Tanner Conley
The University of Wyoming Men’s basketball team kicked off their 2019-2020 season this Tuesday. They faced the Idaho State Bengals led by their newly-appointed head coach Ryan Looney. A good start was crucial for the Cowboys, who fell short of a Mountain West Championship last year due to injuries.
Coming into this matchup, the Cowboys were playing with a mixture of youth and experience. This included four returning starters and eight returning lettermen. But with only two seniors on the squad and eight freshmen, the question of inexperience at the college level was prevalent early in the match.
As the Cowboys took the court, all eyes were on redshirt sophomore Hunter Maldonado. Maldonado averaged 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds until an injury ended his season early. Joining Maldonado is senior guard Jake Hendricks. Hendricks led the Cowboys in points per game (PPG) last season with 10.8. Both were included in the starting lineup for the Cowboys.
From the tip-off, it was clear. This game would be a defined by impressive defense on both ends. The Cowboys established and early lead, but it was soon wiped away by impressive shooting from Idaho State. Wyoming continued their trend from their pre-season exhibition against Northwest Nazarene by committing six turnovers within the first half alone. They finished the game with a total of 12.
To start the game, both teams struggled to establish their style of play on the game, as the Cowboy’s up-tempo attack did not mix with the more relaxed attack of Idaho State. This led to several turnovers on both ends of the court and a total of 39 points in the first half.
But the news isn’t all bad. A quick string of converted possessions led to the Cowboys taking the lead and scoring six unanswered points in four minutes. This lead was cut down to three points with score of Cowboys 21 and Bengals 18 at halftime.
The second half was much like the first, with both teams struggling to minimize turnovers and get open shots. Wyoming was only able to score three points in the opening five minutes of the second half, a statistic that was matched by the Bengals.
The biggest difference between the halves came in the form of Hunter Maldonado. Despite a slow first half with only four points and one rebound, in the second half Maldonado was an offensive and defensive tour de force. He ended his night with 32 points and three rebounds.
The Cowboys were able to combine Maldonado’s attacking prowess with a stone wall defense to take a 12-point lead with 11 minutes remaining on the clock. From there on it was attempting to limit the onslaught of three-pointers from Idaho State. The game ended with a final score of Cowboys 54 and Bengals 40.
The Cowboys showed their defensive prowess throughout the game, utilizing a mix of shot blocking and rotation to force Idaho State to settle for long shots from the outside. As a team, the Cowboys held Bengal shooting to 32% in the first half and 31% for the game.
Hendricks was impressive throughout, especially on defense with two steals and 5 rebounds. He ended the night with four points.
Head Coach Allen Edwards had nothing but praise for his players.
“I was happy with our effort, but I thought that we had a few lapses in the first half. I like that the players noticed that too. They wanted to coach each other and if that problem.” Edwards said. He also gave a glowing review of Hunter Maldonado.
“Maldonado was spectacular on both ends. Most people only think about his 32 (points) but I thought he did an even better job on the defensive end.” Edwards said.
“It’s a good way to start out the year.” Edwards said. As for Maldonado, his praise went solely to his teammates.
“The position these guys put me in, is just stuff we’ve been working on all summer and tonight it was me. But like we always say, anyone could go off any single night. I think everyone doesn’t care who it was so long as we get the win tonight.” said Maldonado.
The Cowboys return to action Sunday Nov. 10 with an away game against the South Carolina Ga
The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team kicked off their 2019-20 season Tues. night. They faced the Idaho State Bengals led by their newly-appointed head coach Ryan Looney. A good start was crucial for the Cowboys, who fell short of a Mountain West Championship last year due to injuries.
Coming into this matchup, the Cowboys were playing with a mixture of inexperience and experience. This included four returning starters and eight returning lettermen. But with only two seniors on the squad and eight freshmen, the question of inexperience at the college level was prevalent early in the match.
As the Cowboys took the court, all eyes were on redshirt sophomore Hunter Maldonado. Maldonado averaged 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds until an injury ended his season early. Joining Maldonado is senior guard Jake Hendricks.
Hendricks led the Cowboys in points per game (PPG) last season with 10.8. Both were included in the starting lineup for the Cowboys.
From the tip-off, it was clear, this game would be defined by impressive defense on both ends. The Cowboys established with an early lead, but it was soon wiped away by impressive shooting from Idaho State. Wyoming continued their trend from their pre-season exhibition against Northwest Nazarene by committing six turnovers in the first half alone. They finished the game with a total of 12.
To start the game, both teams struggled to establish their style of play on the game, as the Cowboy’s up-tempo attack did not mix with the more relaxed attack of Idaho State. This led to several turnovers on both ends of the court and a total of 39 points in the first half.
But the news was not all bad. A quick string of converted possessions led to the Cowboys taking the lead and scoring six unanswered points in four minutes. This lead was cut down to three points with the score at Cowboys 21 and Bengals 18 at halftime.
The second half was much like the first, with both teams struggling to minimize turnovers and get open shots. Wyoming was only able to score three points in the opening five minutes of the second half, a statistic that was matched by the Bengals.
The biggest difference between the halves came in the form of Hunter Maldonado. Despite a slow first half with only four points and one rebound, in the second half Maldonado ended his night with 32 points and three rebounds.
“Maldonado was spectacular on both ends. Most people only think about his 32 [points] but I thought he did an even better job on the defensive end,” said Head Coach Allen Edwards.
As for Maldonado, his praise went solely to his teammates.
“The position these guys put me in, is just stuff we’ve been working on all summer and tonight it was me. But like we always say, anyone could go off any single night. I think everyone doesn’t care who it was so long as we get the win tonight.” said Maldonado.
The Cowboys were able to combine Maldonado’s attacks with a stone wall defense to take a 12-point lead with 11 minutes remaining on the clock. From then on, the Cowboys attempted to limit the onslaught of three-pointers from Idaho State. The game ended with a final score of Cowboys 54 and Bengals 40.
The Cowboys showed their defensive mastery throughout the game, utilizing a mix of shot blocking and rotation to force Idaho State to settle for long shots from the outside. As a team, the Cowboys held Bengal shooting to 32% in the first half and 31% for the game.
Hendricks was impressive throughout, especially on defense with two steals and five rebounds. He ended the night with four points.
Head Coach Allen Edwards had nothing but praise for his players.
“I was happy with our effort, but I thought that we had a few lapses in the first half. I like that the players noticed that too. They wanted to coach each other and if that problem.” Edwards said.
The Cowboys return to action Sun. with an away game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
