Two more games decided in final minute
Trojans fall 67-64 to Cowley, hold off Butler 73-64
It was a busy 24 hours for the Colby Community College men's basketball team as they split a two-game home stand Sunday and Monday at the Colby Community Building. They dropped a tight 67-64 game to Cowley County Sunday but turned around to hold off Butler County 73-64 Monday night.
Sunday the Trojans expanded a 27-25 halftime lead to as many as eight in the second half. Cowley's Derieko Smith got hot from behind the arc in the middle of a 9-0 run to put the Tigers up 41-40. Both teams exchanged leads the rest of the way before Cowley scored five unanswered points in the final 26 seconds.
"I thought we played well for the majority of the game and had a chance to win the game late, but couldn't finish," said Trojans head coach Rusty Grafel. "Ajou Deng had one of his better games and it was good to see him get back to where he was playing before Christmas."
Gabriel Gyamfi led Colby in scoring with 22 points and Deng finished with 15. For Cowley, Smith had 18.
On Monday, Butler County entered Colby averaging 95 points in the middle of a five-game winning streak, but the Trojans controlled both ends of the floor early and led the entire game.
After holding a 39-25 halftime lead, the Trojans went up by as many as 21 in the second half. In the midst of a 24-8 run Butler cut it to 63-59 with just under five minutes remaining. However, Colby's ability to force a couple of key turnovers and knock down free throws in the closing seconds allowed them to hold off the charge.
Grafel was pleased with the way his team bounced back.
"Our game last night was a great win for us. Playing two games in a row is never easy but we had one of our best offensive performances of the year in the first half. We had four guys in double figures and held a team that was averaging 92 points per game to 64. Anytime you do that you give yourself a good chance to win."
Caleal Walker had 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Colby. Butler's LaDarrian Burney made 5 of 8 three-pointers and scored a game-high 22.
Wednesday the Trojans, 4-11 in the Jayhawk Conference and 8-11 overall, play at Allen County (7-8, 10-9). When the teams squared off Nov. 19 in Colby the Red Devils hit a last second shot to win 76-75. Tip-off in Iola is set for 8 p.m.