Tigers blast hapless Independence 95-48

The No. 12-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team handed Independence its 25^th straight loss with a resounding 95-48 victory over the Pirates during the Tigers' homecoming game played Wednesday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The victory improves Cowley's record to 23-4 overall and 18-3 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Tigers remain one and a half games behind conference-leading Barton (19-1) with three games left in the regular season.

On Wednesday, Cowley never trailed in the 47-point home win. The Tigers raced out to a 13-3 lead and took a 45-29 lead into halftime. Eight players scored for Cowley in the opening half as the Tigers shot 56.3 percent from the floor and forced the Pirates into 11 turnovers.

A basket by freshman Marcus Zeigler capped a 16-2 Tiger run to open the second half and increase Cowley's lead to 61-31. With the big lead, Cowley's head coach, Donnie Jackson, was able to rest his starters.

All 10 Tigers that saw action on Wednesday scored in the victory. Sophomore Jeff Nwankwo led all scorers with 23 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor, while freshman Leslie Owens came off the bench to add 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

"A win is a win," Jackson said. "I thought we all played hard and competed. It was good to see everybody contribute and get involved."

Cowley held Independence (1-25) to 29 percent shooting and forced the Pirates into 24 turnovers. Rivano Amelo led Independence with eight points and eight rebounds.

The 48 points the Tigers surrendered were a season-low, while the 95 points scored were a season-high.

Cowley will play at Pratt on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Beavers are 8-18 overall and 5-15 in the Jayhawk Conference.

"Pratt is very talented and physical and has some really good scorers," Jackson said. "It is also very difficult to play in the Beaver Dome. Every game is even more important this time of year, and we have got to come ready to play if we want a chance on the road."

Box score:

Indy: Troy Stanback 1-7 0-0 3, Keah Paljor 2-4 2-4 6, Jeremiah Dallas-Martin 1-7 1-2 3, BJ Williams 2-10 2-2 6, K'Shawn Latty 0-1 0-0 0, Uros Krupnikovic 0-2 0-0 0, Rivano Amelo 4-6 0-0 8, Anastasios Chatzileontis 0-2 0-0 0, Samuel Bennett Pegues 3-7 0-0 8, Nemanja Brkic 1-1 0-0 2, Aaron Banning 2-2 1-2 5, Tyland Holdman 2-9 3-9 7. Totals: 18-62 9-19 48.

Cowley (95): Avante Nichols 3-4 4-6 11, Jeff Nwankwo 9-11 5-8 23, Arzhonte Dallas 4-9 0-0 9, Damare Smith 2-7 0-0 6, Corey Thomas 5-7 2-3 12, Shamarrie Hugie 2-8 1-1 5, Ajai Flagg 3-9 1-1 7, Marcus Zeigler 3-7 0-3 6, Leslie Owens 7-10 0-0 14, Faustin Phanor 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 39-75 13-22 95.

Three-pointers: Indy 3-20 (Pegues 2-4, Stanback 1-5, Dallas-Martin 0-4, Paljor 0-2, Holdman 0-2, Krupnikovic 0-1, Chatzileontis 0-1, Latty 0-1), Cowley 4-19 (Smith 2-5, Dallas 1-3, Nichols 1-2, Hugie 0-3, Flagg 0-2, Zeigler 0-2, Thomas 0-1, Nwankwo 0-1). Rebounds: Indy 40 (Amelo, Holdman 8), Cowley 43 (Nwankwo 12). Assists: Indy 6 (Holdman 3), Cowley 22 (Hugie 7). Turnovers: Indy 24, Cowley 12. Total fouls: Indy 20, Cowley 17. Fouled out: Holdman. Technicals: none.