by staff–4 Nov ’16
Senior guard Jason McManamen scored 15 points leading the Wyoming Cowboys to a 75-50 win over the Chadron State Eagles on Thursday night in Torrington, Wyo. McManamen returned to his hometown where he lead Torrington High School to two State Championships.
The Cowboys dominated in the paint, outscoring the Eagles 34-16. Wyoming also gained an edge in its transition offense, tallying 16 fast-break points to Chadron State’s two.
“When you get to this point of the season sometimes you need to compete against someone else,” UW head coach Allen Edwards said. “We can play very unselfish basketball and I was encouraged by that type of play by us tonight.”
McManamen scored a game-high 15 points on 3-of-8 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Junior guard Louis Adams pulled down five boards in the second half to lead all players with seven rebounds. He also added also added 10 points. Junior guard Alexander Aka Gorski also poured in 10 points for UW. Junior forward Hayden Dalton dished out a game-high four assists.
The Pokes shot 46 percent (26-of-56) from the field on the night and held the Eagles to 26 percent (17-of-65). The Cowboys dominated the glass grabbing 47 boards to CSC’s 38. Wyoming finished the night going 15-of-17 from the free throw line for 88 percent.
Edwards liked what he saw from the roster on the night. “In a sense of being able to sub to match what the opponent was doing and still feel like we had the advantage is a positive thing. We got some easy buckets when the intensity grew.”
After Chadron State jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, Wyoming responded with a 20-4 run capped off by a three-point play from junior guard Louis Adams. The scoring streak also included five-straight points from sophomore guard Justin James, who put home a thundering dunk and then netted a three-pointer on the next possession. Wyoming scored the final four points of the half to end with a 38-20 lead. McManamen led all scorers in the opening frame with eight points on 2-of-5 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. James tallied seven points on 2-of-3 shooting and a team-best two assists.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the second stanza, but the Pokes finished strong shooting 50 percent (12-of-24) from the field in the frame. The cowboys built their lead by as high as 34 points in the final seven minutes of the contest.
Guard Bronte Corbray led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points. He was also one of four players to grab a team-high four rebounds.
The Pokes open the regular season by hosting Western State on Nov. 11 at 8:30 p.m. p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.
