Butler outraces Cowley 96-75 in El Dorado

The loss, the third in a row for the Tigers, drops Cowley's record to 10-5 overall and 5-4 in the Jayhawk Conference. Butler snapped a two-game losing skid to improve its record to 10-5 and 6-3 in the conference. The Grizzlies, coached by former Tiger assistant coach Eric Nitsche, are one game behind conference co-leaders Dodge City and Independence, while the Tigers are two games behind first place.

On Wednesday, Cowley led 20-18 midway through the first half before Butler heated up and took a 49-36 lead into halftime.

Cowley shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the opening half, but committed 14 turnovers. The Grizzlies built the 13-point halftime advantage by going 7-of-17 from three-point range.

Trailing only 63-57 with 11:30 left to play, Cowley had a breakaway dunk attempt missed that could have pulled the Tigers within four points of the lead. Following the missed dunk, Butler used a 17-3 run to open a commanding 80-60 lead and never looked back in the 21-point win.

"We were making our run in the second half, but the missed dunk drastically changed the momentum," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "We have to learn to convert easy plays and understand the importance of laying in the ball and making easy shots, especially if you're trying to run and gun and play in transition against an aggressive Butler team."

Tiger freshman Roman Miller led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, while Marcus Smith added 16 points and six assists.

Butler's Tristan Hankins led five Grizzlies in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Butler would finish 13-of-32 from the three-point line, while Cowley was just 5-of-20.

Cowley will face another formidable opponent on Saturday when it hosts conference co-leader Independence (9-5) at 3 p.m.

"We have to correct many things to be the team we are striving to be. If not, we will keep having to learn hard lessons," Jackson said. "Indy is playing extremely well together. We will have our hands full if we don't grow up in a hurry."

Box score:

Cowley (75): Marcus Smith 4-12 8-10 16, LJ Britt 0-0 1-2 1, Leslie Owens 2-4 0-1 4, Chase Robinson 3-6 1-2 7, Kyden Thompson 1-5 0-0 2, Xavier Vickerstaff 3-9 2-4 9, Jaxson Jones 0-1 0-2 0, Aven Mboule 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Roman Miller 12-20 2-4 30, Khai Brown 0-1 2-4 2. Totals: 27-62 16-29 75.

Butler (96): Josiah Kirkwood 1-7 7-10 9, Tim Walker 0-2 1-2 1, Tristan Hankins 7-11 1-4 19, Jaise Combs 7-11 0-0 18, AJ Pierre-Jerome 0-4 10-10 10, Xavier Brown 5-15 2-2 14, Amare Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Devin Kerr 4-8 6-6 15, Aiven Riley 2-3 0-0 5, Odie Williams 2-3 0-0 5, Amare Jones 0-0 0-0 0, JD Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-66 27-34 96.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-20 (Miller 4-9, Vickerstaff 1-5, Smith 0-3, Owens 0-2, Jones 0-1), Butler 13-32 (Combs 4-8, Hankins 4-6, Brown 2-9, Kerr 1-2, Riley 1-2, Williams 1-1, Walker 0-1, Jones 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 30 (Britt 7), Butler 41 (Hankins 13). Assists: Cowley 15 (Smith 6), Butler 21 (Hankins 5). Turnovers: Cowley 23, Butler 28. Total fouls: Cowley 28, Butler 23. Fouled out: Smith. Technicals: Smith, Cowley bench.