Whitlock’s big night helps lift the Tigers to an 83-76 win at Colby

Following a 28-point performance in a win over Fort Hays Tech on Wednesday, Cowley College freshman Marcus Whitlock Jr. topped his season-high with 32 points in an 83-76 win at Colby Community College on Saturday.

The No. 13-ranked Tigers have won eight games in a row to improve their record to 11-1 overall and 6-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. Butler and Coffeyville are 5-0 in the conference, while the remaining 10 conference schools have at least three losses.

On Saturday, Cowley led by as many as nine points (25-16) in the first half before Colby closed the half on a 21-7 run to lead 37-32.

"I thought we did a good job starting off the game before we got some road legs towards the end of the first half," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

The Trojans' lead would grow to 46-38 with 13:55 remaining. Cowley would grab its first lead of the second half at 49-48 following a basket by Kyden Thompson with 9:42 left to play and used a 16-2 run to lead 54-48.

The Tigers' lead would balloon to double digits (68-57) after a basket by Avante Nichols with 4:28 remaining. However, Colby would close within 77-74 with 30.2 seconds left.

Down the stretch, Cowley would go 6-of-6 from the foul line to hold on for the seven-point road win.

The game was evenly played, with the most significant difference coming in the turnover battle, as Cowley turned the ball over only 10 times while forcing the Trojans into 25 turnovers.

Whitlock Jr. came to Cowley from NCAA Division I Kennesaw State University, where he redshirted a season ago. The guard went 5-of-9 from three-point range and knocked down all 11 of his free throw attempts to finish with his 32 points. After scoring 60 points in the past two games, Whitlock Jr. is now averaging 15.9 points per game.

"We hung around long enough before MJ (Marcus Whitlock) took over," Jackson said.

Sophomore Shamarrie Hugie, who leads the Tigers with an average of 16.8 points per game, added 11 points in the win as point guard, while Marcus Zeigler finished with 10 points, three rebounds, and three steals.

Eternity Eguagie led five Trojans in double figures with 23 points but also committed a game-high seven turnovers.

Cowley will play its final home game of the first semester when they host Independence Community College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates (6-5) are 2-3 in the Jayhawk Conference and average 94 points per game, while guard Chiante Tramble leads Independence with an average of 22.5 points per contest.

"Independence can really score and can cause teams problems," Jackson said. "We will have to really defend in order to win this game."

Box score:

Cowley (83): Shamarrie Hugie 5-12 1-2 11, Austin Fortune 2-3 1-1 5, Marcus Zeigler 4-9 1-2 10, Kyden Thompson 4-5 0-1 9, Marcus Whitlock Jr. 8-15 11-11 32, Emarquis Jones 0-2 0-1 0, Avante Nichols 2-3 5-6 9, Winston Allen 1-4 5-6 7. Totals: 26-53 24-30 83.

Colby (76): Raphael Nagau-Trouart 0-5 0-0 0, Eternity Eguagie 6-11 9-12 23, Nana Keutcha 3-4 1-1 7, Maxence Massadila 2-6 0-0 5, Khadir Muhammad 4-10 0-0 10, Aliou Diallo 2-3 6-7 11, D.J. Cason 3-3 2-2 10, Cassius Watkins 0-0 0-0 0, Gaius Meowuru M'Ella 2-4 6-8 10. Totals: 22-46 24-30 76.

Three-pointers: Cowley 7-18 (Whitlock 5-9, Zeigler 1-3, Thompson 1-1, Hugie 0-2, Jones 0-1, Nichols 0-1, Allen 0-1), Colby 8-24 (Muhammad 2-8, Eguagie 2-4, Cason 2-2, Massadila 1-4, Diallo 1-2, Nagau-Trouart 0-3, Meowuru M'ella 0-1). Rebounds: 20 (Hugie, Whitlock 4), Colby 28 (three players with 6). Assists: Cowley 11 (Whitlock 4), Colby 10 (Muhammad 4). Turnovers: Cowley 10, Colby 25. Total fouls: Cowley 23, Colby 23. Fouled out: Hugie, Zeigler, Diallo. Technicals: Zeigler.