine. The Lady Tigers led 21-11 after one-quarter of play and held a commanding 37-19 halftime advantage.
Cowley would score the first six points of the second half and cruised to the 22-point win. Sophomore Lexi Rose went 7-of-11 from the floor and finished with a team-high 14 points. Lucia Noin came off the bench to add 12 points, while Jana Radovanovic and Onnahili Williams chipped in nine points apiece.
The Lady Tigers returned to action on Saturday and scored a season-high 36 first-quarter points as they raced out to a 36-13 lead over the Bethany JV. Cowley shot 75 percent (15-of-20) in the opening quarter.
After the Swedes scored the first six points of the second quarter, Cowley would close the half on a 14-0 run as they took a 50-19 halftime lead.
The Lady Tigers would score the first 11 points of the second half as they breezed to the 41-point win.
Cowley (5-1), winners of three games in a row, were led by Baylee Fincher’s 15 points. Fincher went 5-of-8 from three-point range, while Carson Dean and Anna Przyszlak added 13 points apiece.
“Anna got pushed around a couple of times but stepped up and matched their intensity,” Clark said.
Jerika Moore led Bethany with eight points as the Lady Swedes shot just 27.3 percent in the defeat.
Cowley will open conference play at Coffeyville Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Red Ravens are 4-2 on the season.
“Coffeyville is a tough place to play, so we will need to show up and play,” Clark said.
Box score from Friday:
Friends JV (43): Wegerer 3-11 1-2 9, Scarrow 1-6 0-0 3, Cagle 8-15 2-3 20, Eagan 2-5 1-1 5, Ryall 2-4 0-0 6, Pantallion 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-42 4-6 43.
Cowley (65): Stasia Duque 4-10 0-0 8, Lorette Chene 0-4 0-0 0, Jana Radovanovic 4-5 1-3 9, Lexi Rose 7-11 0-0 14, Anna Przyszlak 1-5 0-0 2, Natalia Silva 2-2 0-0 4, Onnahili Williams 3-5 0-0 9, Callie Scott 0-2 1-2 1, Brooke Perez 2-2 0-0 4, Kaelyn Mills 1-3 0-0 2, Lucia Noin 6-9 0-1 12.
Three-pointers: Friends 7-25 (Wegerer 2-9, Cagle 2-7, Ryall 2-3, Scarrow 1-6), Cowley 3-18 (Williams 3-5, Duque 0-4, Chene 0-3, Scott 0-2, Mills 0-1, Radovanovic 0-1, Rose 0-1, Przyszlak 0-1). Rebounds: Friends 13 (Scarrow 4), Cowley 30 (Radovanovic 8). Assists: Friends 2 (Wegerer 2), Cowley 7 (Przyszlak 2). Turnovers: Friends 12, Cowley 9. Total fouls: Friends 8, Cowley 13. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.
Box score from Saturday:
Bethany JV (35): Mary Parks 1-5 0-0 2, Jerika Moore 3-11 0-0 8, Kalysa Hamel 0-7 1-2 1, Taylor Claussen 2-4 0-0 4, Hunter McGuire 2-5 2-2 7, Lindsey Russell 0-3 4-4 4, Britta Cardenas 0-0 0-0 0, Lyna Lehrman 2-3 1-5 5, RaLeigh Basart 2-6 0-0 4. Totals: 12-44 8-13 35.
Cowley (76): Gracie Gilpin 2-10 0-0 5, Baylee Fincher 5-9 0-0 15, Brooke Perez 1-1 0-0 2, Carson Dean 6-12 0-0 13, Shamahra Henderson 4-6 1-2 9, Natalia Silva 1-1 1-2 3, Stasia Duque 1-5 0-0 3, Onnahili Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Lorette Chene 0-1 2-2 2, Callie Scott 1-1 0-0 2, Jana Radovanovic 1-1 0-0 2, Lexi Rose 0-2 1-2 1, Kaelyn Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Lucia Noin 2-6 0-0 4, Anna Przyszlak 6-7 0-1 13. Totals: 31-67 5-9 76.
Three-pointers: Bethany 3-18 (Moore 2-8, McGuire 1-1, Hamel 0-6, Basart 0-2, Russell 0-1), Cowley 9-28 (Fincher 5-8, Gilpin 1-6, Dean 1-4, Duque 1-2, Przyszlak 1-1, Williams 0-3, Henderson 0-1, Chene 0-1, Rose 0-1, Noin 0-1). Rebounds: Bethany 20 (Moore, Basart 4), Cowley 33 (Dean 6). Assists: Bethany 4 (Parks 2), Cowley 12 (Four players with 2). Turnovers: Bethany 14, Cowley 7. Total fouls: Bethany 11, Cowley 13. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.