Tigers pick up important 113-93 win over No. 20-ranked Butler

Entering Wednesday night's home game against No. 20-ranked Butler community College in a tie for second place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division, the 22nd-ranked Cowley College men's basketball team raced out to a 15-2 lead and never trailed in the 113-93 victory.

The victory not only moved Cowley ahead of Butler into sole possession of second place in the Jayhawk East, the Tigers also pulled back within one game of first place in the conference as Coffeyville suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday at Independence.

Cowley is now 10-4 overall and 10-2 in the Jayhawk East, while Butler had its seven-game winning streak snapped and is now 11-3 overall and 9-3 in the conference.

The Tigers led by as many as 18 points (57-39) in the opening half, but Butler made 26-of-31 free-throw attempts to stay within striking distance at 61-51 at the end of the first half.

Cowley used another 15-2 run to open the second half and led by as many as 26 points in the win.

"Our start to both halves was really good," Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said. "We came out with a lot more aggressive mindset than we did at Coffeyville on Saturday."

Sophomore Cevin Clark went 6-of-10 from three-point range and led the Tigers with 22 points.

"He not only makes shots, his ability to take charges and lay his body on the line is pretty special," DeSalme said.

Mike'l Henderson finished with 17 points, eight assists, and five steals, and Dalen Ridgnal had another double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) despite playing only four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.

"Dalen showed high-level maturity by staying locked in on the bench," DeSalme said.

Making just his second start of the season, sophomore transfer Clarence King finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Sophomore Jacquez Yow also played well as he came off the bench to score 14 of his 16 points in the second half. After making just 1-of-7 shot attempts in the opening half, Yow went 6-of-10 in the second.

"He was playing just a little too fast in the first half, but he really calmed down at halftime and was a lot more under control in the second half," DeSalme said.

Noah Thomasson went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and led Butler with 24 points as the Grizzlies finished 38-of-50 from the foul line.

Cowley will play at Cloud County Saturday at 4 p.m. The T-Birds, losers of seven games in a row, are just 4-10 overall and 2-10 in the Jayhawk East.

"We can beat anybody or get beat by anybody in the conference," DeSalme said. "We need to have a game where we play well on the road."

Box score:

Butler (93): Treylon Payne 2-5 4-6 9, DeeJuan Pruitt 5-11 5-6 15, Shawn Hopkins 1-8 6-10 8, Karrington Davis 2-5 4-4 9, Noah Thomasson 7-13 10-10 24, Keyon Thomas 1-4 0-0 3, Donyae McCaskill 6-8 5-8 17, RJ McGarthy 2-4 4-6 8. Totals: 26-58 38-50 93.

Cowley (113): Mike'l Henderson 6-13 1-1 17, Clarence King 4-6 2-2 11, Moun'tae Edmundson 4-8 0-0 10, Cevin Clark 7-11 2-2 22, Dalen Ridgnal 6-12 0-0 13, Jacquez Yow 7-17 1-2 16, Tarese Morse 2-4 0-2 4, Josiah Harris 2-3 0-1 4, Biar Garang 1-2 0-0 2, Kobe Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Shemarri Allen 2-2 1-1 5, Raishaun Brown 2-6 5-5 9. Totals: 43-85 12-16 113.

Three-pointers: Butler 3-11 (Thomas 1-3, Payne 1-2, Davis 1-2, Pruitt 0-2, Hopkins 0-1, Thomasson 0-1), Cowley 15-38 (Clark 6-10, Henderson 4-10, Edmundson 2-6, Ridgnal 1-5, King 1-3, Yow 1-2, Brown 0-2). Rebounds: Butler 42 (Hopkins 10), Cowley (42 (Ridgnal 10). Assists: Butler 9 (Payne 3), Cowley 24 (Henderson 8). Turnovers: Butler 21, Cowley 14. Total fouls: Butler 18, Cowley 33. Fouled out: Harris. Technicals: Butler Bench, Pruitt, Brown, Ridgnal.