Box Score DODGE CITY, Kan. -- In a matter of seven minutes the Dodge City Community College men's basketball team's 10-point lead over Seward County was a six-point deficit at 58-52 with 13:24 remaining in the contest.

But a 10-0 Conquistador run helped DC3 regain the lead for good as it defeated the Saints 88-83 Saturday afternoon at the Dodge City Civic Center.

The Conqs (21-8 overall, 12-6 KJCCC) took a 46-36 advantage over Seward (18-11, 8-10) on a Jamie Rutherford basket with 32 seconds remaining in the first half before Seward's Charles Beauregard scored as he was fouled as the halftime buzzer sounded. His free throw made it 46-39 Conqs.

DC3 struggled offensively through the first seven minutes of the second half as the Saints rallied to take a 63-58 lead with 12:07 remaining after a 3-pointer by Seward's Mitchell Packard.

The Conqs answered on the next possession as Rutherford drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run that was capped by a pair of Lorenzo Dillard free throws to make it 68-63 with 9:06 remaining.

Seward got as close as two points before the Conqs increased the lead to as large as 10 and held off a late Saints rally.

"It was physical both ways, it got chippy both ways and there was no real flow to the game," DC3 coach Kyle Campbell said.  "... I thought we could come out and put them away in the second half but we let them back into it. But we found a way."

The Conqs finished with five players in double figures with Dillard leading the way with 24 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Rutherford had 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Jonathan Joseph had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals, Josh Boutte finished with 13 points and eight rebounds (despite foul trouble) and James Newton had 11 points, four assists and two steals

DC3 once again shot it well, hitting on 51.7 percent (31-for-60) of its field goal attempts while shooting 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from beyond the arc - helping overcome the team's 57.1 percent performance at the free-throw line (16-for-28). The Conqs also finished with 21 assists to just 10 turnovers.

The KJCCC's leading scorer Niem Stevenson paced Seward with 31 points and 11 rebounds while Delano Jones had 17 points and Marcus Mathieu added 12.

Seward shot 42.9 percent (30-for-70) from the field, 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from 3-point range and 94.1 percent (16-for-17) from the free throw line.

DC3 is already locked into the No. 4 seed for the Region VI Tournament, and after its final regular-season game Monday at Cloud County, will host the No. 13 seed Wednesday in the first round at the Dodge City Civic Center. The No. 13 seed will be Cowley, Independence or Allen.