(UW Athletics release)
LARAMIE, Wyo. – The Wyoming Cowboys host the Mountain West’s top three point shooting team on Wednesday evening in the Fresno State Bulldogs. Start time for the first meeting of the season between the two teams is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Wyoming heads into Wednesday’s game with a 5-15 overall record and a 1-6 mark in the MW. The Pokes fell at Boise State on Saturday 77-52, as the Wyoming scored a season-low and recorded a season-high 24 turnovers.
The Cowboys have 28 steals over the last three games and are averaging six steals per game on the season. Wyoming is sixth in the MW this season holding teams to 34 percent from behind the arc. Wyoming got to the free throw line 21 times on Saturday after recording a combined 39 in the previous three contests. Wyoming is second in the MW with 317 free throw attempts.
The Bulldogs head to Laramie with a 14-5 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the league. Fresno State dropped a road contest at Colorado State on Saturday by a score of 74-65. The Bulldogs are currently tied for second in the MW with UNLV and Utah State.
Fresno State leads the MW and ranks No. 20 in the nation in three point field goal defense holding the opposition to 29 percent from behind the arc. On the opposite end, Fresno State leads the league and ranks No. 21 in the nation with 9.8 three point makes per night.
Wyoming is lead in scoring, rebounding and assists by senior guard Justin James. The second-highest active career scorer in the MW leads the league at 19.9 points per game. He ranks fifth in the MW averaging 8.6 rebounds per game and is seventh in assists at 4.1 per game. James now has 1,752 points in his career, as he passed Charles Bradley (1,744 from 1978-81) last Wednesday for seventh in school history.
Redshirt freshman Hunter Thompson adds 11.4 points per game and 3.7 rebounds. He had 19 points at Boise State and is shooting 50 percent from the field and 48 percent from behind the arc for the year. Freshman Trevon “TJ” Taylor adds 7.1 points per game and added 10 points at Boise State.
Fresno State is led in scoring by Braxton Huggins, as he ranks fourth in the MW at 18.2 points per game. He ranks third in the league at 3.1 three-pointers per game Deshon Taylor adds 16.6 points per game and has 74 assists on the season. Nate Grimes adds 9.3 rebounds per game for third in the MW and No. 36 in the nation.
The Cowboys trail the all-time series with Fresno State 16-11. Both team won road contests last season. Wyoming has won two of the last three contests, which including a four overtime win on Feb. 4, 2017 inside the Arena-Auditorium.
Tickets are available to Wednesday’s game online at GoWyo.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@uwyo.edu, calling 307-766-7220 or stopping by the UW Athletics Ticket Office on the west side of the Arena-Auditorium. A special offer for Wednesday’s contest features lower bowl $15 tickets for adults and $7 tickets for children ages 3-12. Trucker Hats will also be available for students.
The game will be streamed on Facebook with Kyle Huson on the call and Liv Roberts on Color. Fans can also watch, listen to the contest and follow stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 25 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, as Dave Walsh and Kevin McKinney will call the action.
Wyoming will enjoy its weekend bye before heading to Air Force next Wednesday for a 7 p.m. start.
