The basketball season tipped off in Texas for Dodge City men's basketball with a pair of tough opponents on the docket at the Western Texas Classic.
The Conquistadors dropped their season opener against the host of the classic, Western Texas, 92-73, then took on #1 Howard on Saturday to wrap up the road trip, falling 90-62.
It's quickly back on the court for the Conqs as they will be at home for the first time this season on Monday, November 2
nd at 7:00 pm against Western Nebraska.
Lost 92-73 vs Western Texas
After opening the game with a three-pointer, the Conqs saw Western Texas get rolling offensively, going on an 18-2 run to lead 18-5 just about five minutes into the contest.
Lenox Haynes made it 18-8 with a three-pointer, but over the next three minutes neither team found a way on the scoreboard. The Conqs weathered the early storm and slowly worked their way back into the contest, pulling to within one at 29-28 on a
Matias Haliseva dunk with just under six minutes remaining. The game was knotted up at 31-31 before an 8-0 spurt by Western Texas, but the Conqs responded with a 9-0 run to take a 40-39 lead with just under a minute left in the first half. Western Texas scored the final five points of the first half and led 44-40 at intermission. In the second half, Western Texas settled back in offensively, starting the half on a 12-3 run as the Conqs fell behind by double figures again. The deficit grew to 20 at 71-51 with 10:36 left. The Conqs struggled and ultimately dropped the season opener 92-73.
Conqs shot 41.2% in the contest with 17 assists on 28 made field goals but gave up 51.6% shooting by Western Texas in the loss.
Brad Johnson Jr. tallied 22 points on 9-16 shooting, adding six rebounds and four assists to lead the Conqs.
Matias Haliseva in his college debut posted 12 points and six rebounds, while Haynes added nine points off the bench. Three other Conqs chipped in six points each.
Lost 90-62 vs Howard
Things didn't get any easier for the Conqs in game two at the Western Texas Classic as they took on #1 Howard. While the Conqs pushed the Hawks for part of the first half, the hot shooting of Howard proved to be too much. The matchup was back-and-forth and tight for the first 11 minutes, with the Conqs taking the lead multiple times. Down just 20-19, the Conqs saw Howard go on an 8-0 run to grow their lead to nine and ultimately push it to double digits before halftime as the Conqs trailed 54-36. In the second half, Howard continued to shoot the ball well and grew their lead to 20 against the Conqs. The Conqs fell to the defending national champions, 90-62.
Conqs saw Howard have a hot shooting day as the Hawks shot 58.6% from the field and out-rebounded the Conqs 42-20. The Conqs shot just 31.5% in the loss.
Andrew Mabry had a strong performance, dropping 23 points on 6-15 shooting including 5-10 from three and was 6-6 from the charity stripe.
Ashton Parker added 16 points with five rebounds, while Haynes tallied nine points off the bench.
