Laramie, WY (12/29/18) – True freshman Trace Young hit a game winning three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to lift Wyoming to a 65-63 win over Dixie State on Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium.
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Making his collegiate debut on his birthday, Young scored 16 points and made the first and the last bucket of the contest.
With the Pokes down by four points with 1:45 left, free throws from senior Justin James and Jordan Naughton put the Pokes within reach of the victory. Dixie State missed a pair of free throws with 12.9 seconds left giving Young the opportunity to win the contest, as his double clutched three found nothing but net for the Wyoming win.
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“The guys were looking at me on the floor before Dixie’s last missed free throw wondering if I wanted a timeout, but I think in those scenarios, unless you feel confident about running a specific play, you put the ball in your best player’s hands,” Edwards said. “A timeout I believe would have given them time to set up their full-court trap, so to me it was better to put it in J.J.’s (Justin James) hands. We put J.J. and (Hunter) Thompson in the ball screen, and then Thompson got the ball from J.J. and the best part of the play was Thompson made the extra pass to give Trace an opportunity to get a good look. Trace obviously did a great job putting the shot in.”
Young tied for the Wyoming lead in scoring with his 16 points. He went 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line. He also grabbed six rebounds in his collegiate debut. James added 16 points, as he also added eight rebounds and four assists. Naughton added 12 points for a season best. He played a season-best 25 minutes.he Pokes got off to a 6-0 lead on the Trailblazers in the opening minutes. Young tallied the first points of the game and his career with a three point field goal.
The game was tied at 30-30 at the half, but the Pokes would go on a 9-0 run to open the second half to take a 39-30 advantage.
Dixie State would continue to battle with the Cowboys taking a 51-50 advantage on Wyoming halfway through the frame. The teams would exchange the lead until Wade Miller hit his sixth three pointer of the game to give Dixie State a 61-59 advantage with 2:18 left. Andre Wilson added two free throws for a 63-59 contest with 1:45 left.
The Cowboys return to action next Wednesday night when they open Mountain West Conference play against Boise State (5-8). The Broncs lost 62-50 to Oregon Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WyoRadio’s 99.7 JACK-FM beginning at 6:30 p.m. and will also be streamed at 99KSIT.com.
