Cowley builds big lead, holds on for 83-78 road win

Playing at Independence Community College on Saturday, the No. 8-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team used a balanced effort to defeat the Pirates 83-78.

The victory was the 12^th in a row for the Tigers, as they are now 14-1 overall and 9-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Pirates, losers of 13 games in a row, are now 1-13 overall and 0-8 in the conference.

On Saturday, Cowley trailed 23-21 midway through the first half before out-scoring the Pirates 18-10 to lead 39-33 at the half. The Tigers had nine players score in the first half and held Indy to 32.4 percent shooting in the game's first 20 minutes.

Cowley's lead would grow to 77-60 following a dunk by sophomore Jeff Nwankwo with just under three minutes remaining. Indy would out-score Cowley 18-6 the rest of the way, but it was too late for the Pirates.

"It wasn't our prettiest game, but we found a way," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "A road win is a road win, no matter how you get it."

Sophomore Corey Thomas led Cowley with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Nwankwo added 15 points and nine boards. Avante Nichols and Arzhonte Dallas chipped in with 11 points apiece.

The Pirates' Cory Curtis Jr. led all scorers with 23 points.

Cowley will put its unbeaten home and conference mark on the line when they host Pratt Community College Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Beavers are 5-8 overall and 3-5 in the conference.

"Pratt is extremely talented," Jackson said. "They can get downhill and score the ball at a lot of positions. We need a great couple of days of practice to prepare."

Box score:

Cowley (83): Avante Nichols 4-6 2-2 11, Jeff Nwankwo 5-9 5-6 15, Arzhonte Dallas 1-10 8-8 11, Damare Smith 2-9 2-2 8, Corey Thomas 9-13 0-0 19, Shamarrie Hugie 3-4 1-2 7, Ajai Flagg 0-0 0-0 0, Marcus Zeigler 2-6 0-1 5, David Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Leslie Owens 1-5 1-2 3, Faustin Phanor 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 29-64 19-23 83.

Indy (78): Keah Paljor 4-8 0-0 10, Cory Curtis Jr. 8-20 4-4 23, Tyland Holdman 3-6 1-2 7, Billy Williams 8-17 2-4 20, K'Shawn Latty 6-15 0-0 17, Trey Stanback 0-1 0-0 0, Samuel Bennett Pegues 0-2 0-0 0, Jeremiah Dallas-Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Aaron Barning 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 29-71 8-12 78.

Three-pointers: Cowley 6-20 (Smith 2-6, Dallas 1-4, Zeigler 1-3, Thomas 1-2, Nichols 1-1, Nwankwo 0-2, Hugie 0-1, Owens 0-1), Indy 12-35 (Curtis 3-11, Latty 5-10, Williams 2-7, Paljor 2-4, Bennett Pegues 0-1, Dallas-Martin 0-1, Barning 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 33 (Nwankwo 9), Indy 36 (Holdman, Williams 11). Assists: Cowley 19 (Dallas 4), Indy 15 (Holdman 6). Turnovers: Cowley 10, Indy 13. Total fouls: Cowley 12, Indy 13. Technicals: none.