Tanner Conley
Staff Writer
The Wyoming Men’s basketball team squared off against California State Fullerton on Wed.
The Cowboys were looking to recover from a tough road loss at South Carolina over the weekend. The Cal. State Titans came to the Arena-Auditorium hoping to get their first win of the season as they ended a three-game road trip. A win for the Titans would also snap a five-game losing streak to the Cowboys since their first meeting back in 1969.
The Cowboy’s recent loss away at South Carolina raised several questions about the Poke’s ability to perform this season. With a final score of 66-32, many people began to doubt the Cowboy’s famed ‘defense-first mindset.’ But the problems were not entirely defensive, as the Cowboys were held to 23 percent shooting from the field.
Even Wyoming’s star sophomore Hunter Maldonado was only allowed 10 points. This was Maldonado’s 14th career double-figure scoring game, and the second of his season following a 32-point stunner against Idaho State two weeks ago. He has scored in double-figures through his last 9 out of 10 games.
Sophomore Hunter Thompson has been providing the rebounds for the Cowboys with an average of 6.5 per game with an additional 7 against South Carolina, a team that Head Coach Allen Edwards knew was going to be tough.
“Sometimes you are just overmatched in the post, but Hunter Thompson did a good job fighting and battling down low. (South Carolina) are a great rebounding team, and that is part of their identity,” Edwards said.
Both Thompson and Maldonado were in the starting lineup as the Cowboys took the court against the Titans.
From the tip-off, each team battled to control the tempo of the game. The Titans constantly looked to counter-attack and score in the transition while the Cowboys took their time in attack.
Early on, both sides were unable to reach the basket and were forced to settle for difficult outside shots. Turnovers were again a problem for the Cowboys, with two out of their first four attacks resulting in a loss of possession. Coupled with missed shots, the Cowboys found themselves in an early hole, down 9-0 after four minutes. The Cowboys really stepped up their defense and trimmed the Titans’ lead to only one 6 minutes later. The score at the end of the first half was Cowboys 30, Titans 25.
Maldonado struggled to get past the stiff defense of Cal. State Fullerton in the first half. He finished the first half with four points and two assists. He kept his double-digit scoring streak alive by ending the game with 15 points with 10 rebounds earning a double-double. Sophomore guard TJ Taylor came up big for the Cowboys, dominating the glass with six rebounds in the first half and several pivotal plays, including a huge three-pointer. He would end his game with 8 rebounds and 10 points. Senior Jake Hendricks led the Cowboys on offense with eight points at the end of the first half. He finished with 13 points.
The Cowboy’s defense only allowed the Titans to shoot 36 percent in the first half, compared to their average of 42.9 percent. Cal. State Fullerton held the advantage in three-pointers, hitting 40 percent of their total shots.
The first half saw both sides fail to establish a lasting lead. Any time a team got far enough ahead to begin to pull away, the other team would force a change in the game’s tempo and even the score. The lead changed three times throughout the half, with the score being tied an additional three times.
The second half started much the same as the first. The Cowboys failed to convert on their opening 7 possessions. The Titans used quick counter-attacks to take down the Cowboy’s halftime lead and tie the game in under four minutes.
While the Titans managed to convert their chances, the Cowboys were 0-5 on field goals through the first seven minutes of the second half, mirroring their struggle to score in the opening minutes of the game. The Titans took the lead with 14 minutes remaining in the game. It was not to last as the Cowboys equalized, then took the lead two minutes later. This back and forth was a theme throughout the game.
The Pokes’ problems with turnovers only mounted as they added another 9 turnovers in the second half, finishing the game with 24. It seemed that the Cowboys’ points only came in spurts in the second half, scoring five points in two minutes before falling silent and behind 43-35. An impressive three-pointer from Hendricks was not enough to stem the tide of counter-attacking baskets. The Cowboys remained down by nine with eight minutes remaining in the match.
Wyoming was forced to transition to an up-tempo play style to counter the Titan’s efforts to run out the clock. This promised to add some final drama to the end of this game, as the Cowboys pulled within four points with three minutes left to play. This was undoubtedly the case as a defensive lockdown from Wyoming cut the lead to one with only two minutes to play.
But it was not enough.
In the end, every Cowboy basket was met with a Cal. State three-pointer. Wyoming’s inconsistent scoring and problems with turnovers were too much. The game ended with a final score of Cowboys 53, Titans 60.
According to Jake Hendricks, the Cowboy’s focuses were in the wrong place to begin the second half.
“We just have to come out better offensively. We were more worried about the defense, and we didn’t play the best defense either starting the second half.” said Hendricks. This is something that Coach Edwards later echoed.
“I thought we dug ourselves some holes tonight. We started the game down nine, but I loved the fight, the comeback. We had a spell in the second half. 0-4 and four turnovers. 10-0 run by them. As we continue to grow, we cannot go through that type of drought,” Edwards said.
The Cowboys will return to action this Sat. with a home game against Oregon State at 7:00 p.m.
