Coffeyville pulls away late to hand Tigers first loss

Playing its conference opener at No. 8-ranked Coffeyville on Wednesday, the Cowley College men's basketball team led with under six minutes remaining before the Red Ravens finished the game on a 19-5 run to win 74-61.

Wednesday's game was the third time the teams have faced each other since squaring off for the national title in 2020. Coffeyville is now 7-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Jayhawk Conference, while Cowley falls to 5-1 and 0-1 in conference play.

Cowley fought back from a 23-17 first-half deficit to go into the half trailing by only one point at 39-38. The Tigers shot 50 percent in the opening half before being held to only 23 second-half points.

"I thought we were able to get off to a good start offensively. It was one of the better first halves we have played this year," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "The problem so far in this young season is that we have not been able to play a complete game. That showed in the second half."

Cowley led 56-55 following a three-point play by freshman Damare Smith with 5:56 remaining. After falling behind by seven (65-58), the Tigers got a three-pointer by sophomore Mekhi Cameron to pull within 65-61 with 2:41 left to play.

However, Coffeyville freshman Hayden Brittingham, a transfer from the University of Texas-Arlington, hit a pair of free throws to stretch the Red Ravens' lead to six and put the final touches on the win with a steal and emphatic dunk in the game's final 25 seconds of play.

Brittingham finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds as Coffeyville out-rebounded Cowley 44-30.

"At the end of the day, it is hard to win on the road," Jackson said. "Coffeyville bullied us on the glass in the second half. The second chance points started to add up, and it got the crowd into it. We did not have an answer for that."

Cameron led Cowley with 16 points, while Raishaun Brown added 15.

Cowley will return home to face Dodge City at 3 p.m. The Conquistadors are 4-1 on the season.

"We have no time to feel sorry for ourselves," Jackson said. "Dodge is very good, and we have to turn our focus to preparing for them."

Box score:

Cowley (61): Raishaun Brown 6-13 2-3 15, Mekhi Cameron 5-17 3-3 16, Xavier Washington 2-5 0-2 4, Cameron Jernigan 2-3 0-0 4, Trevion Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Mooch Austin 2-4 1-1 5, Xavier Valley 3-6 0-0 8, Damare Smith 2-6 1-1 6, Demetrius Rives 0-0 0-0 0, Lam Kuany 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Greene 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 23-55 7-10 61.

Coffeyville (74): Hayden Brittingham 5-8 7-12 17, Landon Glasper 1-8 2-2 4, Jordan Wildy 2-6 1-1 5, Nathan Johnson 5-8 2-2 13, Sotirios Nafpliotis 3-8 0-0 9, Kyren Angelo 0-2 0-0 0, Amare Haynie 2-5 0-0 5, Camian Shell 4-10 4-4 12, Al-Housseny Diallo 2-2 0-0 4, Javarzia Belton 2-5 1-2 5. Totals: 26-62 17-23 74.

Three-pointers: Cowley 8-27 (Cameron 3-9, Valley 2-5, Brown 1-5, Smith 1-4, Greene 1-1, Washington 0-2, Austin 0-1), Coffeyville 5-22 (Nafpliotis 3-6, Johnson 1-4, Haynie 1-2, Glasper 0-5, Angelo 0-2, Wildy 0-2, Shell 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 30 (Jernigan 8), Coffeyville 44 (Brittingham 11). Assists: Cowley 6 (Brown 2), Coffeyville 5 (Shell 3). Turnovers: Cowley 15, Coffeyville 9. Total fouls: Cowley 20, Coffeyville 10. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Brittingham.