Pokes Drop USVI Paradise Jam Finale to Boston College, 59-48
* University of Wyoming press release
ST. THOMAS, USVI – The Wyoming Cowboys dropped the finale of the U.S. Virgins Islands Paradise Jam on Monday against Boston College by a score of 59-48 in the UVI Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Guard Hunter Maldonado appeared in his school record 134th game, but only played 11 minutes after suffering an injury.
“When you don't have the top-two players on the floor it is going to be tough offensively. It's no excuse, but find a team that wouldn’t have problems against an ACC opponent,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “I thought the energy was there, but you have to make shots. We left it on the floor and played a team that had a sense of desperation. We have to keep growing.”
Wyoming was led by Ethan Anderson with 11 points on the night along with five rebounds. Noah Reynolds added eight points going 3-of-4 from the field. Forward Jeremiah Oden chipped in with nine points and five rebounds. Kenny Foster added seven points off the bench for the Pokes.
The Cowboys were held to 40 percent from the field and 26 percent from behind the arc. Boston College shot 45 percent from the field and held a 29-27 advantage on the glass. Boston College recorded 15 points off 13 turnovers by the Cowboys.
Wyoming struggled from the field early on, going 1-of-6 to start the game, and trailed the Eagles 4-2 in the first six minutes. The Wyoming defense was solid throughout, holding Boston College to 2-of-6 from the field to open the contest.
The Pokes would hit back-to-back threes coming from Xavier DuSell and Oden to take a 10-9 lead halfway through the half. Boston College would use a jumper from Makai Ashton-Longford to take a 11-10 lead with 8:50 remaining in the frame. Wyoming would go scoreless for nearly four minutes until a triple from Anderson made it a 15-13 game for BC with 6:03 left in the opening stanza.
Boston College went on a 7-0 run to take a 24-15 lead with the run being halted by a three from Hunter Thompson for a 24-18 game with 2:11 left in the half. Jake Kyman hit a late three to make it a 26-21 game for the Eagles at halftime.
Anderson opened the second half with six-straight points to give the Cowboys a 27-26 lead in the opening two minutes. The Eagles would battle back and take a 35-29 lead with a 6-0 run with 15:35 left in the contest.
Wyoming would take a 35-34 lead on a Thompson jumper with 13:28 remaining. But BC would answer with a pair of buckets for 38-35 lead a minute later. Boston College used a pair of technical free throws and a basket to take a 44-37 lead with under eight minutes left. The lead got pushed as nine points until a layup from Oden.
The Eagles would go on a 9-0 run to push their lead to 55-39 with under four minutes remaining. The Eagles would maintain the lead and take the contest even though the Cowboys full court pressure gave the Pokes a few buckets late.
The Eagles were led by Jaeden Zackery with 16 points going 8-of-8 from the line. Ashton-Longford added 12 along with Devin McGlockton.
The Pokes head to Salt Lake City to take on Santa Clara in a neutral site contest at Salt Lake Community College on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. in a contest on FloHoops.