February 15, 2007                    

Tigers beat Fort Scott 83-66, move into tie for second in Jayhawk East

Registering a season-high five players in double figures, the Cowley College men’s basketball team picked up a big 83-66 win over Fort Scott Wednesday at W.S. Scott Auditorium/Dan Kahler Court.

The victory was Cowley’s fourth in its last five games and moves the Tigers into a five-way tie for second place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. Cowley is now 14-11 overall and 8-5 in the Jayhawk East.

“We are right back with an opportunity to solidify ourselves in that second spot, which is not just good for league play but also better for seeding in the postseason,” Cowley head coach Brian Jackson said.

Cowley used an 11-0 run midway through the first half to lead 30-19 before Fort Scott cut the Tigers’ lead to 41-39 at the end of the first half. The Greyhounds scored the first four points of the second half to go on top 43-41, but Cowley answered with back-to-back three-pointers by sophomores Eric Hammond and Joe Harvey to regain the lead.

Cowley would not trail again as they gradually increased its lead en rout to the 17-point win. The Tigers did the majority of their damage from the three-point line and free-throw line as they went 9-of-17 from three-point range and made 20-of-23 free-throw attempts.

“We have really been working on our shooting over the last couple of weeks,” Jackson said. “It’s good to see the guys focusing and trying to improve that area of our game.”

Cowley sophomore Matt Muncy led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while freshman Sanijay Watts added 19 points and six rebounds. Harvey added 12 points, six assists and five rebounds, while James Loe and Santwon Latunde chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Four of Cowley’s five sophomores that played scored in double figures, with Eric Hammond finishing just two points shy. Hammond finished with eight points and six assists.

“It’s good to see the guys step up and show their sophomore leadership,” Jackson said. “When we shoot the ball like that we are not going to lose games because we will guard enough to hold our opponents down.”

Cowley will face another key conference game when they play at Independence Saturday at 8 p.m. The Pirates are 16-9 overall and 8-5 in the Jayhawk East.

“It will be a big game for us and I think our guys are ready for the challenge,” Jackson said.”

Box score:
Fort Scott (66): Zach Freeman 3-11 0-1 6, Bateko Francisco 7-17 0-0 15, AJ Rhea 1-1 0-0 2, Arsenio Williams 6-12 7-12 19, Kyle Cooper 5-8 4-4 17, Terell Turner 3-8 0-1 7, Chris Clausen 0-0 0-0 0, Kolby Hopkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-57 11-18 66.

Cowley (83): Sanijay Watts 8-12 3-4 19, Matt Muncy 8-12 2-2 20, Joe Harvey 4-11 2-2 12, Eric Hammond 3-6 0-0 8, James Loe 3-8 3-4 12, Larry Cox 0-2 0-0 0, Ludovic Dovonou 0-1 0-0 0, Nikola Grbicic 0-3 1-2 1, Santwon Latunde 1-7 9-9 11. Totals: 27-62 20-23 83.

Three-pointers: Fort Scott 5-18 (Freeman 0-2, Francisco 1-5, Cooper 3-6, Turner 1-5), Cowley 9-17 (Muncy 2-3, Harvey 2-4, Hammond 2-4, Loe 3-6). Rebounds: Fort Scott 28 (Williams 11), Cowley 42 (Muncy, Latunde 9). Assists: Fort Scott 11 (Cooper, Turner 3), Cowley 25 (Harvey, Hammond 6). Turnovers: Fort Scott 12, Cowley 9. Total fouls: Fort Scott 19, Cowley 18. Fouled out: Cooper. Technicals: Rhea, Cowley bench.