Warner, Oklahoma- Freshmen Kevin Stubblefield and DJ Dormu each turned in a half worth remembering Thursday night as the Connors State Cowboys scored a 87-77 win over Redlands on Sophomore Night at Melvin Self Fieldhouse and secured at least a share of the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference title.
It was Stubblefield who kept the Cowboys in the game the first half, scoring 18 of his game-high 23 points as Connors took the lead mid-way though the first half and built up a 10-point margin with five minutes left. But Redlands took advantage of Cowboy turnovers and second chance points to outscore Connors 16-5 down the stretch to lead by one at halftime.
"At halftime these guys were determined not to let this game slip away on Sophomore Night and I felt confident we would put together a better second half and I think we did. We played much better," said Cowboy head coach Bill Muse.
The second half belonged to Dormu who scored 19 of his 22 points including a couple of 3-pointers that helped take the Cowboys (23-3, 12-2) from a two-point lead to a 78-68 margin with 3:27 to play. Connors also stepped up from the free throw line in the second half going 17-of-20. Aric Walls also landed in double figures for Connors with 12 points and Jermiah Johnson added 11. Henry Sanchez knocked in five treys for the Cougars (19-9, 7-7) to lead them in scoring with 20 points.
Connors will finish out the regular season on the road next week with games at NEO on Monday and Eastern on Thursday before competing in the Region 2 tournament starting March 12 at Rougher Village to determine representatives to the national tournament.