John Luke Fabian
Jfabian1@uwyo.edu
Twitter: @HouseFabian
Senior guard Josh Adams dropped 25 points to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to their fourth win of the season as they beat Montana State 82-68 this past Sunday.
“I thought we did a much better job than we did in Billings,” UW head coach Larry Shyatt said. “Actually I thought we got much more resistance from Montana State those last 8-9 minutes. I’m really pleased with our performance at both ends, in particular on the defense in the second half.”
Wyoming had a hard time getting their offense going at the beginning of the game, through turning the ball over and missing eight of their first ten shots. Montana State was able to find their offense a little more quickly than the Pokes having an eleven point lead ten minutes into the game.
Wyoming found its groove as the game went on, with players like sophomore Hayden Dalton coming off of the bench. Dalton made every shot he took in the first half and led the Cowboys in scoring with 11 points.
MSU had a four point lead heading into the half. Wyoming shot 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep, compared to MSU who shot over 50 from both.
The second half began with the Cowboys taking the lead right back from Montana State with a three-point play from Adams. The two teams exchanged blows until Wyoming had a one point lead with 13:12 left to play. The Cowboys were able to grow their lead to double digits to put Montana State away for good.
“I think we came up with 84 percent of the defensive rebounds and we knocked in all of the free throws that we needed,” Shyatt said. “Finishing games for a new team is a new adventure and I thought they did a great job earlier in the week but I thought they did a better job tonight.”
For the fourth consecutive game Adams scored over 20 points and had a season high in assists with six. Adams also had a dunk that was featured on Sports Center.
Freshman Justin James had his second game where he scored in the double digits and played for a majority of the second half. Redshirt Sophomore Alan Herndon set a new career high in rebounds, with 12. It is the first time in his career he has recorded double digit rebounds.
This was the second time Wyoming has faced Montana State this year after losing to them in Billings, Mont. It was the 56th meeting between these two and Wyoming leads the series 44-12.
The Cowboys faced off against Denver last night but the results were unavailable at the time of printing. Wyoming will return to the Arena Auditorium on Saturday to take on UC Berkley.
