Cowboys beat Fresno State in conference opener

Posted 1/5/21

The Wyoming Cowboys won their sixth-straight game, downing Fresno State 78-74 on Saturday evening in the Mountain West opener. Junior Hunter Thompson tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers in …

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Cowboys beat Fresno State in conference opener

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The Wyoming Cowboys won their sixth-straight game, downing Fresno State 78-74 on Saturday evening in the Mountain West opener. Junior Hunter Thompson tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers in Fresno, as Wyoming improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play. A rematch with the Bulldogs was set for Monday night.

The six-game winning streak for the Pokes is the longest since the 2016-17 season. It also marked the first time Wyoming has won its road opener in the Mountain West since 2014-15.

“This has always been a tough place to play in the Mountain West,” Wyoming head coach Jeff Linder said of Fresno State. “I talked to our guys about how we haven’t played in 15 days and we had some rust and were out of rhythm offensively. We weather the storm in the first half and in the second half we had a great grit and toughness.”

Thompson added 22 points for the Pokes with seven 3-pointers, tying a career-high. Freshmen Marcus Williams added 13 points and Jeremiah Oden 11. Junior Hunter Maldonado added 13 points along with a team-high five assists. Sophomore Kenny Foster grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Pokes.

“Jeremiah Oden did a great job in the post and made big plays offensively,” Linder said. “He works so hard and he picked his spots and it was great to see him rewarded.”

Wyoming hit 12 3-pointers on the night, shooting 43% from the field and 52% in the second half. Fresno State shot 49% from the field and had a 35-30 advantage on the glass. Wyoming scored a season-high 27 points off turnovers.

“We talk about winning plays and we have to be the team that makes those,” Linder said. “Our guards did a better job in the second half of finding open shooters and Thompson made them play. You have to win road games to be a great team in this conference and tonight was a great step.”

Fresno State took a 33-31 lead into the half.

Both teams got off to a fast start to open the second period, but the Bulldogs capitalized on Wyoming turnovers to go on a 6-0 run to take a 42-35 lead. But Thompson would hit a trio of 3-pointers to give the Pokes the 44-42 lead with 12:50 left in the contest.

The teams went back and forth from there. Wyoming used a 6-0 run to take a 67-66 lead with 2:57 left in the game, followed by Fresno State taking a brief one-point lead. Thompson answered with a rare 4-point play to put Wyoming up 71-68 with 1:59 left, but Fresno State again led, 74-73, with 43 seconds remaining in the game.

Finally, UW sophomore Kwane Marble II hit a pair of free throws to put the Pokes up for good, 75-74. He added a couple more points, with Williams contributing an insurance freebie for the 78-74 win.

The Bulldogs were led by Deon Stroud with 19 points and Isaiah Hill with 17 points.

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