Tigers build huge lead en route to a 78-66 win at Colby

On Saturday, Cowley got three straight three-pointers by freshman Khai Brown during a 13-0 run, which gave the Tigers a 25-6 lead. Cowley's advantage would grow to 40-14 following a basket by Roman Miller.

Colby heated up towards the end of the half, but Cowley would go into halftime with a 50-35 lead.

"We had a great start to the game," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "Khai Brown had a nice stretch of threes early in the game to give us an energy boost."

The Tigers would maintain a double-digit lead before Colby was able to pull within 71-63 with only 2:27 remaining. The Tigers would hold on for the 12-point win as they hit their free throws down the stretch and finished 25-of-31 from the foul line.

"We got outplayed the last 25 minutes of the game, and moving forward, we have to be able to sustain defensive effort the entire game, especially when shots stopped falling in the second half," Jackson said.

Freshman point guard Marcus Smith led five Tigers in double figures with 18 points, five steals, and five assists, and went 9-of-11 from the foul line. Fellow freshman guard LJ Britt came off the bench to finish with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.

"Marcus did a great job of attacking and getting to the line," Jackson said. "It was also good to see some bench guys step up."

Cowley improves its record to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the Jayhawk Conference, while Colby falls to 2-8 and 0-4 in the conference.

Aliou Diallo led the Trojans with 15 points and six rebounds.

The Tigers will return home to face No. 15-ranked Coffeyville Community College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Red Ravens (8-1) are 3-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. 

"We will need to be way better when we play Coffeyville on Wednesday," Jackson said. "We have some things we need to correct, and we need two great days of practice to give ourselves a chance against the Ravens."