Dodge City men's basketball took the court at home for the first time this season, hosting Western Nebraska on Monday night and holding off the Cougars down the stretch for the 79-65 victory.
The Conquistadors picked up their first win of the season to move to 1-2 on the year.
Conqs raced to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes before Western Nebraska got on the board. The Conqs' lead grew in the first half as they led 10-6 before going on a 12-0 run to expand it to 22-6. After three free throws by
Andrew Mabry with 6:21 remaining, the Conqs lead moved up to 20 at 33-13. Conqs continued to stymie Western Nebraska in the first half, holding the Cougars to just 24% shooting in the first half, leading 42-21 at intermission and holding as high as a 26-point lead in the first half.
In the second half, the Conqs held a double-digit lead until Western Nebraska made a push to pull within 12 at 59-47 and then within eight at 64-56 with 5:22 remaining. The Conqs, down the stretch, hit some free throws and held Western Nebraska down enough to lock in the 79-65 victory.
Conqs finished the night shooting 52.7% from the field, while Western Nebraska shot just 32.8% and 8-34 from three-point range. Conqs tallied 19 assists on 29 made field goals and had just 11 turnovers.
A trio of Conqs tallied double figures, led by
Brad Johnson Jr., who scored 20 points on 8-11 shooting, adding six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Mabry added 17 points on 5-9 shooting and 5-6 from the free-throw line, while
Ashton Parker chipped in 13 points with four rebounds.
Matias Haliseva scored eight points, while
Christian Brockett posted seven points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Up next: a trip west to Garden City to compete at the GCCC Classic on Friday and Saturday, November 6th and 7
th,against North Platte and Range.
