Cowboys Take on Evansville in MW/MVC Challenge

After a week off, the Wyoming Cowboys are back on the basketball court Wednesday night facing the Evansville Purple Aces in Indiana.

This game is part of the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge. Tip-off is at 5 p.m., Mountain Time.

Wyoming (2-4) is looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season. They enter off a two-point victory last Wednesday over Richmond as part of the Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Evansville (2-3) is coming off a loss in their last game versus Ball State. The final was 82-72 last Saturday.

The two head coaches for the teams were former teammates at Kentucky on the Wildcats 1996 National Championship team.

Allen Edwards coaches the Cowboys, while Walter McCarty is in his first year with Evansville.

Edwards said he can already see McCarty’s put his stamp on the program.

“He has that open, and on-balance policy. Some of the guys that probably weren’t three-point shooters before he got there, are shooting it a little bit themselves. I thought he did a great job, in a sense of, finding some key people late (in recruiting) to help his roster out. It looks like they’re having fun.”

Wyoming’s led by senior Justin James, who tops the team in scoring, rebounds, and assists. He’s leading the MW at 23.3 points per game, is sixth in rebounding at 8.3 per contest, and ranks seventh in assists at four per game. James also leads the MW in free throws made and attempted. He’s No. 2 in the country in attempts and third in made free throws.

The Cowboys other double-figure scorers are Hunter Maldonado at 14.2 per game and Jake Hendricks at 13.7 per game.

Good news for UW is that redshirt freshman Hunter Thompson is returning to the rotation after being in concussion protocol since the Cowboys’ opener Nov. 6 against UC Santa Barbara. Edwards wasn’t sure how much he would play.

The Purple Aces are led by graduate transfer Shea Feehan at nearly 16 points per game. K.J. Riley adds 12.6 per game, while John Hall chips in 10.2 points and leads Evansville on the glass at 6.8 rebounds per game.

This will be the fourth meeting on the basketball court between the two programs. Wyoming is 2-1. The most recent meeting was in Laramie in 1989. The Pokes are 0-1 at Evansville.

You can listen to Wyoming Cowboys basketball on KCGY (FM 95.1). Coverage will start at 4:30 p.m.