Balanced effort leads Tigers to 69-43 win at last-place Seward County

The No. 5-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team picked up its fifth straight win with a 69-43 victory at Seward County on Saturday in Liberal, KS.

On Saturday, the teams were locked in a 14-14 tie before Cowley closed the half on an 18-5 run to lead 32-19 at the end of the first half.

The Tigers' lead would grow to 20 points (50-30) midway through the second half, and Cowley cruised to the 26-point road win.

"Seward is a tough road trip," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "I was proud of our effort."

Cowley (18-2) remains one game in front of Coffeyville for first place in the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 13-1. Seward (3-16) falls to 2-12 in conference play.

The Tigers got 44 points from its reserves and were led in scoring by Avante Nichols' 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Marcus Whitlock Jr. added 11 points, and Shamarrie Hugie chipped in with 10. Dallas Whitney and Kyden Thompson also played well, as they came off the bench to score nine points apiece, while Xavier Alexander knocked down a pair of shots from behind the arc and added six points in 10 minutes of action.

"We were very balanced and really shared the ball," Jackson said.

Seward freshman Muhammed Jobe, a 6'8" freshman from Gambia, who had scored 72 points in the Saints three previous contests, was held to six points before fouling out with six of Seward's 24 turnovers.

"The guys bought into our defensive game plan and executed what we were trying to do," Jackson said.

Cowley will put its 7-1 road record on the line when they play at Dodge City on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Conquistadors are 7-13 overall and 4-10 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"We have another tough road trip on Wednesday," Jackson said. "Dodge City is very dangerous and has really good guard play. They are coming off a big win at Cloud. We need two great days of practice leading up to the game."

Box score:

Cowley (69): Shamarrie Hugie 3-6 4-4 10, Marcus Zeigler 0-3 0-0 0, CJ Majors 2-6 0-0 4, Marcus Whitlock Jr. 3-8 2-3 11, Teagan Charles 0-0 0-0 0, Emarquis Jones 2-4 3-4 7, Avante Nichols 5-8 3-4 13, Dallas Whitney 3-4 3-3 9, Kyden Thompson 4-7 1-1 9, Xavier Alexander 2-4 0-0 6. Totals: 24-50 16-19 69.

Seward (43): Kiku Parker 4-11 2-4 11, Loic Affoumon 0-3 0-0 0, Carson Bennett 2-7 0-0 6, Benni Kazadi 4-8 0-0 8, Muhammed Jobe 3-5 0-2 6, Quincey Kidd 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Dyck 1-2 0-0 2, Nfaba Mane 3-6 3-4 10. Totals: 17-42 5-10 43.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-17 (Whitlock Jr. 3-6, Alexander 2-3, Majors 0-3, Thompson 0-2, Hugie 0-1, Zeigler 0-1, Nichols 0-1), Seward 4-15 (Bennett 2-7, Parker 1-3, Mane 1-2, Kazadi 0-2, Dyck 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 26 (Whitlock Jr. 6), Seward 30 (Kazadi 6). Assists: Cowley 14 (Thompson 4), Seward 6 (Parker 4). Turnovers: Cowley 10, Seward 24. Total fouls: Cowley 14, Seward 14. Fouled out: Jobe. Technicals: none.