December 24, 2024

Conq women win KJCCC outright with victory at Colby, men survive scare

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Photo courtesy of Dodge City Athletics.

COLBY–No. 10 Dodge City beat Colby 81-56 to secure the outright KJCCC title Wednesday at the Colby Event Center, while the 15th-ranked Conq men escaped 78-74 against a Trojan team that had lost 19 of their last 20 games behind 29 points from Jason Edwards.

In the women’s game, the Conqs had some trouble creating separation early, but a key run late in the third quarter, sparked by four 3-pointers, gave them the momentum to put together a dominant second half.

The Conqs struggled from distance for the second-straight game overall though, hitting just 8-for-36 from outside the arc, which is just 22%.

Dodge City made their hay on points off of turnovers. They turned 21 turnovers into 34 points, matching their total when Dodge and Colby faced off in January.

The Conqs also outscored Colby 35-0 in bench points. Colby only had six available players for Wednesday’s contest.

Bree Stephens led the Conqs with 14 points. Jenna Rose Mafua and Kianna Lemons also reached double figures, scoring 12 points and 10 points respectively.

Dodge City’s win marked their 19th consecutive victory.

The No. 10 Conquistadors improve to 26-2 (21-1 KJCCC) with the win and return to action Saturday when they travel to Pratt. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.

In the men’s game, the two teams traded leads eight times, including a handful in the final five minutes, but Dodge City hung on thanks to four late free throws from Jason Edwards, who scored a team-high 29 points.

The Conqs led by 74-72 with 20 seconds left when Edwards was stripped by Julius Morris. He seemed to be in the clear in transition, but Cam Malray came flying in to swat what would have been the game-tying layup, and Edwards made all of his foul shots to seal the win.

Edwards finished the game 8-of-17 from the field and an impressive 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Chris Robinson added 16 points and Malray had 15.

Joshua O’Garro dropped a game-high 30 points to pace Colby.

The No. 15 Conquistadors improve to 21-7 (17-5 KJCCC) with the win and return to action Saturday when they travel to Pratt. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT.