Seward rallies to outlast Cowley in overtime, 90-87

The Seward County Saints rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit against Cowley College Saturday in Arkansas City as Mario Whitley's basket, just before the buzzer, forced overtime. The Saints would out-score Cowley 13-10 in the extra session to earn the 90-87 road win.

Seward actually got off to a strong start as Cowley trailed by as many as 10 points (41-31) before scoring the final four points of the first half. The Tigers would go on to score the first 16 points of the second half to lead 51-41 following a basket by sophomore Mooch Austin with 14:20 left to play.

Seward would answer with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 53-53 before back-to-back dunks by Tiger sophomore Cameron Jernigan regained the lead for Cowley.

Cowley would never trail again in regulation and held a 76-72 advantage following a pair of free throws by Mekhi Cameron with 29.6 seconds left. The Saints would proceed to get a huge three-pointer from Daeyon James to pull within one (76-75) with 12.7 seconds remaining.

Forced to foul, the Saints sent Cameron back to the free-throw line with 7.9 seconds left in regulation. Cameron made the first free throw but missed the second as the ball went out of bounce to Seward with 6.5 seconds remaining. The Saints inbounded the ball to James, who raced the ball down court and found Whitley wide open under the basket for the layin before the buzzer sounded.

Seward would score the first four points of overtime and led 90-87 following a pair of free-throws by James with 13.3 seconds left. Needing a three-pointer to tie, Mooch Austin and Mekhi Cameron each had three-point attempts go off the mark as the Saints escaped with the three-point win.

"That loss definitely stings," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said. "We have had problems finishing games. We had every opportunity to put this one away, and we just could not make the winning play."

Cowley has allowed its past two opponents to shoot 58 percent or better from the floor, as Whitley and James came off the bench to lead the Saints with 20 points apiece. Seward improves its record to 6-5 overall and 3-5 in the Jayhawk Conference.

Tiger freshman Damare Smith came off the bench to go 4-of-7 from three-point range and finish with a season-high 14 points. Cameron Jernigan added 11 points, while Cameron led Cowley with 18 points but made only 4-of-16 shots from the floor.

Jeff Nwankwo, a transfer from Tulane University, made his Tiger debut after missing the first 12 games due to injury. Nwankwo scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in eight minutes of action as he will be eased back into competition.

Cowley, now 8-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference, will wrap up play in the first semester by playing at Garden City Monday at 7:30 p.m. The Broncbusters are 9-3 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

"Moral victories are not what we are searching for," Jackson said. "Garden City may be the most talented team in the league. No one is going to feel sorry for us because we are going through adversity. We have to find a way to come together."

Box score:

Seward (90): Jaylin Henderson 7-14 1-2 17, Ty Foster 2-4 0-0 4, David Petit 0-0 0-0 0, Blessin Kimble 6-8 2-6 14, Jimmy Sorunke 1-1 0-0 2, Tre Stafford 0-0 0-0 0, Jaden Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Mario Whitley 8-13 4-4 20, Kole Scott 1-1 0-0 3, Aguir Dawam 3-5 1-1 7, Daeyon James 6-11 4-4 20, Wilson Dubinsky 1-3 0-0 3, Nathan Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 35-60 12-17 90.

Cowley (87): Raishaun Brown 3-8 0-0 7, Mekhi Cameron 4-16 8-10 18, Xavier Washington 3-5 1-2 8, Demetrius Rives 2-4 1-2 7, Corey Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Jeff Nwankwo 1-3 0-0 2, Mooch Austin 4-7 0-0 8, Xavier Valley 2-6 3-4 8, Damare Smith 5-9 0-0 14, Cameron Jernigan 5-11 1-2 11, Trevion Alexander 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 30-70 16-22 87.

Three-pointers: Seward 8-20 (James 4-8, Henderson 2-7, Dubinsky 1-3, Scott 1-1, Dawam 0-1), Cowley 11-35 (Smith 4-7, Cameron 2-12, Rives 2-4, Valley 1-4, Brown 1-3, Washington 1-2, Austin 0-2, Nwonkwo 0-1). Rebounds: Seward 37 (Whitley 10), Cowley 24 (Jernigan 4). Assists: Seward 10 (Foster, Scott 3), Cowley 14 (Brown 5). Turnovers: Seward 14, Cowley 12. Total fouls: Seward 19, Cowley 18. Fouled out: none. Technicals: Dawam.