Smith helps lead the Tigers to their first conference win in a 95-89 victory over Cloud County
Getting a career-high 29 points from freshman point guard Marcus Smith and making several big plays down the stretch, the No. 23-ranked Cowley College men’s basketball team defeated a solid Cloud County squad by a score of 95-89 on Tuesday night inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.
The victory improves Cowley's record to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the Jayhawk Conference, while Cloud County falls to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
On Tuesday, Cowley got 14 first-half points from Marcus Smith to lead 35-28.
After 63 points scored in the opening half, the teams would heat up in the second half, combining for 121 points.
A three-pointer by Xavier Vickerstaff increased Cowley's lead to 45-31 before Cloud County rallied to go in front 73-70 on a three-pointer by DJ Holloway with 6:20 remaining.
The Tigers responded with nine straight points and never trailed again as they went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the closing minutes and finished 25-of-30 overall from the charity stripe.
"That was a physical battle," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "Both teams played at a high level of intensity. We made just enough plays and got a couple of stops down the stretch when we needed to. It wasn't pretty, but we will take it."
Smith was 9-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the foul line to finish with 29 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Sophomore CJ Majors added 15 points and was one of five Tigers in double figures.
"We still have quite a few things to clean up, but we will take this win," Jackson said.
Cloud County's Al Brooks Jr. led five T-Birds in double figures with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Cowley shot 57.6 percent from the floor and made 19-of-20 free-throw attempts over the final 20 minutes of play to help offset Cloud County hitting six second-half three-pointers and the T-Birds going 21-of-28 from the foul line.
Cowley will attempt to make it two wins in a row when they travel to play at Colby on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Trojans are 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the Jayhawk Conference.
"This win means nothing if we can't find a way to win a conference road game," Jackson said. "We have no time for pats on the back, as we have to prepare for the long trip to Colby and play a very dangerous squad. We will need a similar level of intensity on Saturday."