By ETHAN HEAROD, Staff Writer
The Mountaineers were off to a hot start in 2023 winning four straight to start the year to bring the winning streak to 6 straight. The team has looked great as of late playing together and getting players back from injury.
One of the wins was a 1-point victory over Paris Junior College. In the last meeting between the Mountaineers and the Dragons in November, the Dragons won by a margin of 53. The Mountaineers hosted Paris Jan. 2 and pulled off a 74-73 win.
A big part of the win streak has been freshmen guard David McKnight. McKnight has been coming off the bench in this stretch and averaging 23.4 points per game on 67 percent from the field and 63 percent from the 3 pt. line in the last four games. McKnight also scored the game winning layup against Paris.
The team is expecting big things from sophomore forward C.J. Powell coming back from injury. Powell brings a lot of athleticism and highlight play ability to the table.
On Jan. 16, the Mountaineers lost in a 95-96 heartbreaker to Western Oklahoma State College. A missed free throw by Richard Lowe led to an Arzhonte Dallas heave from half court that hit off the back of the rim as time expired.
But some great plays led to this chaotic ending. In the last 2:50, the Mountaineers were down 83-91. Big plays from Dominic Turner and Dallas brought the Mountaineers back to 92-95 with 39.2 left in the game. An out of bounds call gave the Mountaineers a chance to tie and they did with a Turner a corner 3 with 22 seconds left. This led to a Richard Lowe foul on the other end giving him two free throws with 5.2 left. He made the first and missed the second free throw which led to the half-court shot.
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Jan. 26 at Seminole State College. The are 9-10 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
