LCJ newsletter 1-5-2025

Sunday's newsletter

Jan 05, 2025

Today’s Bible verse

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 7:47

Wintry mix grips Midwest

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and BRIAN WITTE

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Road conditions were deteriorating Saturday in the central U.S. as a winter storm brought a mix of snow, ice and plunging temperatures, with forecasts calling for the dreaded combo to spread eastward in the coming days.

See the whole story HERE.

TikToc creators left in limbo

By JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. and HALELUYA HADERO

Will TikTok be banned this month?

That’s the pressing question keeping creators and small business owners in anxious limbo as they await a decision that could upend their livelihoods. The fate of the popular app will be decided by the Supreme Court, which will hear arguments on Jan. 10 over a law requiring TikTok to break ties with its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, or face a U.S. ban.

See the whole story HERE.

LeFlore County scoreboard

LeFlore County scoreboard 1-4-2025.

Basketball

Boys

Panama 59, Heavener 48

Pocola 56, Howe 46

Girls

Panama 73, Heavener 34

Pocola 79, Howe 45

To make a correction or addition, email craighall@myyahoo.com.

Oglesby scores 18 in ORU win

TULSA - The Golden Eagles picked up their 11^th win of the season and first in Summit League play, defeating the South Dakota Coyotes 82-70 at the Mabee Center.

Taleyah Jones led ORU's offense, scoring 20 points on 8-16 shooting while logging her eighth 20+ point game this season. Jalei Oglesby followed close behind Jones, scoring 18 points on 9-14 shooting. Ruthie Udoumoh recorded her fourth double-double this season, tallying 15 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 7-14 from the field. Udoumoh's 11 rebounds marks her fifth game with 10+ rebounds this season.

Makyra Tramble kick-started the ORU offense, knocking down two triples in the first 2:20 of play followed by two layups from Ruthie Udoumoh. The Golden Eagles held a 10-2 lead with 7:03 left in the first. An early timeout from the Coyotes halted ORU's scoring efforts, as USD sparked a 7-2 run to get back within striking distance (12-9). The Golden Eagles and Coyotes traded baskets to end the first as ORU held a 24-17 lead after one.

A layup from Tramble and a triple from Jones started the second quarter for the Golden Eagles. With 6:01 left in the second, Udoumoh hit an and-one layup to extend ORU's lead to six (34-28), before Gentry Baldwin made a layup on the next possession to give the Golden Eagles an eight-point lead. USD cut the once eight-point ORU lead to four before the Golden Eagles extended their lead right before the break. A late and-one layup from the Coyotes left ORU up seven at the half (46-39).

Both teams opened the first 2:10 of the second half scoreless before Meghan Weinrich made a two-point jumper to begin the action. In the third quarter, South Dakota outscored ORU 21-17, knocking down four threes to ORU's zero. The Golden Eagles held just a three-point lead heading into the final quarter (63-60).

A defensive clinic in the final quarter helped ORU clinch their first win of Summit League play, holding USD to just 2-8 (25%) shooting from the field. Jalei Oglesby set the tone for the Golden Eagles, making a tough and-one layup through contact with 7:05 to play. A 15-3 ORU run to start the quarter gave them a cushion to close out the game and secure the win.

The Leaders
Oral Roberts: Taleyah Jones recorded 20 points on 8-16 shooting, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

South Dakota: Grace Larkins scored 29 points on 9-19 shooting while going 10-12 from the line. She also grabbed 12 rebounds and three assists on the afternoon.

Inside the Box Score

ORU picked up their first win in Summit League play.
The Golden Eagles have won the last four matchups against the Coyotes, dating back to 3/5/23.
USD shot 22 free throws to ORU's nine.
ORU grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to USD's four, leading to 10 second chance points to USD's five.
52 of ORU's 82 points came in the paint.
The Golden Eagles committed a season-low six turnovers.
Meghan Weinrich and Emily Robinson crashed the boards, grabbing seven rebounds each.
Weinrich tied her season-high in field goals made with three and tied a career-high in assists with four.
Tyla Heard made a career-high four field goals.
Udoumoh's 11 rebounds marks her fifth game with 10+ rebounds this season.
Taleyah Jones recorded her eighth 20+ point game this season.

OSU loses at West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia - Oklahoma State’s second half rally fell short in a 69-50 loss at West Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

Marchelus “Chi Chi” Avery scored 15 points and Abou Ousmane added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cowboys (8-5, 0-2) who chopped 15 points off a 28-point second half deficit before running out of steam.

Former Cowboy Javon Small paced West Virginia (11-2, 2-0) with 24 points and 11 boards. He scored 18 of his points in the first half when the Mountaineers used a 22-1 run to turn a 10-6 lead into a 32-7 cushion.

West Virginia started 1-of-8 from three before knocking down 7-of-11 after the 11:00-mark.

Jonathan Powell (17 points) and Small each hit a pair of triples in a 22-1 run that turned a 10-6 Mountaineer lead into a 32-7 cushion with 6:06 remaining in the half.

The Cowboys were just 2-of-18 from the field when Avery ripped off eight straight points to help snap OSU out of its funk. He made the second of back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to 32-15 with a little less than 5:00 to play in the half.

The Mountaineers finished the half on another 16-4 push to go into the break ahead 46-19.

OSU shot 25% in the first half and a 27-point halftime deficit matched its largest ever in a Big 12 contest.

The Mountaineers upped their lead to 28 (55-27) with 13:47 to play but went scoreless over the next six-and-a-half minutes.

Ousmane, who scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime, sank the first two baskets in a 17-2 Cowboy counter that cut the margin to as little as 13 points with 5:36 to play.

WVU finished the game at 41.8% while making 11-of-30 threes (.367). The hosts scored 20 points off 17 OSU turnovers and added 19 more second chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds.

OSU shot 33.3% of the game, hindered by a 3-for-21 effort from beyond the arc, and made a season-low 11 free throws on 20 attempts.

It was the Cowboys’ first true road loss of the season after a 2-0 start.

OSU is back home Tuesday night to take on Kansas State at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is 7 p.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN+.

#5 Alabama hands OU first SEC loss

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Mark Sears scored 22 points and had 10 assists and No. 5 Alabama posted a 107-79 victory over No. 12 and previously unbeaten Oklahoma on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Grant Nelson had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Labaron Philon added 16 and Clifford Omoruyi scored 10 for Alabama (12-2, 1-0).

Jalon Moore had 20 points to lead the Sooners (13-1, 0-1). Sam Godwin scored 15 while Jeremiah Fears overcame an 0-for-8 shooting effort in the first half to finish with 16 points. Kobe Elvis and Miles Duke each added 10.

See the whole story HERE.

Arkansas loses at #1 Tennessee

Final Stats

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – Top-ranked Tennessee out-rebounded #23 Arkansas, 51-29, and made 10-of-26 from 3-pont range to lift the Volunteers to a 76-52 victory in the teams’ 2025 SEC opener Saturday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Chaz Lanier led Tennessee with 29 points, going 5-of-9 from 3-point, while Igor Milicic Jr., had a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

D.J. Wagner paced the Razorbacks with 17 points and Boogie Fland added 12 points, three assists and three steals.

Both teams shot about 38% from the field as Arkansas blocked 10 shots. However, the Vols came away with 24 offensive boards to secure the win. Also, while Tennessee only shot 39.1% from the field, the Volunteers had 18 assists on 28 made baskets. Arkansas only had nine assists on its 20 made baskets.

Up next, Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena for a pair of home games starting with Ole Miss on Wednesday (Jan. 8). Tipoff is set for 6 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

FIRST HALF: Arkansas: 27 – Tennessee: 42

• Arkansas led early (12-9) before Tennessee went on a 14-2 run, including a 12-0 spurt) to lead 21-12. D.J. Wagner ended a 6:11 Razorback drought with a free throw.

• Later, Tennessee used an 8-0 run to lead 36-20. Zvonimir Ivisic stopped the run with a 3-pointer.

• Arkansas ended up shooting 42% from the field, compared to 41% by Tennessee.
• The Razorbacks’ blocked seven shots in the half, including three by Ivisic.

• Tennessee dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Razorbacks 27-12.

• Arkansas was just 3-of-8 from the line. Tennessee was 7-of-8.

• Chaz Lanier led UT with 14 points and Zakai Zeigler had 10. Igor Milicic Jr., had eight points and nine rebounds at the break.

• D.J. Wagner, who scored the Hogs’ first seven points, led Arkansas with eight points.

Thunderstorms, cold temperatures likely

Thunderstorms are expected Sunday morning with bitterly cold weather arriving overnight for LeFlore County and the area.

The high is forecast to be 55 degrees with a low of 20 and windy conditions.

Sunrise was 7:26 a.m. Sunset is 5:23 p.m.

Saturday’s high was 55 with a low of 45. No rain was recorded Saturday. Average rainfall for January is 3.10 inches.

Average temperatures for Jan. 5 are a high of 51 and low of 23. Records for the date were a high of 72 in 1984. The record low was 4 in 1972.

Last year on Jan. 5, the high was 42 with a low of 37.

LeFlore County calendar

LeFlore County calendar of events for the next week. The calendar is a free service for our readers. If you are a church or non-profit event, please email me at craig@heavenerledger.com.

Monday

LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.

Poteau, Howe city meetings

High school basketball: Wilburton at Pocola; Wister at Talihina

Tuesday

High school basketball: Heavener at Wilburton; Bokoshe at Cave Springs; Keota at Cameron; Howe at Red Oak; Panama at Arkoma; Eufaula at Poteau; Ozark, Arkansas at Spiro

Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC

Wednesday

Poteau Rotary Club meets noon EOMC

Thursday

Poteau Kiwanis Club meets noon

Heavener VFW bingo 6:30 p.m. Highway 59 North

High school basketball: Heavener at Poteau; Panama, Wister at Rock Island Conference Tournament; Pocola, Spiro at Warner Tournament; Whitesboro at Webbers Falls Tournament; Talihina at Tushka Tournament

Friday

Fundraiser for Rick and Melissa Hamner

High school basketball: Hartshorne at Heavener; Pocola, Spiro at Warner Tournament; Talihina at Tushka Tournament; Panama, Wister at Rock Island Conference Tournament

Saturday

High school basketball: Howe at Poteau; Pocola, Spiro at Warner Tournament; Talihina at Tushka Tournament; Panama, Wister at Rock Island Conference Tournament.

Today in history

1933

Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge

On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages. Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in... read more

1960s

1968

Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia

American Revolution

1781

Benedict Arnold captures and destroys Richmond

Art, Literature and Film History

1953

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” premieres in Paris

1980

The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” becomes hip-hop’s first Top 40 hit

1998