James scores 36 to lead Wyoming over Colorado St. 74-66 LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Justin James had a career-high 36 points as Wyoming got past Colorado State 74-66 on Saturday. James made 5 of 6 3-pointers and shot 11 for 12 from the foul line. He added seven assists and six rebounds. Trace Young had 13 points for Wyoming (6-17, 2-8 Mountain West Conference). Jake Hendricks added six rebounds. J.D. Paige had 22 points for the Rams (9-15, 4-7). Nico Carvacho added 15 points and 17 rebounds. Wyoming faces Utah State on the road on Wednesday. Colorado State faces San Diego State at home on Tuesday. ---
Mr. James Leads Pokes in Wire-to-Wire Win over Colorado State, 74-66 James scores career-high 36 points FINAL STATS POSTGAME NOTES AND QUOTES SEASON STATS BUY TICKETS Next Game: Colorado State University 2/9/2019 | Noon AT&T SportsNet PREVIEW LIVE STATS LISTEN LIVE FULL SCHEDULE ROSTER LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 9, 2019) – Senior Justin James poured in a career-high 36 points in a wire-to-wire 74-66 win for the Cowboys over arch rival Colorado State (9-15, 4-7 MW) on Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes (6-17, 2-8 MW) opened the game 7-of-7 from behind the three-point line and finished the game with 13 triples for the second most this season. "The first thing I would like to say is today the added factor was the crowd and the atmosphere," Wyoming head coach Allen Edwards said. "Our young men obviously were ready to play against CSU, but to have 5,000-plus in the building and especially our student section was great." James has now scored 30 or more points five times in his career and two times this season. James was 10-of-14 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. He was just as lethal from behind the arc hitting a career best five three-pointers on six attempts. James also added seven assists having his hand in 74 percent of the Cowboys scoring. He passed Reggie Slater and Josh Adams for fifth in career scoring at UW with 1,829 points. "I thought our guys had a determination and a focus from the start of the game," Edwards said. "Justin James was special. He looked like an NBA player today, with how poised he was and how he was able to orchestrate the game. His decision-making was excellent today. He passed it just as much as he shot it. He rebounded it well, and he gave us just as much with his defensive effort. People will look at the 36 points and say he was great today, but I thought he did so much more. He had a complete game." Freshman Trace Young added 13 points for back-to-back games in double-figures. He hit three triples on the night shooting 50 percent. Redshirt freshman Hunter Thompson added nine points all from behind the arc. Senior Jordan Naughton added seven points and five rebounds playing 21 gritty minutes in the paint. The Pokes were 13-of-23 from behind the arc for 54 percent for a season-high. Wyoming has hit 28 three pointers over the last two games. The Pokes shot 48 percent from the field and are shooting 47 percent from the field over the last four games. Colorado State was held to 42 percent from the field, as the rams ranked second in the Mountain West heading into the game at 47 percent. "We came out with the right mentality today," Edwards said. "We made some shots, but I thought our defense was great. When we can get three stops in a row, we call them kills. In the first half we had five of those, which helped us build the lead. "I told our guys that while we shot the ball well today, I didn't want them to underestimate how good we were on defense. We did a great job of holding CSU to 66 points, and a few of those points were late threes by them. We held them to 0 for 7 shooting from the three-point line in the first half, and I thought our activity on the defensive end along with rebounding the basketball well were key. Our achilles heel this year has been turning the ball over, but we did a good job today of taking care of the basketball." The freshman connection of Trevon "TJ" Taylor, Young and Thompson got the Pokes off to an 8-0 lead a minute into the contest. James was a spark on the defensive end of the floor early with a pair of steals and added three assists. Young and James would add three more triples to help build a 13-point advantage at 17-4 with 15:06 left in the opening half. James added two of those three pointers. Naughton picked up back-to-back buckets to help move the lead to 15-points at 21-15. Junior Jake Hendricks would get into the three point shooting streak hitting two more for a 27-13 Wyoming advantage nearly halfway through the first half, as the Pokes opened the game going 7-of-7 from downtown. Wyoming would build the lead to 16 points with over five minute left in the half, as UW held Colorado State to 32 percent from the field. James moved it to 19 points at 37-18 with an and-one play with four minutes left. Wyoming would wind up taking a 37-22 lead at halftime shooting 52 percent from field and holding the Rams to 32 percent and 0-7 from the three-point line. After the Rams hit their first three pointer of the game the Pokes responded with a 5-0 run to make it a 42-25 game with 17:42 left. Young scored a pair of baskets to reach double-figures for the second-straight game. James passed Cowboy great Reggie Slater with a three-pointer with 15:11 left to make it a 45-28 contest. The Rams responded with an 8-0 run with a pair of triples after a back door cut layup from Nico Carvacho for a 45-36 contest with just under 13 minutes left. The Rams continued the pressure on a 13-3 run to make it a seven point game at 48-41 with 11:39 left in the contest, but Thompson halted the run with a three pointer to push the lead back to 10 points. James led Wyoming with an 8-0 run to build the lead back to 17 points at 62-45 with under seven to play. James hit a pair of triples and added a jumper as he passed Josh Adams to move to fifth in career scoring. The Rams would keep battling thanks to J.D. Paige to put the Rams within eight points with 40 seconds left, but James closed the game with seven free throws in the final two minutes that elevated the Pokes to the win. Paige finished the game with 22 points to lead CSU. Carvacho added 15 points and 17 rebounds, as the nation leader in rebounds is now one rebound short of becoming the Rams all-time leader. The Cowboys return to action on Wednesday heading to Logan, Utah to take on the Aggies of Utah State at 7 p.m.
I was told today that Brandon Knights brother Efrin wants to become JJ’s agent, but no decision has been made yet.
Pokes Make Quick Road Trip to Utah State on Wednesday Contest Features Top Two Scorers in MW LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 11, 2019) – The Cowboys head to Utah State on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. for a showdown with the second place Aggies. The contest will feature the two top scorers in the Mountain West in Wyoming's Justin James and Utah State's Sam Merrill. Fans can watch, listen and follow love stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 25 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, as Dave Walsh and Kevin McKinney will call the action. A Look at the Matchup Wyoming heads into the contest with a 6-17 overall record and a 2-8 mark in the MW. The Pokes earned a wire-to-wire victory on Saturday against Colorado State downing the Rams 74-66. Wyoming shot a season-high 54 percent from behind the arc. Wyoming has hit 28 three-pointers over the last two games connecting on 46 percent of their attempts. Wyoming has also scored 70 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time in conference play. The Pokes have been effective from the field shooting 47 percent over the last four games. The Aggies are tied for second in the MW with Fresno State at 8-3 in conference play. The Aggies are an impressive 18-6 overall and have won seven of their last eight games. Utah State fell at San Diego State by a score of 68-63 on Saturday. Utah State is one of the nation's top rebounding teams. The Aggies average 40.2 per game to lead the MW and rank No. 18 in the nation. USU has a +9.2 rebound margin that ranks fifth in the nation. The Aggies share the basketball at a high rate averaging 17.3 helpers per game to lead the MW and rank No. 11 in the nation. Each Team's Leaders Wyoming is led in scoring, rebounding and assists by senior guard Justin James. He leads the MW in scoring at 20.7 points per game, which ranks No. 35 in the nation. He grabs 8.6 rebounds per game for fifth in the MW and adds 4.5 assists per game for fifth in the league. He averaged 29 points and added seven rebounds and eight assists per game last week, which included a career-high 36 against Colorado State. Junior Jake Hendricks, a native of nearby Smithfield, Utah adds 11.7 points per game. He has hit nine three pointers in his two games since returning to the Cowboy lineup. He is shooting 43 percent from behind the arc for the season. Redshirt freshman Hunter Thompson adds 10.9 points per game shooting 46 percent from the three-point line. The Aggies are led in scoring by Merrill at 20 points per game to rank second in the MW and No. 44 in the nation. He leads the MW in total field goals made with 155. He is shooting 48 percent from the field to rank seventh in the MW. Neemias Queta adds 10.9 points per game and 9.2 rebounds. He ranks fourth in the MW in rebounding. He leads the conference and ranks No. 11 in the nation averaging 2.6 blocks per game. About The Series The Cowboys lead the all-time series against the Aggies 51-28 and are 17-19 in Logan. The Aggies took the first meeting this season in Laramie on Jan. 12, 71-55. The Cowboys opened the contest holding one of the Mountain West's top shooting teams to 25 percent from the field, but a late first half surge lifted Utah State past Wyoming. Up Next Wyoming returns home for a Saturday evening contest at 8 p.m. against No. 6/7 Nevada in a contest airing on ESPNU.
Cowboys Battle Falls Short at Utah State, 76-59 James leads Pokes with 26 points FINAL STATS SEASON STATS BUY TICKETS Next Game: University of Nevada 2/16/2019 | 8 p.m. ESPNU LIVE STATS LISTEN LIVE FULL SCHEDULE ROSTER LOGAN, Utah (Feb. 13, 2019) – The Wyoming Cowboys went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the Mountain West on Wednesday evening, but a late run by Utah State hindered the Cowboys in a 76-59 loss inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. Wyoming shot a season-high 61 percent from the field in the first half, but were held to 27 percent in the second frame. "Our guys fought hard and were consistent until the late run," UW head coach Allen Edwards said. "We mixed up the defense well in the first half and they hit shots in the second half. I always commend the team on the positive energy. We executed a game plan, but made some mental errors. We didn't find a way to fight through late in the second half and played relax and off balance." Senior Justin James added 26 points for his 84th game in double-figures in his career and the 43rd game with 20 or more points in his career. He moved into the top-10 in career three pointers standing ninth with 144 in his career. "JJ has been JJ all year," Edwards said "He plays the game the right way. He took care of the basketball and made the right reads. He has truly been great this season." Redshirt freshman Hunter Thompson and freshman Trace Young added seven points. Junior Jake Hendricks added six points in his return to the Cache Valley. Wyoming shot 43 percent from the field for the night going 21-of-49. The Aggies shot 49 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. The Aggies also held a 35-24 advantage on the glass and scored eight second chance points. Both teams came out firing in the opening minutes combing for five of six from the field. The Pokes held the advantage 8-6 thanks to a jumper and triple from James and an additional trey ball from Thompson. But the Aggie's Abel Porter added his second and third three of the game to give USU a 12-8 advantage with 16:23 left in the opening half. The Pokes would tie the game at 12-12 with four free throws, but the Aggies went on an 11-0 run to build a 23-12 advantage with 11:39 left in the opening half. Sam Merrill fueled the run for the Aggies with a pair of three pointers. The Pokes would cut the deficit to seven points on a pair of occasions thanks to James and Young, but the Aggies seventh three of the game built the lead back to 10 points at 32-22 with 6:38 left in the frame. Young would cut the deficit to five with a deep three pointer with 4:19 left in the opening stanza followed by a layup from senior Jordan Naughton for a 34-31 contest. Freshman Brandon Porter tied the game with a triple with 2:39, as it was an 8-0 run for the Pokes over two minutes. Both teams would use free throws late in the first half for a 37-37 contest at the break. Wyoming shot 61 percent in the first frame from the field for the highest in the opening frame this season and best since shooting 62 percent at Air Force on Feb. 4, 2017. Hendricks hit his first triple of the game in front of his family and friends to give the Pokes a 40-39 lead almost two minutes into the second half. A bucket and a pair of free throws by Merrill gave the Aggies the upper hand at 43-40 a minute later. The Aggies would battle to take a 51-47 lead thanks to a 7-0 run over 2:45. Wyoming would struggle from the field going on a stretch of 1-of-7. The Aggies would push the lead to six points at 60-54 with five-straight made baskets with just over six minutes left. James would score five-straight points including a three pointer to move him to ninth in career pointers with 143, as he tied Alexander Aka Gorski and Fennis Dembo. It would be a two point lead, the largest of the game to that point for Wyoming. Hendricks would cut the deficit to 60-57 with a triple with 4:36 left, but a 16-2 run over the final 4:18 to take the win. The Aggies were led in scoring by Sam Merrill with 19 points. He went 4-of-6 from the arc. Neemias added 14 points and 10 rebounds. All of his points came in the second half. The Cowboys return to action on Saturday evening in the Arena-Auditorium at 8 p.m. hosting No. 7/6 Nevada on ESPNU.
Great implications for Houston Cougar fans including myself if Wyoming somehow upsets Nevada Saturday Go JJ!
