Cowley suffers another road defeat, 73-66
February 11, 2011
With Johnson County's top-three scorers combining for 58 points, the Cavaliers knocked off Cowley College by a score of 73-66 Thursday night in Overland Park.
Ryan Magdziarz (22 points, 11 rebounds) scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the game's first three and a half minutes, while Justin Leathers added 12 of his 17 points in the game's first 20 minutes of play as Johnson County held a 37-31 halftime lead.
Ryan Arel, who did not play in Johnson County's 90-58 loss at Cowley on Jan. 8, made his presence felt by going 3-of-6 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line as he finished with 19 points.
"Having him back makes Johnson County really good," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "They made shots when they needed to and we didn't."
Cowley fought back from the six-point halftime deficit to grab a 47-46 lead on a three-pointer by freshman Jamez Jones with 11 minutes left to play, but Johnson County answered with a 13-2 run which was capped by a three-pointer by Magdziarz with 5:35 remaining.
Cowley cut Johnson County's lead to 62-56 following a free-throw by Romel Kemp with 3:45 left in the game, but the Cavaliers made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the seven-point win.
The Tigers' starters combined to make only 30 percent (14-of-46) of their shot attempts and finished shooting only 37 percent as a team. Tyrus McGee, who was leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage (51.3 percent), finished just 5-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-12 from three-point range.
"Tyrus is not going to have many of those nights," DeSalme said. "I will take my chances with him taking those shots."
A bright spot in the defeat was the play of 6-foot-4 freshman Anthony White, who came off the bench to go 5-of-5 from the floor and finish with 12 points and four rebounds.
"Anthony had a great night and has been earning more playing time," DeSalme said. "He has improved leaps and bounds over the last month."
The Tigers were without leading rebounder and third leading scorer, James Watson, for the second straight game as he did not play due to a coach's decision.
The loss drops Cowley's record to 18-7 overall and 9-4 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tigers remain in fourth place in the conference, two games behind conference leading Independence (11-2) and one game behind both Coffeyville (10-3) and Kansas City (10-3).
Johnson County, which had lost four of its last six games, improves to 17-7 overall and 7-6 in the conference.
Cowley, which is 11-0 at home, is now jus 7-7 away from W.S. Scott Auditorium. The Tigers have held the lead in the second half of five of their seven road defeats.
"We need to find a way to get over the hump because the league is still wide open," DeSalme said.
The Tigers will now prepare to take on Labette (2-23) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the team's Hall of Fame game. Three new members will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of Saturday's contest. The inductees are former baseball player Chris Brown, softball player Sandy (Erickson) Wiemers, and tennis player Paul Griffith.
"It will be a great thing to showcase our program in front of so many alumni on a really special night," DeSalme said. "We want to play hard and get back to making winning plays."
Box score:
Cowley (66): Dominick Cornelius 5-14 0-0 14, Tyrus McGee 5-16 3-3 16, Kamren Belin 1-9 2-4 4, Romel Kemp 1-5 0-1 2, Gavin Brown 2-2 0-0 4, Ashton Patton 0-2 0-0 0, Zach Nelson 1-1 2-2 4, Bryton Hobbs 1-4 0-0 2, Jamez Jones 1-3 1-4 4, Joseph Wakefield 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony White 5-5 2-4 12, Kelton Marshall 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 23-62 12-20 66.
Johnson County (73): Melvin Turner 0-1 2-2 2, Jordan Honore 0-2 2-2 2, Justin Leathers 6-10 3-5 17, Ryan Magdziarz 6-16 7-8 22, Ryan Arel 4-11 8-9 19, Tony Jones 2-2 3-4 7, Aaron Washington 1-3 2-4 4, Curtis Beal 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Coatney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 27-34 73.
Three-pointers: Cowley 8-29 (Cornelius 4-11, McGee 3-12, Kemp 0-1, Patton 0-1, Hobbs 0-1, Jones 1-3), Johnson County 8-21 (Honore 0-1, Leathers 2-2, Magdziarz 3-11, Arel 3-6, Washington 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 38 (Belin 9), Johnson County 35 (Magdziarz 11). Assists: Cowley 17 (Cornelius, McGee 4), Johnson County 15 (Honore 5). Turnovers: Cowley 11, Johnson County 11. Total fouls: Cowley 25, Johnson County 16. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.
Ryan Magdziarz (22 points, 11 rebounds) scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the game's first three and a half minutes, while Justin Leathers added 12 of his 17 points in the game's first 20 minutes of play as Johnson County held a 37-31 halftime lead.
Ryan Arel, who did not play in Johnson County's 90-58 loss at Cowley on Jan. 8, made his presence felt by going 3-of-6 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line as he finished with 19 points.
"Having him back makes Johnson County really good," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "They made shots when they needed to and we didn't."
Cowley fought back from the six-point halftime deficit to grab a 47-46 lead on a three-pointer by freshman Jamez Jones with 11 minutes left to play, but Johnson County answered with a 13-2 run which was capped by a three-pointer by Magdziarz with 5:35 remaining.
Cowley cut Johnson County's lead to 62-56 following a free-throw by Romel Kemp with 3:45 left in the game, but the Cavaliers made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the seven-point win.
The Tigers' starters combined to make only 30 percent (14-of-46) of their shot attempts and finished shooting only 37 percent as a team. Tyrus McGee, who was leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage (51.3 percent), finished just 5-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-12 from three-point range.
"Tyrus is not going to have many of those nights," DeSalme said. "I will take my chances with him taking those shots."
A bright spot in the defeat was the play of 6-foot-4 freshman Anthony White, who came off the bench to go 5-of-5 from the floor and finish with 12 points and four rebounds.
"Anthony had a great night and has been earning more playing time," DeSalme said. "He has improved leaps and bounds over the last month."
The Tigers were without leading rebounder and third leading scorer, James Watson, for the second straight game as he did not play due to a coach's decision.
The loss drops Cowley's record to 18-7 overall and 9-4 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The Tigers remain in fourth place in the conference, two games behind conference leading Independence (11-2) and one game behind both Coffeyville (10-3) and Kansas City (10-3).
Johnson County, which had lost four of its last six games, improves to 17-7 overall and 7-6 in the conference.
Cowley, which is 11-0 at home, is now jus 7-7 away from W.S. Scott Auditorium. The Tigers have held the lead in the second half of five of their seven road defeats.
"We need to find a way to get over the hump because the league is still wide open," DeSalme said.
The Tigers will now prepare to take on Labette (2-23) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the team's Hall of Fame game. Three new members will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame at halftime of Saturday's contest. The inductees are former baseball player Chris Brown, softball player Sandy (Erickson) Wiemers, and tennis player Paul Griffith.
"It will be a great thing to showcase our program in front of so many alumni on a really special night," DeSalme said. "We want to play hard and get back to making winning plays."
Box score:
Cowley (66): Dominick Cornelius 5-14 0-0 14, Tyrus McGee 5-16 3-3 16, Kamren Belin 1-9 2-4 4, Romel Kemp 1-5 0-1 2, Gavin Brown 2-2 0-0 4, Ashton Patton 0-2 0-0 0, Zach Nelson 1-1 2-2 4, Bryton Hobbs 1-4 0-0 2, Jamez Jones 1-3 1-4 4, Joseph Wakefield 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony White 5-5 2-4 12, Kelton Marshall 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 23-62 12-20 66.
Johnson County (73): Melvin Turner 0-1 2-2 2, Jordan Honore 0-2 2-2 2, Justin Leathers 6-10 3-5 17, Ryan Magdziarz 6-16 7-8 22, Ryan Arel 4-11 8-9 19, Tony Jones 2-2 3-4 7, Aaron Washington 1-3 2-4 4, Curtis Beal 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Coatney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 27-34 73.
Three-pointers: Cowley 8-29 (Cornelius 4-11, McGee 3-12, Kemp 0-1, Patton 0-1, Hobbs 0-1, Jones 1-3), Johnson County 8-21 (Honore 0-1, Leathers 2-2, Magdziarz 3-11, Arel 3-6, Washington 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 38 (Belin 9), Johnson County 35 (Magdziarz 11). Assists: Cowley 17 (Cornelius, McGee 4), Johnson County 15 (Honore 5). Turnovers: Cowley 11, Johnson County 11. Total fouls: Cowley 25, Johnson County 16. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.