WARNER — After leaving most of the game behind, the Connors State Cowboys eventually took the lead in the middle of the second half, only to see Northeastern State A&M College score a 15 in five minutes: 1 run and the defeat held Connors 75-70 Thursday night at the Melvin Self Fieldhouse.
The NEO win avenged the Cowboys a 10-point defeat in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference game in Miami last weekend.
Connors was up to 12 points behind in the first half ahead of a 9-0 rally to end the half and only two, 33:31, behind them. The Northerners held Connors back until Jarquavious Cain, who had 14 of his 19 points at team level in the second half, played an old-fashioned three-point game to give the Cowboys a 52-49 lead. Brandon Taylor then joined from across the arch to increase the edge to six for the Cowboys. But NEO’s fast paced game and a handful of Connors sales led to the aforementioned Nordic run in which the Cowboys appeared.
A frustrated head coach Bill Muse described the loss, which was Connors’ third home in the conference game.
“They just wanted it to get worse,” said Muse. “We got up at seven and let them go 15-1 while we make poor shot selections and make about five turnovers in a row. And it will kill you if you lose those games at home. You just can’t do that. “
Together with Cain, the Cowboys (11-4, 7-4) saw newcomer Jordan Tillmon at 17 and Jahcoree Ealy at 15 go into double digits in the night. NEO (9-6, 5-5) made four players double numbers, led by Brian Moore Jr. at 21.
WOMEN: CONNORS 67 NEO 64
The cowgirls shot 53 percent off the field during the night but ended up having to abandon an angry NEO rally to survive the loss to avenge an extension against Lady Norse last weekend.
Connors was in control from the start with Dallas newbie Kionce ‘Woods taking 16 points in the first half to bring the Cowgirls to a 13-point lead that remained intact for over three-quarters.
But the Lady Norse slowly ate on that lead with a fourth quarter of 26 points that made her a 63-61 game, with just over a minute of play. Zee McCallister hit one of two free throws to take a three point lead, and Isabel Gonzales hit two Clutch charities with seven ticks remaining to secure the win.
“We played six games in 10 days, including three overtime games, and I think our legs slacked off a bit this fourth quarter,” said Cowgirl trainer Jamie Fisher. “I think we’re starting to regain some confidence and learn how to win. We lost track of our game plan this fourth quarter, which should slow them down a bit, but I’m proud of the girls who struggled through the adversity and found a way to win. “
Woods led the Cowgirls (7-9, 3-8) with 20 points on the night, followed by McCallister with 16 and Cheyanne Crain with 10, including two big Treys in the final quarter. NEO (6-5, 5-4) also scored a 20-point hit in Caleigh Stevenson. Kristina Ekofo added 16 and Dariann Myles 15 on the night.
UP NEXT: Saturday at home against Northern-Enid at 2pm and 4pm
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