Just when you thought a loss couldn’t sting any worse than Saturday’s overtime setback, the PCC mens basketball team was eliminated from the Region VI Tournament by virtue of their heartbreaking, gut-wrenching 70-69 loss to Cowley last night.
The Beavers had the last chance to win, as Cowley turned the ball over with 7.6 seconds left, but Marcus Smith’s shot was off the mark and Cowley got the rebound just before the buzzer.
PCC led most of the first half, but fell behind late in the second as Cowley’s Tyrus McGee caught fire and scored 11 of the Tigers’ 13 points during a three minute stretch.
Cowley led 65-61 after Michael Copeland stole the ball from an injured Illi Baldwin and laid it in with 3:20 left.
But with 2:23 to go, PCC freshman Trent Thomas drove to the basket and was knocked to the floor. He swished both free throws, and at the other end, sophomore Jay Valerius took a charge.
The Beavers couldn’t take advantage of that, as they missed twice on their next possession and Cowley’s Canon Fields hit a free throw with 1:08 left for a 66-63 lead.
Pratt wasn’t finished yet, as freshman Trae Beck buried a three-pointer in front of the Beavers’ bench with 51 seconds left to tie the game.
After both teams missed a couple of golden opportunities, Cowley’s Dominick Cornelius converted a three-point play with 21.2 seconds left to put his team up 69-66.
The lead became 70-66 after the Beavers missed and then had to foul Lance Russell, who hit the second of two free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining.
At the other end, Beck was fouled while shooting a three, and he calmly drained all three charities with 7.6 seconds left.
The Tigers then threw their in-bounds pass the length of the court without it being touched, giving Pratt — down 70-69 — another possession with 7.6 seconds on the clock.
But Smith — who was two-for-two to that point — couldn’t get the shot to fall and Cowley escaped with the win.
Looking at the stat sheet, it hardly seemed like the Tigers deserved to win.
Cowley hit just eight of 21 free throws (38.1 percent) and 28 of 77 field goals (36.4 percent). They did out-rebound the Beavers 47-29, including 24 offensive rebounds, but they also had 25 fouls and 14 turnovers.
Pratt connected on 22 of 52 shots (42.3 percent), five of 13 three-pointers (38.5 percent), and 20 of 32 free throws (62.5 percent), but they had 17 turnovers and just five offensive rebounds.
Baldwin, Beck and Thomas provided most of the scoring punch for Pratt (18-13).
Thomas led the charge with 21 points on seven-for-13 shooting from the field and a seven-for-ten showing at the line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Baldwin dominated for much of the second half, finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks before leaving with an ankle injury in the final minutes.
Beck added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Monty Gordon and Taner Hayes each handed out three assists while Smith and Valerius had two each.
The loss marks the end of Pratt’s season and the PCC careers of Baldwin, Gordon and Valerius.
Cowley (21-10) moves on to face Seward County (23-8) in the quarterfinal round Friday in Wichita.
Cowley 70, Pratt 69
PCC: Trent Thomas 7-13 7-10 21, Illiwa Baldwin 7-11 4-7 18, Trae Beck 4-12 5-5 16, Marcus Smith 2-3 0-0 6, Monty Gordon 1-6 3-8 5, Taner Hayes 1-1 1-2 3, John Rutherford 0-4 0-0 0, Jay Valerius 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS 22-52 20-32 69.
CC: Tyrus McGee 10-20 2-2 26, Dominick Cornelius 5-14 1-3 12, Jordan Lankster 4-7 2-4 10, Canon Fields 2-11 2-4 6, Caprest Rhone 3-10 0-4 6, Brent Schuck 2-4 0-0 5, Lance Russell 1-4 1-2 3, Michael Copeland 1-2 0-2 2, AJ Barber 0-1 0-0 0, Kelton Marshall 0-4 0-0 0, Julio Rosario 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph Wakefield 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28-77 8-21 70.
PCC 35 34 — 69
CC 33 37 — 70
3-point goals — PCC 5-13 (Beck 3-8, Smith 2-2, Baldwin 0-1, Rutherford 0-1, Thomas 0-1), CC 6-20 (McGee 4-7, Cornelius 1-4, Schuck 1-1, Fields 0-5, Marshall 0-1, Russell 0-2). Rebounds — PCC 29 (Baldwin 9), CC 47 (Rhone 9). Assists — PCC 12 (Gordon, Hayes 3 each), CC 19 (Fields 9). Turnovers — PCC 17, CC 14. Total fouls — PCC 22, CC 25. Technicals — McGee, Pratt bench.
