January 7, 2023 Issue, Page 7 of 8

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January 7, 2023 The Elk City News - 7 Cowboys fend off West Virginia to nab first Big 12 win of season Jon Walker, Stillwater ginia 67-60 in Gallagher-Iba difficult for West Virginia for- who has shown inconsistency ing to score 20-plus points a And they did, regaining the NewsPress Arena and nab their first con- ward Tre Mitchell in the post throughout his career, “We just game. It's a team effort, Boyn- lead a minute later and never ference win of the year. up to that point, essentially gotta get it more from him, ton said, and that’s why the allowing the Mountaineers to Roughly 48 hours following “Certainly thankful to get turning him into a nonfactor and he’s gotta understand how Cowboys were able to pull out do the same. The Cowboys out- aloss to Kansas in the first Big out of there with a win. That's for the Mountaineers (10-4, valuable he is.” one of their grittiest wins yet. scored West Virginia 11-3 fol- 12 Conference game of the sea- what you have to do in this 0-2 Big 12). “{ don’t think (Boone) under- It took all of them to rally son, the Oklahoma State men’s conference,” Cowboys coach Cisse only played three min- stands his value to this team,” after giving up a double-digit lowing Boynton's timeout. Mike Boynton said. “It was a utes the rest of the night, later Cowboys senior guard John- lead for the second time in It was a run, and eventual basketball team founds itself ina similar, unwelcome situa- battle. These are hard games — returning — and gingerly run- Michael Wright said. “He’s re- three days. triumph, that helped OSU pick tion, every one of ‘em. At the end of ning up and down the floor ally of one our glue guys. When Boynton called a much- up a win in the toughest con- The Cowboys allowed the the day, you find a way to win, — before heading back to the K.B. is going, when he’s amped needed timeout with just un- ference in college basketball — Jayhawks to claw their way and you move on.” bench with what Boynton said and fired up, we as a team just der five minutes to play. Boone a victory that could be the dif- back from a 15-point deficit at With one of their bright- was a knee injury after the come together.” had just made one of his five ference between watching the halftime in an eventual loss. est stars sidelined, the Cow- game. But Boone, who starts ‘The Cowboys had four differ- buckets to pull the Pokes with- NCAA Tournament from home The Pokes allowed West Vir- boys (9-5, 1-1 Big 12) needed at the four, stepped up and ent players score in double fig- ina point of the Mountaineers, and playing in it when March ginia to bounce back, too, as someone to step up. and while delivered 10 points and six ures, including Bryce Thomp- but Boynton had a message. rolls around. the Mountaineers led with five multiple people did, senior for- rebounds in 27 minutes of ac- son (15), Avery Anderson (13), “We gotta decide if we really The Cowboys will be back minutes to play on Tuesday ward Kalib Boone was perhaps tion. John-Michael Wright (11) wanna be a good team,” Boyn- in action at 11 a.m. Saturday, night after once trailing by 13. the most notable. “T've been trying to get him and Boone. It was emblematic ton said in the timeout. “If we OSU flipped the script on its OSU star big man Moussa to understand: If we're gon- of how Boynton expects this really wanna be a team that’s when they return to GIA and late-game misfortunes against Cisse exited the floor and went na get where we wanna go, team to win. significant in February, March, host No. 6 Texas. It'll mark Kansas, though, rallying down to the bench midway through we need the best version of There likely isn’t, he said, you find a way to get the job OSU's second top-10 opponent the stretch to defeat West Vir- the first half. He had made life him,” Boynton said of Boone, anyone on the team who's go- done.” ina week’s span. Historic offensive outburst leads SGA-less Thunder past Celtics, 150-117 Clemente Almanza Sports franchise-record 150 points on well from the floor too — go- shooting while Joe finished After failing to win the No SGA Writer, Muskogee Phoenix 58-of-98 shooting (59.2 per- ing 40-0f-88 (45.5 percent) with 21 points on 8-of-13 Rookie of the Month award Daigneault dropped some cent). from the field — it’s hard to shooting. for a second consecutive time, surprising news before the OKLAHOMA CITY — After ‘The offensive outburst was overcome a historic offensive ‘This included an impressive Jalen Williams is off to an im- game as he announced Shai an 0-for-19 start, Paycom Cen- highlighted when a franchise- performance like the Thunder Joe one-handed dunk that pressive start for January. Gilgeous-Alexander would ter finally saw its first fan hit record 48 point third quarter had against them. erupted the home crowd and Williams had arguably his miss the game due to a non- on the MidFirst Bank halfcourt helped the Thunder reach 122 The Thunder will get to en- gave the Thunder a 35-point best game of the season, fin- COVID illness. shot to go home with $20,000. lead joy its most impressive win of ter. early in the fourth quar- ishing with 21 points on an ef- Daigneault explained that points in three quarters. By the ficient 10-of-18 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander went It was that type of night for the season only for a short pe- the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander- fourth quarter, the Thunder For Thunder fans, they were Williams was able to feast through pregame _shoot- held a season-high 37-point riod, as it gets ready to travel caught by surprise; for Joe’s inside, going 8-of-9 near the arounds before ultimately less Oklahoma City Thunder as to Florida to take on fellow teammate in Mann, it wasn’t rim. After being billed as a deciding he did not feel well lead. it had its most impressive win It was an evenly-distributed rebuilding Orlando Magic on a shock to see the three-point skillset player during the draft enough to play against the of the season by drumming a offensive outing as the Thun- Wednesday to complete the sniper jump up like that as he process, Williams’ athleticism Celtics. fully-healthy Boston Celtics, der tied a franchise with five home-and-road back-to-back. previously told him to start and dunking ability has sur- With the Thunder playing 150-117. 20-point scorers. Of the 10 Here are three other dunking balls instead ofsimply prised fans. on the road on Wednesday “Ltold them after the game, I players who played for the thoughts from the Thunder's laying shots in. “I don’t know what his 2K against the Magic, he was non- want them to realize what got ‘Thunder, seven scored at least 33-point win. “He’s a man of his word,” rating is for dunking, but it committal when asked if Gil- it going,” Thunder head coach 10 points. Tre Mann & Isaiah Joe ball Mann joked. should be a 90-plus,” Mann geous-Alexander would travel Mark Daigneault said. “Which Without Gilgeous-Alexan- out Jalen Williams shows out joked. with the team to Florida. was, we had a great practice der, Josh Giddey stepped in The bench backcourt did a yesterday, came into the game seamlessly and picked up the great job at imitating Steph with great focus on both ends OU men’s basketball: Jacob scoring slack as he scored a Curry and Klay Thompson. of the floor on what we had season-high 25 points on 10- Tre Mann and Isaiah Joe to do and that’s what allowed of-15 shooting that included combined to score 42 points us to have fun tonight and we going 3-of-5 from outside. Lu can’t lose sight of that.” Dort also scored 23 points on on 16-of-24 shooting that included going 8-of-15 from Groves playing at career level as The Thunder set and tied B-of-15 shooting and 3-of-6 several franchise records on a historic night as it scored a from three. Despite the Celtics shooting deep. Individually, Mann finished with 21 points on 8-of-11 Sooners continue Big 12 play Jesse Crittenden, The Norman Transcript that included four 3-pointers. Providing comfort and Supportfor End of Life chotces ‘There was one word that came to Porter But after the Sooners’ loss to the Longhorns, Groves is hoping his shooting helps his team get Moser’s mind when asked about Jacob Groves’ back on track. Hospice care provides medical services, emotional support, and spiritual re- growth this season. “It was obviously nice to make shots and nice sources for people who are in the las stages of a serious illness, such as cancer “Consistency.” It's the thing that's helped Groves carve out a to help us kind of stay in the game like that and or heart failure. Hospice care also helps family members manage the practical solid role for the Sooners this season. get a comfortable lead,” Groves said following details and emotional challenges of caring for a dying loved one. ‘The senior forward began last season as a the Texas loss. “But at the end of the day...it’s backup who played every game but didn’t always our toughness. Down the stretch in the last cou- For questions regarding hospice service or eligibility, contact: play alot of minutes. By the end ofyear, partially ple of minutes of the game, they made some big due to a season-ending injury to Elijah Harkless, plays and we didn’t. They made more winning Carrie Perry, RN/ Adminsi strator he was the Sooners’ starting power forward. plays than us. He’s kept that momentum going this season. “Hopefully, I'll take that confidence that I have Pat Welsh, RN/ € ordinator of Patient Care Groves has started all 13 games this season and is playing some of the best basketball of his shooting the ball right now moving forward and career. He's third on the team in scoring with into the next couple of games so I can keep help- Some of the most common conditions are: 10.2 points per game, the highest mark of his ing us try to win games.” * Cancer * Failure to Thrive * End Stage diac Disease (CHF) career, while adding 3.1 rebounds per game. He's Sooners look to rebound at home against Iowa * End Stage Cerebrov ular Disease (CVA) * End Stage Amyotrophic tied for second on the team in steals with 10. State Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) * End Stage Pulmonary Disease (COPD) But his shooting has been the biggest help for ‘The Sooners began their conference slate on * End Stage Liver Disease * End Stage Renal Dis ase * AIDS/HIV the Sooners. He’s shooting 45 percent from the the wrong note, and they’re hoping a win against + End Stage Neurol al Di ase such as Parkinson's or Alzheimei 3-point line — his 22 makes from downtown the Cyclones can help them bounce back. The are second behind only Grant Sherfield (36) — and 51 percent overall. He’s made at least one game is set to tip off at 6 p.m. today at Lloyd scarrle 3-pointer in all but two games this season. Noble Center. Perry, RN Professional, Passionate ‘The thing that’s fueled it, Moser said, is his It won't be easy. YU consistency. Advance, Attentive... “Every single day at practice, he brings it,” The Cyclones (10-2), who defeated No. 12-ranked Baylor 77-62 in their conference Our Difference Is Our Care Moser said. “Every day he communicates. Every opener last Saturday, have played defense at an day, he’s putting in his time on his shot. He's an elite level this season. They rank ninth in scoring everyday guy. That's the difference between him defense, allowing just 57 points per game. and a lot of guys in this generation. It’s every Have you ever considered becoming day. Some guys get all fired up and it’s like a New The offense has been solid, averaging 71.4 a hospice volunteer? Year's resolution. People like my age are in the points per game. They're led by Jaren Holmes’ gym for alittle bit and then they taper off. Jacob 13.5 points per game. A fulfilling experience in the spirit has been every single day. But it’s the defense that Moser is focusing on. of giving and receiving. “Every day, he’s on his prep. He’s getting his “Towa State is really good,” Moser said. “They shots up. He’s on his nutrition. Success is paying play so hard. Defensively, they're top-15 in the off for him because he is every day. The word I country. They try to speed you up. They're going think for Jacob is it’s been ‘consistent’ for him.” to deny, scramble, contest every single shot on He finished with 17 points and made a sea- son-high five 3-pointers, all in the second half, defense. They make it so hard for you on defense in the Sooners’ 70-69 loss to Texas last Saturday. to score. They try to speed you and rush you into ‘That performance came just two weeks after a turnovers and contested shots. We're going to 26-point performance against Central Arkansas need great spacing and great ball movement.”