Cowboys Sweep Western OK State on Sophomore Night

WARNER — It was Sophomore Night at Melvin Self Fieldhouse Thursday, and that group of players led the charge as Connors rolled to a 92-59 OCAC victory in their home finale over Western State on Thursday night.

Dallas product DJ Basey, who came to Connors this year after transferring from UCO, had his best night as a Cowboy with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Joining the sophomore celebration was Jahcoree Ealy who also had 18 points while a third sophomore, Jordan Tillmon, led the Cowboys with 19 points and Little Rock native Greg Johnson came off the bench to score 17 points, all in the second half. 

After jumping to an early lead Connors found itself tied at 26 late in the first half when they stepped on the gas. A  12-0 over the final 3:30 gave them a 38-26 halftime lead.

With Johnson leading the second-half charge, Connors never looked back.

"I thought we really started going that last couple of minutes of the first half and came out with a lot of energy in the second half and I was glad for the sophomores, "said Cowboys coach Bill Muse. "We had five really dedicated sophomores that won 14 games last year and 23 this year and so I'm happy for those guys."

Western (10-17, 0-14) was led by freshman Ziri Blackwood with 23 points.

The win breaks a two-game losing streak for Connors (22-5, 9-5) en route to the road for its final two games at NEO on Monday and Northern-Enid next Thursday.

"We beat both those teams the first time around but now we have to go to their house. We've got to defend like we did tonight and shoot a little better against NEO's zone," said Muse who was honored with a legislative proclamation for achieving his 700th win at Connors earlier in the season.