The Cowboys couldn’t string enough scoring runs together to beat the Portland Pilots on Friday, as the Pilots bested the Cowboys in a game that was full of momentum swings for both teams.
Akuel Kot would start the scoring for the Cowboys, draining his first shot from the elbow for two, quickly answered by two Pilot threes and a layup for a eight point swing as the Pilots would lead the Cowboys early 8-2. Caden Powell would answer off a nice dish from Kot as he would also hit two free throws and would take it to the room off a nice screen to bring the game to 10-8 in favor of the Pilots. Cam Manyawu would tie the contest as he would score his first points off a nice dish from Sam Griffin before the Pilots would answer with a two of their own. Brendan Wenzel would score himself on a nice take as the Cowboy offense was in a nice rhythm to begin the game.
Oleg Kojenets would score his first two points at the free throw line and Kobe Newton would cash in his first two three point attempts and make a fade-away midrange shot as the Cowboys would take a 22-16 lead midway through the first half as Newton was on an 8 point run by himself. He’d extend that to 11 straight points for himself as he would cash in yet another three as he was a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc to start the game. Both teams would be in a slight drought at this point though, as the game was in favor of the Cowboys at 25-21 with 7 minutes left in the first half. Newton would end the drought with yet another three, as he was now 4/5.from beyond the arc. The Pilots would end their own drought with fifteen straight to take the lead at 36-28 as anyone other than Newton for the Cowboys struggled to score late in the first half. Griffin would finally end the Pilot run with a contested three, as he would send the Cowboys into the half down 5, the score 36-31 in favor of the Pilots.
The Cowboys were once again their own worst enemy in the first half, as they’d turn the ball over 10 times early. They also forced 10 Pilot turnovers, and were able to convert many of them into points, but not late in the half as a huge Pilot run gave them their 5 point edge at the half, mostly due to those costly Cowboy turnovers.
Griffin would come out of the locker room picking up where he left off, scoring a nice lay-in down low and he would cash in a deep three. The Pilots would come out swinging as well, as they’d be shooting well early as well to take a 7 point lead at 43-36. Griffin would continue to answer the call with another big three as he was hot to start the second half. The Pilots would go on a 6-0 run in response, though, as they’d take their biggest lead of the night at 49-39 while going 5/5 from the field to open the half. Kot and Wenzel would finally hit their first triples and Kojenets would lay it in to cut the lead down to 2 for the Cowboys as they would go on a nice 8-0 run themselves. The Pilots would knock down a three to end the run and the Cowboys’ turnover woes would still haunt them as they couldn’t keep the run going and would be down 52-47 with 12 minutes to go.
The Pilots were now on another 7-0 run and the Cowboys were on another drought, one ended by Powell as he’d score an and-one off a nice feed from Kot, but that was quickly answered by another Pilot three. Kojenets would score three straight for the Cowboys as they’d continue to fight as the score was 63-53 with 7 minutes remaining. The Cowboys would once again go on a massive drought, not scoring again until 4:30 left, only mustering a free throw, as the Pilot lead would stretch to 15 at 69-54. The Cowboy press would force some turnovers to help the comeback effort, but the Pilots were effective from the free throw line and the Cowboys still struggled to make shots in the second half. Kael Combs would score his first points of the night late, but the Cowboys were unable to mount the comeback as they would drop the game to the Pilots 81-70.
The Cowboys once again struggled handling the ball offensively in the contest, as they had 18 turnovers in the game. They forced 21 Pilot turnovers, however, and were able to convert many of them to points but struggled in their half court offense. The Cowboys still shot well on the game, being 44% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc but allowed the Pilots to shoot 50.9% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. The Cowboys were also outmanned 36-24 on the glass.
The Cowboys were led by Griffin with 17 points, as Kot and Newton paced him in double figures with 15 and 14 respectively. Wenzel led the Cowboys on the glass with 6 rebounds and Griffin had 5 assists.
The Cowboys return to home for their next contest, taking on the South Dakota School of Mines on Dec. 5th, the game set to tip off at 6:30 p.m.
