John Luke Fabian
Jfabian1@uwyo.edu
@HouseFabian
“Josh Adams with the shot, boy!” – Drake, probably.
The senior star had a career and record tying night, knocking down nine 3-pointers in route to a season sweep of the Colorado State Rams. The Wyoming Cowboys earned the 84-66 win on Saturday, with Adams lighting it up from deep.
“What can you say about Josh Adams,” head coach Larry Shyatt asked. “I thought it may have been his best performance at both ends of the court. He had eight defensive rebounds — and I mean up high on the square. He led the team, inspired the team. He dropped 9 of 16 threes — what can you say?”
The game began with Adams hitting his first two shots, both of them coming from 3-point range. This was the beginning of a 14-0 run for the Pokes, where they shot 6-8 from the field. The first half, continued to have the Cowboys fire deep from 3-point range. After 20 minutes of play the score was 41-27.
Like many teams with a big lead at the half, Wyoming had a cold stretch, which allowed the Rams to sneak their way back in. The lead was cut to nine, before Shyatt took a timeout.
“I think maybe the big basket came when they went zone and cut it to nine,” Shyatt said. “We found a wide-open Jason McManamen in the left corner, where he hit the game-winner last year. When that ball netted and we got the lead back up to 12 I think our entire team felt like this is our day.”
A groove was found again by the Cowboys, and carried them all the way to the end of the game. Wyoming earned their largest Border War win in Fort Collins since 1981.
Jason McManamen had a quiet 20-point performance, but it is hard to get much attention when Adams throws down 37-points. Adams nine 3-balls tied a Cowboys’ record for most made in a game.
Overall, the Cowboys probably put up their most dominate performance of the season. They shot over 55 percent from the field and over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Throw-in 17 assists to seven turnovers, and you have got yourself an absurd offensive showing.
The Cowboy defense also had an impressive night, holding the Rams to 31 percent shooting. They forced nine turnovers, with four of them coming from steals.
T
he box score cannot say enough of how well the Cowboys played.
“I’m so happy for our team. I’m so proud of this team,” Shyatt said. “Our guys played so hard against Fresno State last Wednesday but came up short. Proud of the way we came back from that game today. I thought tonight was one of our best defensive performances of the season.”
The Cowboys will host San Diego State at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the Arena Auditorium.
