December 22, 2021 — The Wyoming Cowboys struggled from behind the arc in a 66-63 loss to Stanford this afternoon in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic opening in Simplifi Arena in Honolulu Hawaii. The loss dropped Wyoming’s season record to 9-2 while Stanford improved to 7-4.
Wyoming shot just 17 percent from behind the arc (4 of 23) but battled back late in the contest erasing an 11-point deficit from the first half. The Pokes will face Northern Iowa in the consolation bracket tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. Mountain Time tomorrow. That game will be broadcast on WyoRadio’s 99.7 JACK-FM and 99KSIT.com beginning at 4 p.m.
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“We knew it was going to come down to our ability to keep them off the offensive glass,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “They got some rebounds, and we settled in. The last two trips down the floor for Stanford we needed to find a way to come up with those rebounds and it was disappointing not to do so.” The Cowboys were outrebounded in the game by a 41-35 margin, with Stanford scoring 16 second-chance points in the contest.
The Cowboys shot 43 percent from the field in the contest, with the Cardinal shooting 39 percent.
The Cowboys were led by Graham Ike with 25 points and 11 rebounds. He was 11-of-18 from the field. Hunter Maldonado added 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Xavier DuSell added 13 points and accounted for three of Wyoming’s made 3-point shots.
The game
Wyoming led early 6-4 but would then go cold, not scoring for over five minutes, as Stanford went on a 14-0 run to take an 18-6 lead. Stanford would continue to control the action building the lead back to 11 points at 28-17 with just under seven minutes remaining in the half. The Cowboys would later answer with a 9-0 run to make it a 31-28 game with 2:58 left in the opening half. The first half ended with the Pokes trailing 35-30.
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After a bucket from Ike to open the second half, the Cowboys would go scoreless for over four minutes, as Stanford built the lead to six points at 38-32 four minutes into the second half.
Wyoming went on a 5-0 run with a three-pointer from DuSell and layup from Ike for a one-point game at 38-37 with 14 minutes remaining. But Stanford would make three-straight shots and build the lead back to 45-39 two minutes later.
DuSell would give the Pokes a 54-52 lead with a made triple. But Stanford would answer with a 6-0 run to take a 58-54 lead with 4:48 left in the contest.
The Pokes would cut the Stanford lead to a one-point game at 62-61 with buckets from Maldonado and Ike with just over a minute remaining. Ike would hit a layup but miss the free throw for a 64-63 game with 32 seconds remaining. But the Cardinal held and hit free throws late. Wyoming had a chance to tie the contest with two 3-point attempts but ended up falling 66-63.
