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Wyoming Outlasts Colorado State 84-78

The Cowboys win round one of the Border War

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Maldonado led all scorers with 35 points

The Wyoming Cowboys held off the Colorado State Rams to win the first round of the Border War 84-78. In a game that was decided more by the whistle of the refs than the play on the court, Wyoming held strong to extend their lead on second place in the Mountain West.

CSU had the lead at half, but Wyoming was able to keep it close and force OT where they pulled away. The whistle played a huge part in this game, both ways. 39 fouls were called in this game with both Graham Ike and David Roddy fouling out and three other players finishing with four fouls.

Calls were missed and questionable calls were made. An offensive foul on CSU that was a flop by Maldonado, a missed goaltending call on Wyoming, CSU being allowed to play more physical inside, and a last second call in favor of David Roddy had fans wondering where the MW finds their refs. The free throw disparity was also eye-opening. Wyoming made almost twice as many free throws as Colorado State attempted with the Cowboys going 19-24 from the line and the Rams going 8-11 from the line.

https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1488350852620472321

Hunter Maldonado led the Cowboys and all scorers with 35 points. He also added seven assists. Maldonado was joined in double figures by Drake Jeffries (16 points and five rebounds), Ike (16 points and eight rebounds), and Jeremiah Oden (12 points and seven rebounds). As a team the Cowboys shot 53% from the field, 43% from three, and 79% at the charity stripe.

Colorado State had multiple chances to put this game away but made some questionable decisions. The Rams had the ball with with 40 seconds left in regulation, but didn’t pay attention to the shot clock and turned the ball over. And they got bailed out by a makeup call that allowed Roddy to force OT.

https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1488334233143758853

Roddy led the way for the Rams with 23 points. He also chipped in five rebounds. Roddy was joined in double figures by Isaiah Stevens (17 points and five assists) and John Tonje (15 points and five rebounds). The Rams were decent from the floor, hitting 48% of their shots, but struggled from deeping shooting only 30%.

Both teams go into must win matchups in their next games. Wyoming stays home to host Boise State on Thursday 2/3 and Colorado State heads home to host San Diego State on Friday 2/4.

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