January 31, 2008

Cowley uses balanced scoring to beat Neosho County 83-62

Paced by five players scoring in double figures, the No. 14-ranked Cowley College men’s basketball team defeated Neosho County 83-62 Wednesday night at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The game was back and forth for the first nine minutes as the score was tied at 20-20. However, Cowley used a 10-2 run to lead 30-22 and opened a 42-29 halftime advantage by holding the Panthers to 32 percent shooting.

Cowley’s lead grew to as many as 23 points (65-42) after a three-point play by Eric McKinney capped a 13-0 run with 9:37 remaining. But, Neosho County proceeded to go on a 17-4 run that cut the Tigers’ lead to 69-59 with just under four minutes left.

Cowley responded by scoring six straight points and outscored the Panthers 14-3 to close out the 21-point win.

Jack Crowder led Cowley with 17 points and six rebounds, while Montrell McDonald and Chris Rhymes each finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Reggie Cook added 12 points and McKinney chipped in with 11 points and eight boards.

Nine of the ten Tigers that saw playing time scored in the win as Cowley head coach Steve Eck substituted players liberally.

“I’m trying to find the combination that will win ball games on the defensive end,” Eck said.

After giving up more than 70 points in four of its previous five ball games, Cowley held Neosho County to just 35.4 percent shooting from the floor.

“We have just got to keep on playing hard and keep playing defense,” Eck said.

Adrian Sims and Damayrius Adside, who finished with 21 and 19 points, respectively, led the Panthers.

Cowley is now 19-2 overall and 8-1 in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division. The loss drops Neosho County’s record to 10-11 overall and 5-4 in the conference.

The Tigers will return to the court at 4 p.m. Saturday when they play at Kansas City Community College. The Blue Devils are 10-11 overall and 2-7 in the Jayhawk East. Cowley defeated Kansas City by a score of 78-42 Jan. 5 in the conference opener for both teams.

“They have gotten better since the first time we played them,” Eck said. “We will need to create our own intensity.”

Box score:
Neosho County (62): Adrian Sims 8-16 0-0 21, Damayrius Adside 6-19 4-6 19, Mark Gomilla 3-8 2-2 8, Delray Mills 2-10 2-3 6, Mark May 2-6 0-2 4, J.J. Pitts 0-2 0-0 0, Demetrius Martin 2-4 0-2 4. Totals: 23-65 8-15 62.

Cowley (83): Preston Brown 2-5 2-4 7, Reggie Cook 4-6 3-5 12, Montrell McDonald 5-9 1-2 13, Chris Rhymes 6-12 1-3 13, Eric McKinney 5-13 1-1 11, Mike Atwater 0-1 0-0 0, Marcus Butler 2-3 0-0 6, Jack Crowder 6-9 5-7 17, Kyle Hammerschmidt 1-2 0-0 2, Zach Miller 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 32-62 13-22 83.

Three-pointers: Neosho 8-17 (Sims 5-9, Adside 3-6, Gomilla 0-2), Cowley 6-11 (Brown 1-3, Cook 1-3, McDonald 2-3, Butler 2-2). Rebounds: Neosho 31 (Martin 8), Cowley 39 (McDonald, Rhymes, McKinney 8). Assists: Neosho 8 (Adside 4), Cowley 19 (Brown, McDonald, Atwater 4). Turnovers: Neosho 17, Cowley 16. Total fouls: Neosho 19, Cowley 16. Fouled out: May. Technicals: Adside 2, Rhymes.