Cowley has six players score in double figures in a 101-83 win at Independence

The teams entered the contest tied for fourth place in the Jayhawk Conference. Following Wednesday's game, the Tigers (18-10) remain tied with Coffeyville for fourth place in the conference with a record of 13-9. The Pirates (14-14), losers of six games in a row, fall into a four-way tie for sixth place with a conference record of 12-10.

The Tigers attempted a season-low four three-pointers, while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor.

Cowley raced out to a 17-6 lead in the game's first five minutes. Freshman post player Jordan Smith scored 12 of his season-high 15 points in the first half as Cowley built a 50-34 halftime advantage.

"We were locked in from the beginning and wanted to be aggressive offensively," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

The Pirates trimmed the deficit to 55-47 following a pair of free throws by David Wilson with 16:18 left to play, but the Tigers responded with seven straight points.

Independence would make a final run at the lead, pulling within 68-61, but Cowley freshman Chase Robinson scored on the other end, and the Tigers would go on to lead by as many as 23 points in the 18-point road win.

Robinson, who had scored only 23 points in his last five games, erupted for a season-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor. Jordan Smith finished with a double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds to go along with his 15 points.

"Chase and Jordan set the tone and were animals inside the paint," Jackson said.

Other Tigers in double figures were Marcus Smith (14), Xavier Vickerstaff (12), Kyden Thompson (11), and CJ Majors (11). Thompson added 13 assists, while he and Vickerstaff combined to shoot 10-of-11 from the floor.

"Kyden and Marcus did a good job of finding teammates in driving lanes," Jackson said.

Wilson led the Pirates with 23 points by going 13-of-16 from the foul line, while Lonnie Bass Jr. added 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Cowley will attempt to make it two straight road victories when they play at Seward County on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Saints are 17-11 overall and 12-10 in the conference. Seward stole a road win at Cowley with a 91-83 overtime victory on January 14 in Ark City.

"Seward is a deep and physical team, and that showed when we played them here," Jackson said. "This is another important game in the Jayhawk standings with all of us jockeying for playoff position."

Box score:

Cowley (101): Marcus Smith 7-12 0-0 14, Leslie Owens Jr. 3-6 0-0 6, Kyden Thompson 5-6 1-2 11, Xavier Vickerstaff 5-5 0-0 12, CJ Majors 4-9 3-3 11, LJ Britt 0-1 0-0 0, Chase Robinson 10-13 4-6 24, Aven Mboule 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Smith 7-10 1-3 15, Roman Miller 2-5 4-4 8, Khai Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 43-68 13-18 101.

Indy (83): David Wilson 5-10 13-16 23, Trae Lewis 5-19 0-0 10, Giali Chapman 4-9 8-9 19, Sekou Kourouma 0-1 0-0 0, Lonnie Bass Jr. 5-12 6-7 16. Zion Dixon 0-2 0-0 0, Khari Bryan 1-2 0-1 2, Kervenslee Blanc 1-1 0-0 3, Xavier Miller 1-4 0-0 3, Diezel Davis 1-4 2-2 5, BJ Randle 0-1 0-0 0, Colt Hightower 0-1 0-0 0, Will Lobor 0-1 0-0 0, Fortune Anslem-Ibe 1-1 0-2 2. Totals: 24-68 29-37 83.

Three-pointers: Cowley 2-4 (Vickerstaff 2-2, Britt 0-1, Mboule 0-1), Indy 6-19 (Chapman 3-5, Davis 1-2, Miller 1-1, Blanc 1-1, Lewis 0-7, Wilson 0-2, Lobor 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 40 (J. Smith 11), Indy 35 (Bass Jr. 16). Assists: Cowley 17 (Thompson 11), Indy 7 (Wilson, Chapman 2). Turnovers: Cowley 14, Indy 14. Total fouls: Cowley 24, Indy 15. Fouled out: Vickerstaff. Technicals: none.