Tigers hold off Hutchinson 63-60 in Hall of Fame game

"It was a special night, and I am glad the guys found a way to get a win for the Hall of Famers," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

With the victory, Cowley (15-8) remains in a tie with Garden City for sixth place in the Jayhawk Conference with a conference record of 10-7. Butler continues to lead the Jayhawk Conference with a record of 12-5, while Hutchinson (10-14) lost its eighth straight conference game to fall to 5-13.

Saturday's game featured a low-scoring first half with the Tigers going into halftime with a 28-27 lead.

With the score tied at 51-51, freshman Aven Mboule buried his second three-pointer of the game to put Cowley in front 54-51 with 5:47 left to play.

"Aven has provided us with a spark with his ability to make shots from the outside," Jackson said.

With Cowley leading 62-60 and only 13 seconds remaining, freshman Xavier Vickerstaff headed to the foul line for two shots. Vickerstaff made the first free-throw, but missed the second, allowing Hutchinson an opportunity to tie. However, stifling defense by the Tigers did not allow the Blue Dragons to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

"We are not all the way healthy, so I am proud of the guys that sacrificed not feeling their best," Jackson said. "It is nice we found a way to win an ugly, one-possession game."

After pulling down only two offensive rebounds in the first half, the Tigers were more aggressive after halftime, grabbing eight offensive boards.

"The second chance points really helped us out down the stretch," Jackson said.

Marcus Smith led Cowley with 15 points, 12 of which came in the game's final 20 minutes of play.

"Marcus really made some dynamic plays in the second half to help us win," Jackson said.

Cowley freshman Jordan Smith added eight points and 10 rebounds, while sophomores Leslie Owens and Kyden Thompson combined for 17 points, six assists, and six rebounds.

"Kyden and Leslie have been laying it on the line and leaving it all on the floor," Jackson said.

Daleron Thomas led Hutchinson with 15 points and five rebounds.

Cowley will attempt to make it two wins in a row when they play at Pratt (6-17) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Beavers, losers of four games in a row, have struggled to a conference record of 3-15 but are coming off an overtime loss against Barton on Saturday.

Box score:

Hutchinson (60): Lolo Rudolph 2-4 0-0 5, Bobby Cannon 1-6 0-0 3, Daleron Thomas 6-15 2-2 15, Kordell Williams 4-7 2-2 11, Asher Boney 1-4 0-2 2, Anthony Alston 4-7 0-0 10, Dilen Miller 2-3 0-0 5, Chudier Dorar 3-7 3-4 9. Totals: 23-53 7-10 60.

Cowley (63): Marcus Smith 6-14 3-3 15, Leslie Owens Jr. 5-10 2-2 12, Kyden Thompson 1-2 2-2 5, Jordan Smith 4-7 0-0 8, Roman Miller 5-15 0-1 11, LJ Britt 1-2 0-0 3, Chase Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Xavier Vickerstaff 1-9 1-2 3, Aven Mboule 2-3 0-0 6. Totals: 25-63 8-10 63.

Three-pointers: Hutchinson 7-20 (Alston 2-4, Thomas 1-6, Cannon 1-3, Rudolph 1-2, Miller 1-2, Williams 1-1, Boney 0-2), Cowley 5-18 (Mboule 2-3, Miller 1-6, Thompson 1-1, Britt 1-1, Vickerstaff 0-5, Smith 0-1, Owens 0-1). Rebounds: Hutchinson 33 (Williams 7), Cowley 35 (J. Smith 10). Assists: Hutchinson 11 (Williams 4), Cowley 11 (Thompson 5). Turnovers: Hutchinson 11, Cowley 8. Total fouls: Hutchinson 10, Cowley 8. Technicals: none.