Smithson to lead Tigers into old stomping grounds
November 5, 2003
When Randy Smithson leads his Cowley County Community College men's basketball team to play in the Butler Classic this weekend, he will be walking into an arena where he coached for 11 years and led the Grizzlies to two national runner-up finishes.
Now in his third year as head coach of the Tigers, Smithson still feels a little weird when walking into the Grizzlies' den.
"It will be a little bit emotional because so much of what is on their walls I am a part of," Smithson said.
Saturday night's game will mark the second time in a week that Cowley and Butler have faced each other as the Tigers defeated the Grizzlies 69-61 in the team's opening game last Saturday in Arkansas City.
In that contest, Cowley sophomore Alex Elam poured in a career-high 22 points. Sophomore forward Mark Mathew and sophomore point guard Brandon Kelley also played well, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Butler freshman forward Kevin Menifee came off the bench to lead the Grizzlies with 13 points in just 15 minutes of action, while former Cowley player Matt Sims added 10 points in the defeat.
The Grizzlies shot 52.4 percent from the floor in the loss, and outrebounded the Tigers 32-29. However, Butler turned the ball over 28 times and found itself down by 24 points (57-33) before losing by eight.
Butler evened its record at 1-1 on the season with a 90-63 win over Friends University's junior varsity team Tuesday, and should once again be a formidable opponent for the Tigers.
However, before facing Butler, Cowley will open the Classic against Illinois Central College from East Peoria, Ill., Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars are 1-0 after Tuesday night's 86-72 road win over Black Hawk College.
Last season, Illinois Central struggled to a record of 11-20. However, the team added a talented freshman to this year's team in 6-foot-6 small forward Rodney Edgerson from Woodruff High School in East Peoria.
Edgerson, who led the Mid States 6 in scoring as a senior with an average of 23.6 points per game, is the first Journal Star Class AA All-Area First-Team selection to play at Illinois Central.
Along with Edgerson, Illinois Central has six returning sophomores and six players who are 6-5 or taller. So, the Tigers could be tested versus the Cougars.
KSOK 1280 AM will broadcast Friday's 3:30 contest vs. Illinois Central and Saturday's 7:30 p.m. tip-off with Butler.
Now in his third year as head coach of the Tigers, Smithson still feels a little weird when walking into the Grizzlies' den.
"It will be a little bit emotional because so much of what is on their walls I am a part of," Smithson said.
Saturday night's game will mark the second time in a week that Cowley and Butler have faced each other as the Tigers defeated the Grizzlies 69-61 in the team's opening game last Saturday in Arkansas City.
In that contest, Cowley sophomore Alex Elam poured in a career-high 22 points. Sophomore forward Mark Mathew and sophomore point guard Brandon Kelley also played well, finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Butler freshman forward Kevin Menifee came off the bench to lead the Grizzlies with 13 points in just 15 minutes of action, while former Cowley player Matt Sims added 10 points in the defeat.
The Grizzlies shot 52.4 percent from the floor in the loss, and outrebounded the Tigers 32-29. However, Butler turned the ball over 28 times and found itself down by 24 points (57-33) before losing by eight.
Butler evened its record at 1-1 on the season with a 90-63 win over Friends University's junior varsity team Tuesday, and should once again be a formidable opponent for the Tigers.
However, before facing Butler, Cowley will open the Classic against Illinois Central College from East Peoria, Ill., Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Cougars are 1-0 after Tuesday night's 86-72 road win over Black Hawk College.
Last season, Illinois Central struggled to a record of 11-20. However, the team added a talented freshman to this year's team in 6-foot-6 small forward Rodney Edgerson from Woodruff High School in East Peoria.
Edgerson, who led the Mid States 6 in scoring as a senior with an average of 23.6 points per game, is the first Journal Star Class AA All-Area First-Team selection to play at Illinois Central.
Along with Edgerson, Illinois Central has six returning sophomores and six players who are 6-5 or taller. So, the Tigers could be tested versus the Cougars.
KSOK 1280 AM will broadcast Friday's 3:30 contest vs. Illinois Central and Saturday's 7:30 p.m. tip-off with Butler.