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ST. THOMAS — Wyoming’s men’s basketball team doesn’t play many games east of the Mississippi River, except when they’re important — like the NCAA Tournament.
Well, the Cowboys hope their first trip to the Caribbean is a portend of things to come after they knocked off Howard 78-71 on Friday in the opening round of the Paradise Jam tournament at the University of the Virgin Islands’ Elridge Wilburn Blake Sports and Fitness Center.
Hunter Maldonado scored a game- and season-high 28 points and Ethan Anderson added 11 points for Wyoming (3-1), which trailed by six points at the half before putting things together in the second half.
Five players finished in double figures for the Bison (2-3). Elijah Hawkins led with 17 points, Steve Settle added 14 points, Jelani Williams and Bryce Harris had 11 points each, and Shy Odom finished with 10 points.
Turning point
This one was close from almost the opening tip, with 17 lead changes and five ties over the two halves.
Howard and Wyoming swapped the lead six times (with four ties) in the first half, with the Bison coming out ahead 38-32 at the halftime break.
Things got even tighter in the second half — 11 lead changes and one tie — before the Cowboys took control over the final four minutes.
The Bison last held the lead at 64-63 on Hawkins’ driving layup with 4 minutes, 31 seconds remaining, but Wyoming took over the lead for good 21 seconds later on Maldonado’s layup to put the Cowboys ahead 65-64.
Kicked off by Maldonado’s basked, Wyoming went on to outscore Howard 15-7 over those final four minutes.
Key players
Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming: The 6-foot-7 senior guard scored 19 points in the second half to key the Cowboys’ surge. For the game, he was 10 of 17 from the field and 8 of 10 on free throws. He also had four rebounds and a team-best three steals.
Elijah Hawkins, Howard: The 5-11 sophomore guard was the Bison’s most consistent shooter, making 7 of 13 from the field (but only 1 of 4 on 3-pointers) and 2 of 2 on free throws. He also had a game-high six assists — but turned the ball over four times.
Observations
• Wyoming put on a shooting clinic in Friday’s win, making better than 60% of its shots over the game. The Cowboys made 29 of 47 from the field (61.7%) — including 7 of 13 on 3-pointers (53.8%) — and 13 of 18 free throws.
• Howard, which played in the 2020 Paradise Jam, didn’t have that bad a shooting night — until the second half. After making 16 of 31 (51.6%) from the field and 6 of 15 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Bison faltered to 11 of 28 (39.3%) from the field and just 1 of 5 on 3s.
• There was a pause in Friday’s game in the second half after game officials discovered the backboard on one end of the court had shifted slightly. The game was stopped with 6:01 remaining when Wyoming’s Noah Reynolds pointed out the issue to referees after shooting (and missing) a free throw. The game was stopped for about five minutes while the backboard was readjusted.
Up next
Wyoming moves on to the semifinals, getting a day off before playing Drake at 6:45 p.m. Sunday.
Meanwhile, Howard heads to the consolation round, facing Buffalo at 4:15 p.m. today.