Dodge City men's basketball opened Jayhawk Conference play with a tough road contest against a Top 20-ranked Barton Cougars. The #17-ranked Barton squad worked to as high as an 18-point lead in the first half, but the Conquistadors tightened the game up, falling just short in the second half, 85-78 on the road.
The loss drops the Conqs to 4-3 on the season and 0-1 in KJCCC action.
After trading early points, the Conqs grabbed a 7-4 lead with a
Jordan Russell tip-in basket and then led 11-6, thanks to a 6-0 run, just over three minutes into the matchup. The lead remained with the Conqs until Barton hit a jumper with 10:50 left in the first half to grab a 20-19 advantage, as that jumper ignited an 8-0 run by the Cougars, ultimately giving them a 27-20 lead. The Conqs went cold from the floor as Barton continued to catch fire, growing their lead to as high as 18 with 2:44 left in the first half. However, the Conqs whittled the Cougar lead down to 11 by halftime, trailing 47-36.
In the second half, the Conqs were resilient, continually pushing and drawing within a two-possession game at 57-51 with just under 12 minutes left in the game. The Conqs would get closer as a
Derrick Rivers jumper made it a two-point contest at 58-56 with 10 minutes left. It would be a two-point game again multiple times down the stretch with chances to tie or take the lead for the Conqs, and then a
Brad Johnson three-pointer made it a one-point game at 74-73 with three minutes remaining. Barton, however, made some free throws and had a late run-out bucket to snatch the game 85-78.
Conqs shot just 35.2% from the floor while Barton countered by shooting 45.2%, including 54.5% in the first half. While the Conqs only had a handful of turnovers, the rebounding edge was heavily in favor of Barton, 50-37.
Five Conqs tallied double figures in the loss, led by
Rickey Loftin II, who scored 17 points, adding four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Rivers chipped in 13 points with five rebounds and five assists, while Johnson added 11 points. Both
Andrew Mabry and Russell each posted 10 points, with Russell grabbing eight rebounds.
Conqs are set for their first home KJCCC matchup of the season on Saturday, November 22nd, when they take on #10 Cowley at 3:00 pm.
