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Connors State College

Cowboys Get Back to Winning Ways against Western OK State

The No. 15-ranked Connors State Cowboys got off to a slow start while the Western State Pioneers rode the hot 3-point shooting of freshman guard Jack Hoth to own the first half of play Thursday night at Melvin Self Fieldhouse.

Cowboys Get Back to Winning Ways against Western OK State
Box Score
January 19, 2023

Warner, OK- The No. 15-ranked Connors State Cowboys got off to a slow start while the Western State Pioneers rode the hot 3-point shooting of freshman guard Jack Hoth to own the first half of play Thursday night at Melvin Self Fieldhouse.

But playing more aggressive defense and finding the range on offense enabled the Cowboys to come back in the second half and score a 98-87 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference win.

Trailing 49-42 at intermission the Cowboys came out hungry in the second half though it wasn't until the 14:14 mark that they gained their first lead of the game.

"We made some adjustments to keep the ball out of the hands of their leading scorer's hands. One of them (Chang Hoth) was averaging nearly 25 points a game and the other (his brother Jack) was averaging almost 18 points a game and they ended up with nine and 14 points respectively," said Cowboy head coach Bill Muse. 

"They're one of the best 3-pointshooting teams in the country and they've been a team that has been explosive in the second half. I thought we played great defense in the second half and held them to 38 points. A lot of our guys get kudos tonight. Xavier Brown came in and played well after Jhamyl Fricas went down with an injury and (Xavier) Glenn and (Brayden) Hubbard put up the points and (Tamaury) Releford played well being in foul trouble most of the night."

After the Cowboys grabbed the lead, they continued to open it up to a 19-point bulge at one point. Fouls piled up for the Pioneers as they tried to slow the Cowboys down and Connors basically won the game at the charity line in the second half as they went 16-of-23 in the half while Western was just 5-of-10.

Glenn paced the Cowboys (17-1, 5-1 OCAC) with 33 points on the night while Hubbard put in 25 and Releford contributed 16 to the cause. Western (12-5, 3-3 OCAC) was led by Joshua Sasser with 26 points. As a team, Western knocked in 11 treys on the night.

The Cowboys will be back in action at home next Monday against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm inside Melvin Self Fieldhouse.