Wyoming Loses Both on Cali Road Swing

The Wyoming Cowboys suffered their first two defeats of the season on their trip to California last week.

Wyoming (3-2) lost at Pacific last Tuesday, 73-65. The Cowboys fell at Cal, 71-61, last Friday.

The Tigers used a 7-0 spurt with in the final three minutes and pulled away for the victory. It was 61-60 Pacific, when the Tigers made a three-point play, a free throw and a three-pointer for a 68-60 lead. UW got no closer than six the rest of the way. The game featured 64 total fouls.

In a release from the university, head coach Allen Edwards said,

“I thought turnovers hurt us and some of those turnovers resulted in fouls. On the road there are always challenges and you have to adjust. I thought the fouls on the night made it difficult to get into a flow.”

Jason McManamen had a season-high 23 points, while Alan Herndon scored a career-high 17 points and had nine rebounds in defeat. Wyoming shot only 33 percent and had a season-high 19 turnovers.

Pacific shot 35 percent, and the Tigers were led by Jack Williams’ 17 points.

The Cowboys rally against the Golden Bears fell short last Friday. UW trailed by 22 points, 52-30, midway through the second half. Wyoming went on a 12-2 run and got within 56-46. They pulled to 65-60 on a Justin James' jumper with just over a minute left, but Cal knocked down free throws for the win.

Edwards said of the loss, “We played on our heels in the first half and you can’t do that against a tough and gritty team like Cal. We were more assertive and played better in transition in the second half. It showed growth, as we need to stick to the process.”

James scored a career-best 28 points for the Pokes. Herndon had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Hayden Dalton added 10 points. UW shot 37 percent from the field, but capitalized with 24 points off 20 Cal turnovers.

The Golden Bears shot 46 percent from the floor. They had four in double figures led by Charlie Moore with 18 points.

Wyoming returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 30 versus Denver at 7 p.m. It begins a six-game home-stand for the Pokes.