LARAMIE, WYOMING (Dec. 29, 2019) – The Wyoming Cowboys closed out their 2019 non-conference basketball schedule Saturday with an 82-68 home win over Nebraska Wesleyan. The win was the Cowboys’ second consecutive victory and upped their season record to 5-9. Division III Nebraska Wesleyan, rated #8 in nation in Division III polls, falls to 10-3 on the year.
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“I wanted our guys to not take this team lightly, because I have great respect for what Nebraska Wesleyan has accomplished with their program. They are a Top 10 team in the nation at their level,” said Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards. “I also wanted to see our guys come in and execute our game plan, which overall I thought we did a good job and had a good team effort.
The 82 points scored by the Pokes is a season high as a team. Senior Jake Hendricks led five double-figure scoring Cowboys with 21 points. Hunter Maldonado added 19 points with A.J Banks scoring 12 points. Sophomore Greg Milton III and true freshman Kenny Foster each scored a career high 11 points. Nebraska Wesleyan’s top scorer was Nate Schimonitz, with 22 points.
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The Cowboys grabbed a lead they would never relinquish, 17-15, with 10:54 to go in the first half. As a team, Wyoming would score 15 points off seven Nebraska Wesleyan turnovers in the first half to build a 41-34 halftime lead.
Nebraska Wesleyan would close to within seven points, 56-49, with 10:28 to play, but the Pokes answered with a 6-0 run to up the lead to 62-49 with 9:40 to go in the contest. Wyoming’s biggest lead was 17 points, 73-56 at the 4:17 mark.
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The Cowboys will return to Mountain West Conference play Wednesday, Jan. 1 by traveling to Boise State. Wyoming is 0-2 in MWC games while the 9-5 Broncs are 1-1 in conference. Game time is 6 p.m. The game will be heard on WyoRadio’s 99.7 JACK FM and streamed at 99KSIT.com beginning at 5:30 p.m.
