Tiger men pick up where they left off

After winning 11 of 12 games played in the first semester, the Cowley College men’s basketball team returned to the court with an impressive 78-42 win over Kansas City Community College in the conference opener for both teams played Saturday at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

Having not played in a month, Cowley out-shot Kansas City 65.4 percent to 25 percent from the floor in the second half as they turned a 12-point (38-26) halftime lead into an easy 36-point win.

“I thought we had better focus and did a better job guarding them in the second half,” Cowley head coach Steve Eck said.

The Tigers forced the Blue Devils into 23 turnovers and held Kansas City to 36 percent shooting for the game. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Blue Devil guard Gus Juarez was held to just one point in the game’s final 20 minutes of play. The loss drops Kansas City’s record to 8-5 overall and 0-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

Sophomore post player Eric McKinney (pictured) led a balanced Tiger attack as he finished with 13 points.

“Eric took advantage of his opportunity to start tonight,” Eck said.

Montrell McDonald and Jack Crowder came off the bench to chip in 12 points apiece, while Preston Brown and Reggie Cook each added nine points. The victory was the Tigers’ sixth in a row and improves Cowley’s record to 12-1 overall and 1-0 in the Jayhawk East.

Cowley will now prepare to play at Allen County Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Red Devils are 7-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference following a 83-75 overtime loss to Neosho County on Saturday.

“They’ve got a big guy (William Sloanes) that is tough inside and two guards that can shoot lights out,” Eck said. “We have got to get ready for Allen County because they are a nice team.”

The game can be heard on KACY 102.5 FM Arkansas City.
Box score:

Kansas City (42): Josh King 5-11 0-1 12, Derrick Howard 0-2 1-2 1, Dusty Burdolski 2-7 0-0 4, Travis Fairley 2-3 0-0 4, Maurice Knight 1-4 2-4 4, Marcus Frye 1-3 0-0 2, Gus Jaurez 4-7 1-5 11, Boo Miller 0-1 0-0 0, John Hale 2-5 0-1 4, Stephen Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Jack Shortell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 17-47 4-13 42.

Cowley (78) Preston Brown 2-7 4-8 9, Reggie Cook 4-7 0-0 9, Kyle Hammerschmidt 1-1 0-0 3, Chris Rhymes 3-5 1-2 7, Eric McKinney 6-11 1-2 13, Mike Atwater 0-1 1-1 1, Marcus Butler 1-3 0-0 2, Montrell McDonald 6-8 0-0 12, Jack Crowder 5-6 2-3 12, Jeremy McCarty 3-4 0-0 7, Zach Miller 1-1 0-1 3. Totals: 32-54 9-17 78.

Rebounds: Kansas City 18 (Hale 5), Cowley 19 (Brown 4). Assists: Kansas City 2 (Burdolski, Knight 1), Cowley 18 (Rhymes 6). Turnovers: Kansas City 23, Cowley 15. Total fouls: Kansas City 17, Cowley 14. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.

Photo by Donita Clausen/Traveler