March 6, 2010

Tigers have season come to heartbreaking end 79-75
 
Leading its game against Seward County for the first 29 minutes and maintaing a one-point lead in the final two minutes, the Cowley College men's basketball team was unable to come away with the victory as they had its season come to a sudden end with a 79-75 loss in the second-round of  the Region VI Tournament played Saturday at Wichita State University's Charles Koch Arena.

Cowley finishes the season with a record of 21-11 in head coach Tommy DeSalme's first season as head coach. Seward County improves to 24-8.

Trailing 77-72, Cowley freshman point guard Canon Fields would hit a three-pointer to pull the Tigers within two (77-75) with 13.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Cowley then got the turnover they needed as Robert Sigala lost the ball to the Tigers' Tyrus McGee, who raced down court, drove the lane but missed  a shot inside.

Seward's Marky Nolen made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to provide the final margin of 79-75.
"The guys gave us a chance to win, We just didn't finish enough plays in the final five or six minutes," DeSalme said. "But give our kids credit, they kept fighting."

As they have done so many times this season, the Tigers got off to a quick start as they scored the game's first seven points. McGee, the Jayhawk East Freshman of the Year, hit his first three shots from beyond the arc and helped Cowley to a 17-10 lead seven minutes into the game.

Seward would cut Cowley's lead to 22-21 following a basket by Marky Nolen with 9:45 left in the half before the Tigers' answered with a 9-0 run to lead by 10 (31-21). Cowley would go into the half with a 40-34 lead behind 11 points from McGee and nine from Fields.

The Saints' Latiq Agard, the team's leading scorer at 17 points per game, kept Seward close by scoring 12 first half points.

Three straight turnovers by the Tigers to start the second half led to layups by the Saints, tying the game at 40-40. Cowley lost possession of the basketball again on its fourth possession due to a jump ball forcing Tiger head coach Tommy DeSalme to burn two timeouts in the first minute and a half of the second half to try to get his team under control.

"The only thing I am disappointed in is the three turnovers to start the second half, which let them get right back in the game," DeSalme said.

Cowley would go back on top and maintain the lead until the Saints grabbed their first lead of the game (60-57) on a three-pointer by Sigala with 10:57 remaining. The Tigers would regain the lead (63-60) thanks to a three-point play and a three-pointer off the glass by Fields with 8:22 left to play. Fields would finish with 23 points, five assists, and four steals.

Seward would score seven straight points to lead 67-63 but again the Tigers would fight back to tie the game at 67-67. Cowley would take back the lead at 72-71 on a three-pointer by Dominick Cornelius with 1:45 remaining, but Agard answered with a three-point play to put Seward in  front 74-72 with 1:14 left.

Cornelius would miss a three-pointer on the Tigers' next possession and Seward grabbed the long rebound and tossed the ball ahead to Donte McCarter, who made the basket and was fouled by Cornelius with 48 seconds showing on the clock. McCarter would miss the free throw, leaving  the Tigers down four (76-72).

Cowley would then miss a couple of easy shots inside and were forced to foul Agard, who made 1-of-2 at the line to put Seward up five (77-72) with 19.4 seconds left. Fields then hit the three-pointer to pull the Tigers within two (77-75) and set the stage for the dramatic finish.

Despite the disappointing ending, DeSalme was proud of what his team accomplished in winning a conference title and advancing to play in Wichita.

"One thing I can say is I thought the kids overachieved all year," DeSalme said. "I hope the returning players have a taste of disappointment but also the joy of getting here. We have just got to be a tougher team."

Cowley will say goodbye to just two sophomores in Lance Russell and Caprest Rhone, and will return 80 percent of its scoring from this season.

McGee finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's loss and once again showed Tiger fans he will be one of the better players to ever wear a Cowley uniform. Cornelius finished his solid freshman campaign with 12 points and three rebounds before fouling out in the game's final seconds.

Nolen led Seward County with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Agard ended the game with 20 points and six boards. The Saints advanced to play in the semifinals of the Region VI Tournament.
Box Score:

Cowley (75): Canon Fields 8-13 4-5 23, Lance Russell 1-10 2-2 4, Tyrus McGee 6-12 3-4 18, Dominick Cornelius 5-9 0-0 12, Jordan Lankster 3-6 1-1 7, Caprest Rhone 2-5 0-0 5, A.J. Barber 0-0 0-0 0, Brent Schuck 0-0 0-0 0, Julio Rosario 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph Wakefield 0-1 0-0 0, Kelton Marshall 3-6 0-1 6,
Michael Copeland 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-62 10-13 75.

Seward (79): Donte McCarter 5-12 4-7 15, Robert Sigala 3-8 0-0 7, Marcus James 4-6 0-0 8, Jon Tassin 2-3 0-0 4, Latiq Agard 7-14 6-9 20, Isiah Thaw 1-3 0-0 2, Spencer Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Marky Nolen 10-16 3-3 23. Totals: 32-62 13-19 79.

Three-pointers: Cowley 9-21 (Fields 3-5, Rhone 1-2, Russell 0-3, McGee 3-6, Cornelius 2-5), Seward 2-6 (McCarter 1-1, Sigala 1-3, Nolen 0-1, Tassin 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 29 (McGee 9), Seward 39 (Nolen 9). Assists: Cowley 13 (Fields 5), Seward 11 (McCarter 4). Turnovers: Cowley 15, Seward 16.
Total fouls: Cowley 22, Seward 17. Fouled out: Cornelius. Technicals: none.