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January 23, 2012

Tigers bounce back with gritty 83-80 road win

It didn’t take long for the Cowley College men’s basketball team to get rid of the bad taste of Wednesday’s loss at Labette as the Tigers went back on the road on Saturday and picked up an important 83-80 win at Highland. The victory moves Cowley into a three-way tie for second place in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division.

“This was a big win, I am real proud of our kids,” Cowley head coach Tommy DeSalme said.

The Tigers started strong as they led 17-9 after the first eight minutes of play and 38-36 at the end of the first half. With the teams trading baskets throughout the first 11 minutes of the second half, the Scotties eventually opened a five-point lead (68-63) with 8:29 left to play.

Following an offensive foul call on Cowley’s Maurice Williams, DeSalme argued the call and was whistled for a rare technical foul. However, freshman James Milliken and the rest of the team picked up their coach down the stretch.

With five ties and five lead changes in the game’s final seven minutes of play, the Tigers saw themselves trailing by one (80-79) in the game’s final minute. Following a miss by Highland’s De’Andre Upchurch, the Tigers’ Ryan Devers grabbed the rebound and got the ball down court to Curtis Evans, who scored to give Cowley an 81-80 lead with 19.9 seconds left. On the play, the Tigers’ Adonis Bailey was fouled away from the action and was sent to the free-throw line for two shots. Bailey hit both free throws, making it a four-point possession, and putting Cowley ahead by three (83-80).

With a chance to tie, Highland’s Roderick Camphor missed a three-pointer in the final seconds and Cowley held on for the road win.

“I am very proud of my team, they had my back in a big way after I got the technical,” DeSalme said.

Milliken scored 16 of his 31 points in the final eight minutes of play and is averaging 30.3 points over the past three games.

“It is tough to find three straight games better than that,” DeSalme said. “He was special tonight.”

Milliken is now averaging 17.4 points per game as Cowley improves to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the Jayhawk East. Kamren Belin added 12 points, while Evans finished with 10. Devers, Adonis Bailey, and Gavin Brown chipped in with eight points apiece.

Upchurch, the conference’s leading scorer at more than 25 points per game, finished with a game-high 32 points in the defeat. The loss drops Highland to 10-7 overall and into a tie for second in the conference with Cowley and Neosho County at 4-2. Coffeyville continues to lead the conference with a record of 6-0.

Cowley will return home to play host to Allen County Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Red Devils picked up their first conference win with a 73-68 victory over Labette on Saturday. Terrell Shears, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, leads the conference with an average of 12.1 rebounds per game, while also scoring at a team-high clip of 14.1 points per contest.

Box score:
Cowley (83): James Milliken 11-18 8-12 31, EJ Dobbins 1-1 0-1 2, Kamren Belin 5-7 2-2 12, Curtis Evans 3-7 2-3 10, Gavin Brown 3-5 1-2 8, Ryan Devers 3-6 1-1 8, Maurice Williams 0-2 2-2 2, Anthony White 0-1 2-2 2, Adonis Bailey 2-6 4-5 8, Zach Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Tajh Downs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-54 22-29 83.

Highland (80): Phil Henry 3-5 0-1 6, Roderick Camphor 7-15 5-6 21, De’Andre Upchurch 11-22 7-9 32, Gannon Mayer 0-1 0-0 0, Brandon Stacker 1-2 0-0 2, Terry Moore 1-3 1-2 4, Jarvis Benard 0-1 1-2 1, Antonio Walker 5-10 2-7 12, Dave Jackson Jr. 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 29-60 16-27 80.

Three-pointers: Cowley 5-15 (Evans 2-5, Milliken 1-3, Devers 1-2, Brown 1-1, Bailey 0-2, Belin 0-1, Nelson 0-1), Highland 6-21 (Camphor 2-6, Upchurch 3-11, Moore 1-2, Mayer 0-1, Benard 0-1). Rebounds: Cowley 38 (Brown 7), Highland 33 (Walker 11). Assists: Cowley 14 (Devers, Bailey 3), Highland 11 (Camphor 3). Turnovers: Cowley 15, Highland 14. Total fouls: Cowley 22, Highland 22. Fouled out: none. Technicals: DeSalme.

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