(UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. – The Pokes head west this weekend to battle Fresno State in the Save Mart Center on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. Saturday’s meeting will be the 27th between the two schools and the 13th in Fresno. The Pokes’ last win in the Save Mart Center was on Jan. 17, 2015 in triple overtime.
The game will be televised on ESPNU or streamed on WatchESPN App with Matt Schick on Play-by-Play and Rob Kennedy on Color. Fans can listen and follow live stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 25 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network. Dave Walsh will have the play-by-play alongside Kevin McKinney on the color.
The Cowboys are 17-11 overall and 8-7 in the league, as Wyoming is jockeying for a bye in the MW tournament with UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State. The Pokes shot a season-best 58 percent on Tuesday against New Mexico for the best shooting percentage in a game since shooting 58 percent against Eastern Washington in the CBI opener last season.
Wyoming hit 56 percent of their threes against New Mexico going 13-of-23. UW has hit 29 in their last two games and 252 on the year for third in single season school history. The Cowboys have also made 527 free throws this season to lead the MW and rank fifth in the nation.
Fresno State is 20-8 overall and 10-5 in the conference. The Bulldogs are winners of five-straight games with the winning streak starting against the Cowboys on Feb. 3. Over the last five games, Fresno State has won each game by double-digits. Fresno State ranks third in the league in scoring margin at +10.1.
The Bulldogs are shooting 50 percent from the field for first in the conference and No. 11 in the nation. Fresno State shoots an impressive 40 percent from behind the arc for first in the league and No. 14 in the nation.
The Pokes are led in scoring by junior guard Justin James at 18.7 points per game. That number ranks third in the MW and No. 82 in the nation. James also adds a team-best 3.1 assists per game. He leads the Pokes with 128 made free throws this season. Senior forward Hayden Dalton adds 18.3 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in nine of his last 10 games. He has made 16 three pointers in his last three contests. He also leads the Pokes in rebounding at 8.0 per game for fifth in the MW.
Senior forward Alan Herndon adds 11.7 points per game and leads the MW in blocks this season with 61, which ranks No. 29 in the nation. His 2.2 blocks per game also leads the league and ranks No. 31 in the nation. Senior guard Louis Adams averages 10 points per game off the bench and scored a career-high 31 points against New Mexico.
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by Deshon Taylor at 18.5 points per game for fifth in the MW. He also leads the team with 45 steals, while dishing out 75 assists tying for the team lead. Bryson Williams adds 13.3 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounds with Jeron Hopkins at 5.9 per game. Hopkins is third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game. He is shooting 51 percent from the field.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 16-10 in a series that dates back to 1972. The Bulldogs have won five of the last six meetings including the first meeting this season in Laramie, 80-62.
Wyoming will wrap up the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday hosting Air Force at 7 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium.
