Dodge City men's basketball bounced back on the road to pick up a win before the holiday break, working past Pratt 69-61. 

The win moves the Conquistadors to 9-4 on the season and 5-2 in KJCCC action. Conqs head into the break sitting towards the top of the KJCCC standings, along with four other teams that have two conference losses. Conqs have won five of the last six road matchups against Pratt in the series. 

Pratt grabbed the early lead, going up 8-4, but the Conqs mounted a 9-0 run to take control, leading 13-8 six minutes into the contest after a Rickey Loftin II dunk. Pratt, however, would score the next seven points to swing the lead back their way at 15-13. It would remain tight for a while, but the Conqs went back in front. The lead grew to nine with just under three minutes left in the first half then with a three-pointer by Andrew Mabry, went to double figures at 37-25 and the Conqs took that lead into halftime. 

The second half would see the Conqs continually fend off Pratt's advances as the Beavers of Pratt managed to get within two at 48-46 with 11:15 remaining and drew within one at 50-49 with 10:15 left in the game. The Conqs would not give up the lead and even pushed it back to 10 at 63-53 with just over five minutes remaining and used free throws late to secure the 69-61 win. 

Conqs shot 50% from the floor as a team, marking the fourth time this season the Conqs have shot 50+% in a game. Defensively, the Conqs held Pratt to just 36.8% shooting. 

Loftin II paced the Conqs with 19 points on 7-11 shooting and went 4-4 from the free throw line, while adding six rebounds and three assists. Wesly Rosa chipped in 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, adding two blocks. Derrick Rivers tallied 11 points with four rebounds and four assists. 

The Conqs enter the holiday break 9-4 and will restart the season once the calendar flips to 2026 with their first game against Fort Hays Tech Northwest on Saturday, January 3rd at 3:00 pm.