Dodge City men's basketball punched their ticket to the Region VI Semifinals for the second straight year after winning a battle against Cloud County in the quarterfinals at home on Tuesday with an 87-79 victory.
The win improves the Conquistadors to 23-8 on the season and moves them into the Region VI Semifinals where they will Butler at 3:00 pm on Friday, March 10th in Wichita at Friends University.
It was a tight battle early and would be throughout the contest as the lead was never more than nine on either side. The Conqs over the first five minutes held a slim 10-8 lead but that lead over the next five minutes flipped in favor of Cloud County as they would outscore the Conqs 17-9 over that time to lead 25-19. Conqs answered with a 12-4 to grab the lead back at 31-29 but the Thunderbirds of Cloud County would stay close and the Conqs carried a 45-41 advantage into halftime. The second half saw the lead change hands multiple times as the Conqs strung together an 8-0 run including a monster dunk by
Cam Malray helping them lead 56-50 with just under 13 minutes remaining. With just over four minutes left,
DJ Jones drained a big three-point and extended the Conqs' lead to 75-67 and the Conqs would push the lead to as high as nine down the stretch ultimately tallying free throws in the final minute to secure the 87-79 win.
Conqs shot 49.2% from the field, while going 19-27 from the free throw line, while Cloud County shot 42.6% from the field and 23-28 from the free throw line. The Conqs distributed the ball well with 19 assists on 30 made field goals in the win.
Malray paced the Conqs as he matched his career-high with 22 points on 9-12 shooting and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Jason Edwards chipped in 19 points going 4-8 from three-point range, while Jones added 14 points as he was 6-6 from the free throw line and added three assists and three steals.
Jacobi Sebock finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, along with three assists and two blocks.
The Conqs now travel to Wichita at Friends University on Friday, March 10th, and will play Butler in the Region VI Semifinals at 3:00 pm. With a win the Conqs would vie for the Region VI Championship on Saturday, March 11th slated for a 5:00 pm contest; the other Region VI Semifinal features #17 Coffeyville and #20 Barton.
