Box Score The Conquistador men's basketball team was searching for their first home conference win since the last time they played Neosho at home. Although they jumped out to an early lead, they could not hold on as Neosho County defeated the Conqs by a score of 77-68 on Saturday.

In the first half the Conqs went with a different starting line-up than they had all year. They went with a big lineup to try to gain a size and rebounding advantage over the Panthers as they started a starting group with four of the five guys that were 6'7" or taller. In the first half Dodge seemed to find their footing with the larger group as they were able to slow down Neosho and keep their offense in check. At the same time the Conq offense, which has been prolific this year, was also struggling to get into the rhythm they have become accustomed to. Neosho took away the middle and forced the Conqs to try to score from the perimeter. Outside of freshman Joe Petrakis, Dodge City struggled from beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes of the game. Despite the offensive struggles, the Conqs still used their defense to take a 32 to 30 lead into the locker room at half.

In the second half, the Conq offense picked up slightly on the shoulder of leading scorer Jyrus Freels and the attacking nature of guard Trey Hill. The problem was the Neosho offense got into high gear as well. The Panthers used good ball movement to attack the Dodge City zone and eventually forced them to go back to the man to man defense. Panther guard Brian Tolefree was able to break down the Conq defense on the dribble and eventually tallied 18 points to lead Neosho. The Conqs were in the game until late when the Panthers used the free throw line to create a gap between themselves and the Conqs on the way to the nine point victory.

Freels once again led Dodge City with 19 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Justice Dixon was the only other Conq in double figures with 11 points, although Petrakis and Hill each tallied 11 points each. Petrakis also grabbed 10 rebounds, just missing a double-double by one point.

"We are still trying to find our identity," said Coach Steve Tucker. "We have some young guys that are still learning what it means to be a college basketball player. I am not discouraged with the guys at this point, I just wish the process would speed up a little for some of them."

The Conqs are back in action on Wednesday when they will host Butler Community College at 7:30pm at the Student Activity. Dodge City Community College will be dedicating Goff-Burke Family Court at halftime of that game.