February 2, 2010

Coffeyville ends Cowley’s win streak, drops Tigers to second in conference

Unable to slow down Coffeyville’s inside duo of Jermaine Bransford and Keith Biggers, the Cowley College men’s basketball team had its six game winning streak come to an end with a 82-75 loss Monday at W.S. Scott Auditorium.

Both Bransford (18 points, 12 rebounds), and Biggers (12 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles as the Red Ravens out-shot Cowley 48.5 percent to 39.2 percent from the floor, and won the rebounding battle 44-34.

“I thought we played soft tonight and we could not afford to be soft,” Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said.

The win moves Coffeyville (15-7 overall, 9-2 Jayhawk East) into first place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division, one half game ahead of the Tigers, which are now 15-8 overall and 9-2 in the conference. The Red Ravens swept the season series against Cowley as they also won on Dec. 2 in Coffeyville.

However, seven conference games remain.

“One game does not make a season, the conference season is a long way from over,” DeSalme said.

On Monday, Cowley fell behind early and went into the half trailing 33-27. Coffeyville’s lead would grow to 47-38 following a basket by Albert Peterson with 13:05 remaining, but Cowley continued to battle as they used a 10-0 run in less than two minutes to take its first lead of the game.

Canon Fields’ layup with 11:25 left to play put Cowley on top 48-47. The Tigers’ final lead would come at 51-50 following a three-pointer by Kelton Marshall with 10:17 remaining.

Back-to-back baskets by Biggers and Bransford would put the Red Ravens back on top and the duo would combine to score 10 of Coffeyville’s 13 points during a 13-4 run, which saw the Red Ravens go from down one (51-50) to up eight (63-55) with a little more than five minutes remaining.

Coffeyville’s lead would grow to as many as 13 points (74-61) before holding on to win by seven. Biggers and Bransford combined to go 13-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

For the second straight game, freshman Dominick Cornelius led Cowley in scoring as he finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four steals. Tyrus McGee added 15 points and 11 rebounds. However, Cornelius and McGee combined to make just 12-of-33 shots from the floor.

Canon Fields added 14 points on 7-of-17 shooting, while chipping in a team-high eight assists.

Cowley will attempt to start a new winning streak when they play at Allen County Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Tigers narrowly beat the Red Devils 79-75 back on Dec. 5. Allen County is tied for fourth place with Johnson County in the Jayhawk East with a conference record of 6-3.

“I hope we practice good and earn the right to play well at Allen,” DeSalme said.

Box score:
Coffeyville (82): Eric Hardyway 3-5 1-2 7, Stacy Wilson 4-12 3-4 12, Kevin Broussard 3-13 3-4 12, Jermaine Bransford 8-11 2-2 18, Keith Biggers 5-8 2-3 12, Justin Johnson 3-5 1-1 7, Albert Peterson 2-4 0-0 4, Richard Townsend-Gant 2-5 1-2 6, Jabril Bowlin 2-3 0-1 4. Totals: 32-66 13-19 82.

Cowley (75): Canon Fields 7-17 0-0 14, Caprest Rhone 2-6 1-2 5, Tyrus McGee 5-14 4-4 15, Dominick Cornelius 7-19 2-2 19, Kelton Marshall 2-5 0-0 6, Kalub Long 1-1 0-0 2, Brent Schuck 0-1 0-1 0, Lance Russell 2-6 2-2 6, Julio Rosario 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Copeland (pictured) 2-4 0-0 4, Jordan Lankster 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 29-74 11-13 75.

Three-pointers: Coffeyville 5-15 (Wilson 1-3, Broussard 3-10, Townsend-Gant 1-2), Cowley 6-18 (Fields 0-2, Rhone 0-3, McGee 1-4, Cornelius 3-4, Marshall 2-3, Schuck 0-1, Russell 0-1). Rebounds: Coffeyville 44 (Bransford, Biggers 12), Cowley 34 (McGee 11). Assists: Coffeyville 24 (Hardyway 10), Cowley 15 (Fields 8). Turnovers: Coffeyville 15, Cowley 10. Total fouls: Coffeyville 15, Cowley 19. Fouled out: Cornelius. Technicals: none.