Tanner Conley
The Wyoming’s men’s basketball team were looking to disprove the critics on Wed. against the Air Force Falcons. Wyoming was picked to finish in tenth place out of eleven at the end of conference play according to a Mountain West Conference pre-season poll.
Wyoming was looking to rebound from a recent string of losses Wed. The Cowboys recent lost two games during the MGM Main Event in Las Vegas last week. With an overall record of 3 wins and 5 losses, a good start to conference play was a must for the Cowboys.
Wyoming came into the game with a few impressive statistics behind them. The Pokes ranked 32 in the nation by only allowing 59.9 points per game (PPG). This makes them second in the Mountain West for PPG. The Cowboys have held their opponents to an average of 38.5 percent from the field this season, a stat which ranks them 64 in the nation and third in the Mountain West Conference.
The Falcons, who also came into the game with a 3-5 record, looked to their impressive attack to outscore the Cowboys and break down that infamous Cowboy’s defense. LaVelle Scottie leads the team with an average of 13.1 points per game, closely followed by AJ Walker with 11 PPG.
In the buildup to the match it was clear, the Cowboys defensive capabilities would be tested against an onslaught of Falcon shooting. The Cowboys started with a familiar lineup, featuring Senior Jake Hendricks and Sophomore Hunter Maldonado. Hendricks contributes 7.9 PPG and 16 made three-pointers this season, which makes him sixth in the conference. Maldonado is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.8 PPG and scoring double-digits in every game this season.
As the game tipped off, the question on everyone’s mind was; Can the Cowboy’s defensive minded strategy weather the storm of Air Force’s attack?
The early answer was absolutely. The Cowboys contested every shot and grabbed the majority of rebounds in the Falcon’s opening seven possessions. The Falcons seemed to pass the ball around until the shot clock got down to three or four seconds, then they would force a quick shot. They finally managed to sink a jump shot after five minutes had already passed and the Cowboys had nailed a clutch three to make the score 5-2.
But the game was by no means over, and before long the Falcons turned the tide, as well as the score, to 5-7.
The next five minutes was a shooting gallery. Both teams seemed to create opportunities much better than the opening minutes. Jake Hendricks found his stride and went on to make 3 out of his five attempted threes. The problem for Cowboy the Cowboys was Air Force’s offense had finally woken up. For every Cowboy basket, Air Force would sink two more. Midway through the first half, the Cowboys trailed the Falcons, 11-15.
At one point the Falcons had a 10-point lead and were on an 11-0 scoring run against the Cowboys. Things were certainly looking bleak, but the Cowboys found some fight from Sophomore Hunter Thompson, who was 100 percent from the field with five points and three rebounds. Thompson would end the first half with nine points and four rebounds.
Otherwise the Cowboys appeared to still be in the locker room. Maldonado had not scored any points through 14 minutes and the Falcons could not be stopped on offense. The Cowboys simply could not answer the Falcons attack and were prone to long stretches of poor defense and poor rebounding. This allowed the Falcons to really control the game and its tempo. which lead to easier and easier baskets. Going into halftime, the score was Falcons 38 and Cowboys 29.
Hunter Maldonado had another slow start in this game. Held to no points for 14 minutes of the opening 20, he finished his half with six points and four assists. Jake Hendricks led the team in points, scoring 12, all of which were off of three-pointers.
The Cowboys shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half, but simply could not contain Air Force, allowing them to shoot 63.6 percent from the three-point line. The Cowboys themselves made 40 percent of their threes.
As the second half began, all Cowboy supporters were hoping for a role reversal. At the very least a defensive stand was needed for the Pokes to get back on track and regain momentum.
Following a few defensive stops and some impressive steals, the Cowboys were poised to make up some ground. Within the first three minutes of the second half, the Cowboys scored nine unanswered points to cut the Falcon’s lead down to two. Junior AJ Banks had a put-back slam dunk that not only energized the crowd but seemed to drive the momentum in Wyoming’s favor. Hunter Thompson hit another three pointer that further cemented the Poke’s comeback.
But for all the Wyoming attacking improvement, they simply could not keep Air Force from scoring threes. Air Force ended the first half with 7/11 threes made, they would go on to end the game with 17/30. This tracks to 51 out of the Falcon’s points coming from threes alone. Between that, and the inability to stop outside shooting, the Cowboys early surge was negated. The score stood at Falcons 68 and Cowboys 58 with 10 minutes left in the second half.
In the end, it seemed that the Cowboy’s defense simply could not stop the onslaught of Air Force shooting. Although the offense had several stretches where it made six or seven shots in a row, there was no way to stop Air Force from finding wide open shots and knocking them down. At times it seemed like the only hope the fans had, was that Air Force would simply miss a shot and the Cowboys could grab a quick rebound to counter attack.
As the clock wound down, it was clear the Cowboys were not going down without a fight. They pushed the tempo and pressed the Falcons into missing a few shots they had been hitting all game. They managed to cut the lead down to six with just over a minute to play, and the Wyoming faithful were giving their all to support their team to victory. But time was not on their side.
The game ended with a final score of Cowboys 77, Falcons 86.
Maldonado found his form in the second half, and kept his double digit scoring streak alive. He finished the game with 18 points and nine assists. Hunter Thompson and Jake Hendricks both had nights to remember. Thompson ended with 17 points with seven rebounds and Hendricks ended with 17 points and five threes. TJ Taylor contributed 10 points and three rebounds.
Head Coach Allen Edwards recognizes that the Cowboys were forced to play away from their strengths and against their style of play.
“I don’t think tonight we played defense. Kudos to our offensive numbers, but it doesn’t mean much if the other team shoots it better.” Edwards said.
Hunter Maldonado agreed, saying; “We all talk about defense, defense, defense, but we just didn’t get the job done tonight.”
The Cowboys return to the Arena Auditorium to face New Mexico on Sat. at 2:00. This game will feature the retirement of Fennis Dembo’s jersey in honor of his historic time at the University.
