Virginia

Cryer scores 20, No. 3 Houston stays unbeaten with 89-55 win over West Virginia

Published

1 year ago

January 6, 2024

Cryer scores 20, No. 3 Houston stays unbeaten with 89-55 win over West Virginia

HOUSTON (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 20 points, Damian Dunn added 14 points and No. 3 Houston improved to 14-0 with an 89-55 win over West Virginia in the Cougars’ inaugural Big 12 contest on Saturday.

Cryer scored 16 points in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers, as Houston shot 58% as a team and took a 48-22 lead into halftime. Cryer has scored at least 20 points in five games this season.

“We focused on defense, and I felt like we were going to get out into transition and get easier shots,” Cryer said. “Just being locked in on defense will make you dialed in on offense. I felt like because I was defensive focused today that’s why the ball was going in.”

Ja’Vier Francis had 13 points and five rebounds, and Jamal Shead had eight points and 11 assists for Houston, which shot 53% overall, including 9 of 18 on 3-pointers.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said the first Big 12 conference game didn’t feel any different to him.

“We wanted to win for sure, and there’s an excitement about playing our first conference game,” Sampson said. “Now we go play our second one. I don’t spend a lot of time with the hoopla stuff.”

Houston extended its home winning streak to 14 games. The Cougars improved to 14-0 for the third time in school history, joining the 1967-68 and 2018-19 teams.

The Cougars forced 12 turnovers and turned them into 14 points. Houston also had a 48-20 advantage in points in the paint.

“We had a really good plan against their zone,” Sampson said. “We knew exactly how we wanted to attack their man-to-man (defense), and then, when they went zone, we just flowed right into what we had worked on. Our kids are unselfish. Everybody understands their role, buys into it and accepts it. Our defense got us going early, and we fed off that.”

Patrick Suemnick had 12 points and five rebounds and Noah Farrakhan added nine points for West Virginia (5-9, 0-1 Big 12). The Mountaineers shot 32% and were 4 of 23 on 3-pointers.

RaeQuan Battle, who had led the Mountaineers with 27 points per game, finished with four points on 1-of-9 shooting.

“That was an impressive performance defensively,” West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said of Houston. “I thought we could maybe create some advantages in the game play, but they did a masterful job defensively in their game plan in terms of what they did to us and what they took us out of.”

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: The 22 first half points were the fewest points the Mountaineers have scored in a first half this season and tied for the fewest points they have scored in any half this season.

Houston: J’Wan Roberts returned after missing the last game Dec. 30 against Penn with a knee injury. He scored nine points. … Entering Saturday, Houston joined No. 19 James Madison and No. 22 Mississippi as the only remaining undefeated teams.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Hosts Kansas State on Tuesday.

Houston: Travels to Iowa State on Tuesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Virginia

Governor's Order for the Commonwealth of Virginia – Patriot Publishing LLC

Published

16 minutes ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Governor's Order for the Commonwealth of Virginia – Patriot Publishing LLC

In accordance with the authority vested in me as Governor and in accordance with federal law 4 U.S.C. § 6(d), I hereby order that the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia are to be flown at full-staff on all state and local buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth in recognition of the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States.

The flags will be lowered back to half-staff the following day to continue honoring former President James Earl Carter, Jr. and remain at half-staff through January 28, 2025.

I hereby order that the flags shall be raised at 11am on Monday, January 20, 2025 and lowered at sunrise on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

Ordered on this, the 18th day of January 2025.

Sincerely,

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Virginia

Biden pardons Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for 1994 drug offense

Published

8 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Biden pardons Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for 1994 drug offense

President Joe Biden issued a pardon Sunday of Virginia House Speaker Don Scott for a 1994 non-violent drug offense for which he served almost eight years in prison.

“America is a country built on the promise of second chances,” Biden said in a statement, as he issued multiple pardons and sentence commutations.

Scott, a trial lawyer and Navy veteran, was elected to the Virginia legislature in 2019. In January 2024, he became the first Black speaker.

“I am deeply humbled to share that I have received a Presidential Pardon from President Joe Biden for a mistake I made in 1994 — one that changed the course of my life and taught me the true power of redemption,” Scott said in a statement.

He continued: “This moment is not just about me. It’s about demonstrating that our nation can embrace the potential for change, for justice, and for redemption. It’s about what happens when we refuse to give up on each other.”

Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. He announced Friday he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. He also gave a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes.

A pardon relieves a person of guilt and punishment. A commutation reduces or eliminates the punishment but doesn’t exonerate the wrongdoing.

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Biden framed the commutations and pardons as in keeping with the “sacred covenant of our nation.”

Speaking to the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina, he said when people “we love fall and make mistakes,” Americans pick them back up.

“We don’t turn on each other. We lean into each other. That’s the sacred covenant of our nation,” he said. “We pledge an allegiance, not just to an idea, but to each other.”

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Virginia

January 18, 2025 – Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

Published

16 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

January 18, 2025 – Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Attorney General

Jason S. Miyares
Attorney General

202 North 9th Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Service
800-828-1120

For media inquiries only, contact:
Shaun Kenney
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Virginia Attorney General Miyares Condemns President Biden’s Last Minute Clemency for Cop Killer and Accomplice

RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares today issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced clemency for Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson – the “Waverly Two” whose criminal acts caused the death of Officer Allen Gibson in 1998.

“I am absolutely outraged by what has happened. My heart is shattered knowing that the men that killed my father are going to be released from prison and can walk the streets freely,” stated Officer Gibson’s daughter, Crissana Gibson. “This is a huge miscarriage of justice, and I am completely disgusted by the outgoing administration. The Virginia Attorney General’s office has worked tirelessly to keep these murderers behind bars, and I am forever grateful for their dedication and hard work. I am so disappointed that the disgraceful Biden administration has failed my family, my father, and the entire law enforcement community. Neither my family nor I have ever supported the release of Richardson or Claiborne, and we denounce this decision by the outgoing failed presidency of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party’s abuse of the justice system.”

“If the Democrats intend to build their vision of social justice on a pile of dead law enforcement officers, they could send no stronger message than the one they sent today,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “The decision not to pardon but merely commute the sentence of Terence Richardson only supports our position that he is in fact guilty of manslaughter. This office will continue to exhaust itself in seeking justice for the family of Officer Allen Gibson and ensuring that those involved are held to account.”

On April 25, 1998, 25-year-old Officer Allen Gibson woke up and went to work as a Waverly police officer. He put on his bulletproof vest and said goodbye to his eight-year-old daughter Crissana. Officer Gibson found Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne engaged in a drug deal behind an apartment building. The men attacked Officer Gibson, and Richardson disarmed Officer Gibson and fatally shot him in the stomach right below his bulletproof vest.

Terence Richardson pleaded guilty in Virginia court to involuntary manslaughter, and Ferrone Claiborne pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. A federal appeals court held in 2002 that Richardson “intentionally shot Gibson,” and that the facts “amply support the finding” that Richardson and Claiborne “murdered Gibson.”

Not only did President Obama deny clemency to Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson, but the Biden White House was recently advised by the U.S. Attorney General not to commute the sentences of certain violent offenders.

“Yesterday, Joe Biden woke up and decided that these two violent criminals deserve clemency,” said Miyares. “Joe Biden should be ashamed, but we know that he probably doesn’t even know what he signed. Biden and his staff deserve scorn, shame, and derision for this despicable act. Shame on you, Joe Biden and your enabling staff.
“May the memory of Officer Allen Gibson and his family haunt each of you forever.”

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