From RAMA PEROO/Cowley College
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 10th 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.
No. 11-ranked Hutchinson hands Lady Tigers sixth straight loss
The Cowley College women’s basketball team limped into Winter Break on a six-game losing skid after falling to No. 11-ranked Hutchinson Community College 72-47 Saturday at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson.
On Saturday, both teams shot just 25 percent from the floor in the opening period as Hutchinson led 12-8.
The Lady Tigers would continue to struggle to score as they made just 2-of-12 shots in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Hutchinson heated up to shoot 50 percent in the second quarter as they went into halftime with a convincing 33-14 lead.
Hutchinson’s Hailey Jackson scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the second quarter.
The Lady Blue Dragons would score the first 14 points of the second half and led by as many as 34 points (50-16) in the 27-point home win. The victory keeps Hutchinson (12-0) tied for first place in the Jayhawk Conference with Butler with a record of 6-0.
Cowley continued to be led by sophomores Ndack Mbengue (15 points, seven rebounds) and Anna Przyszlak (12 points, five rebounds). However, the rest of the team combined to make only 4-of-29 shots from the floor.
“It is hard to win when you shoot only 25 percent from the floor,” Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.
Cowley will attempt to regroup, as they will now have some time off before returning to action on Saturday, January 3, when they host Colby at 5:30 p.m. The Trojans (4-7) are in the same boat as the Lady Tigers, having lost six games in a row.
“We will use this time off to evaluate what we need to do in the second semester,” Clark said.
Box score:
Cowley (47): Ndack Mbengue 4-8 7-8 15, Anna Przyszlak 4-11 3-5 12, Destiny Yates 0-1 4-4 4, Hattie Pyle 1-9 4-4 6, Jaiden Smith 2-8 1-1 5, Zuzanna Komor 0-6 2-2 2, Josephine Vourliotis 0-2 0-0 0, Georgia Knight 1-1 0-0 3, Aiyanna Big Man 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 12-48 21-24 47.
Hutch (72): Hailey Jackson 9-14 3-3 26, Monae Duffy 5-9 2-4 12, Journey Armstead 0-2 0-0 0, Akaysha Muggeridge 2-9 2-2 7, Kiki Smith 7-11 2-4 17, Kahlen Norris 0-4 0-0 0, Peyton Mosley 2-5 0-0 6, Madi Denison 0-3 0-2 0, Jada Pleasant 0-1 0-0 0, Bree Horyna 2-7 0-0 4, Brynn McCormick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-66 9-15 72.
Three-pointers: Cowley 2-18 (Przszlak 1-5, Knight 1-1, Smith 0-5, Pyle 0-3, Komor 0-2, Vourliotis 0-1, Big Man 0-1), Hutch 9-31 (Jackson 5-7, Mosley 2-5, Muggeridge 2-9, Horyna 2-7, Armstead 0-2, Norris 0-4, Pleasant 0-1, McCormick 0-1).
Rebounds: Cowley 30 (Mbengue 7), Hutch 45 (Smith 8), Assists: Cowley 5 (Pyle 2), Hutch 20 (Armstead 8). Turnovers: Cowley 22, Hutch 15.
Total fouls: Cowley 15, Hutch 18. Fouled out: Mbengue. Technicals: none.
