Notes and Quotes from Cowboys' Basketball Opener

From the desk of Nick Seeman/Wyoming Athletic Department

TEAM NOTES

•Saturday’s game was the second meeting between Wyoming and MVSU. The Pokes are 2-0 all-time against the Delta Devils.

•Saturday’s game marked the beginning of the 116th season of Cowboy basketball. The Cowboys have a 79-37 record, including wins in 15 of their last 17 season-opening games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

•In home openers, the Cowboys are even more impressive, posting an all-time record of 93-23.

•The Cowboys 57 points in the first half was the most in an opening frame since scoring 57 against Utah State on Jan. 11, 2017.

•The contest marked the begining of the Jeff Linder era.

•Wyoming knocked down 13 triples in the contest. Wyoming only hit double-digit threes 11 times last season, including the last five games.

•Wyoming had 24 assists in the contests on 35 made baskets. It was the most assists in a game since 28 against Drake on Dec. 2, 2017.

•Wyoming’2 97 points was the most in a coaches debut since 113 against Deny by Benny Dees in 1987.

•Wyoming’s 97 points was most in season opener since 101 against Bristol in 2015-16 opener.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

•Junior Hunter Thompson added 25 points for his 19th career game in double figures. It tied his career high.

•Thompson has now scored 20 or more points three times in his career.

•Junior Drake Jeffries added 19 points in his debut. He had 16 in the first half knocking down five three pointers. He also led the team with eight rebounds.

•Freshman Marcus Williams scored 20 points in his debut with the Cowboys. He had 14 points in the first half for the Brown and Gold. Williams, along with Hunter Maldonado, led the Pokes with eight assists each. Most in opener since eight by Brad Jones in 2007. Williams in first freshman in MW era to score 20 points in season opener.

•Junior Hunter Maldonado added 10 points for his 41st game in double figures.

Postgame Quotes

Following a 97-61 Home Win Over Mississippi Valley State

Quotes From University of Wyoming Head Coach Jeff Linder

“I thought the first 20 minutes, we did a really good job and we actually came out better than I thought we would. That was the first time, as a group, that we’ve actually played more than three trips up and down, the court in a long time. We just haven’t had the bodies to do that. We’ve had some guys hurt. Today, we had two guys out under the COVID protocol -- I want to make that clear. They weren’t out for any type of suspension. Hopefully, we’ll have them back soon. But just proud of the effort of our guys today.

“The second half, we got a little tired. But we didn’t get anyone hurt, and now we have a quick turnaround, hosting Texas Southern on Monday night. They’re picked to win that league (Southwestern Athletic Conference - SWAC). They are playing Oklahoma State tonight, and they will be a lot different look than what we saw today.”

Regarding the Play of Hunter Thompson and the confidence he played with in Saturday’s win

“He should be playing with confidence, because he knows that if he doesn’t shoot he’s going to be taken out of the game. Sometimes people want him to be something he’s not. He can get down in there (in the paint) a little bit, but he puts a lot of pressure on the opponent’s defense when you have to guard him out on the perimeter. And what you see is it allows our guards to get to the rim without a 6’10”, 6’11” guy waiting for them as a secondary defender to block shots because Hunter forces those big men to play away

from the basket.

Please comment about some of your younger players who were making their Wyoming debuts

“I thought Marcus (Williams) did a really good job. It’s hard when you’re a freshman and going out there in your first Division I game. I don’t care who you’re playing, the first time out things are a little faster. But for him, playing at the highest classification in the state of Texas and being as good as his team was -- they were about to get ready to win a state championship before COVID hit -- he’s used to playing against the caliber of athletes you see at the Division I level. It was really a good game for him to get the cobwebs out.

“J..O. (Jeremiah Oden) is going to be really good it was one of those games today where he’s going to have to learn how to pick his spots a little bit better, but you can see with his athleticism that he is going to be a guy who is going to provide winning effort and winning plays thru his athleticism.

How pleased were you with 24 assists on 35 made field goals and committing only 11 personal fouls

“We always talk about making the extra pass. We want to be a team defensively that limits three-point attempts by our opponent, but we knew that was going to be more difficult today as Mississippi Valley takes a lot of threes and a lot of long threes. Ultimately, our team goal is to allow opponents only 12 three-point attempts per game but tonight they got 29 off. We knew they were going to put up a lot of threes, but we just wanted to make sure they were tough ones.