After a slight delay due to winter weather, the Dodge City men's basketball team hit the road on Monday to continue Jayhawk Conference play and took on Cowley, which proved to be an offensive duel. The Conquistadors stuck with the Tigers for most of the contest but ultimately fell 91-81 on the road.
The loss drops the Conqs to 13-7 on the season and 9-5 in KJCCC action, putting them in a three-way tie for second place in the conference following the loss.
Conqs struck first to open the scoring, but it would be a back-and-forth affair the whole night, with the lead no higher than four until the nine-and-a-half-minute mark of the first half. A small 6-0 spurt by Cowley gave them the largest of the game at 15-9, and the Tigers stayed in front until the Conqs netted a three-pointer from
Derrick Rivers with four-and-a-half minutes left in the first half, giving the Conqs a 24-23 advantage. Down the stretch, the Conqs stayed nearly even with Cowley but would trail 35-32 entering halftime. Early in the second half, the lead quickly jumped to eight for Cowley, and the Conqs spent the second half constantly clawing back. A tip-in bucket by
Brad Johnson with 13:39 left gave the Conqs their first lead of the second half at 48-47, and the lead would change hands several times over the next six minutes. With 5:32 remaining Cowley regain control going up 75-68 and would keep the Conqs at arm's length the rest of the way despite a push by the Conqs leading to a 91-81 decision for Cowley.
Offensively, the Conqs were efficient, shooting 42.4% and went 19-21 from the free throw line but Cowley had a strong shooting performance, shooting 50.9% and was 26-35 from the free throw line.
Rickey Loftin II tallied his first double-double as a Conq, finishing with 20 points on 9-19 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. Rivers once again paced the Conqs on the night, recording 27 points, going 7-7 from the free throw line.
Jayvion Nurse chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, while
Brad Johnson tallied 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Conqs are back home on Saturday, January 31st, against Cloud County at 3:00 pm, looking to get back on track.
