PRATT, Kan.- Sadly, like the women before them, the Beavers were on the receiving end of a more-than-efficient Neosho County scoring output, losing in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament 104-90.

Tommy Thomas led Pratt with 26 points on a 8-19 (42.1 percent) evening, while Jamel Horton went for 25 points. Julian Eziukwu and Zool Kueth also finished in double-figures, as both men scored 11 points. In a reserve role, Harrison Eghan had a game-high 15 rebounds. 

While the Beavers didn't necessarily struggle from the field, shooting 43.4 percent (33-76), the Panthers excelled. Neosho County's Corbett Kimberlin finished the night with 39 points, missing only one of his 10 attempts from three-point range. Eight of his nine connections came in the first-half, where he scored 26 points. As a team, the Panthers were 18-28 from behind the three-point line (64.3 percent). Conversely, the Beavers had a hard time seeing the basketball fall through the cylinder from long range, making only seven of 33 tries (21.2 percent). 

Aside from the shooting disparities, much of the game tilted towards Pratt's favor. The Beavers won the turnover (12-17) and offensive rebounding (16-4) margins, but the Panthers were simply too lethal from the field. 

Neosho County showed what kind of night it was going to be, early and often. The Panthers quickly ran out to a 20-10 lead after the first six minutes of the first-half, and eventually swelled to 32-15 at the under 10-minute media timeout. The visiting team shot 67 percent in the first-half, including a ludicrous 13-18 (72 percent) from long range. At the break, the Panthers led 53-33.

The math would have suggested that the Panthers would have slowed down on the offensive end, but quite simply, predictability went out the window. Neosho County shot 50 percent in the second half (15-30), and the same from long range (5-10). Down the stretch, the Beavers managed to trim the lead to 14 points with around nine minutes remaining, but were never able to cut into the deficit any further.

Men's basketball sees its season come to an end with a 19-12 record, and a 13-9 conference record.