UW is 5-0 in extra time this season for a school record
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Jan. 27 2018) – Junior guard Justin James tied his career-high with 33 points to lead the Pokes (14-7 overall, 5-3 MW) to a 90-86 overtime win in the Events Center in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday afternoon. It marked the fifth overtime win for Wyoming this season, a school record. It was also the second-straight overtime game for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
“It speaks volumes about our conference and how tough it is playing on the road no matter how much you’re up or down,” UW head coach Allen Edwards said. “Our guys have shown good character by being able to withstand punches from our opponents and finding a way to win. Again, I give their coach great credit for what he’s done with this program. They’re tough at home and he’s doing a great job. I’m just glad we had the opportunity to get one on the road.”
James scored 33 points tying his career-high he poured in on Wednesday against Nevada. It is the first 30 point performance by a Poke in back-to-back games since Josh Adams in 2015-16. He was 12-of-20 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line. The Pokes bench added 37 points with senior guard Louis Adams adding 13 points and fellow senior guard Alexander Aka Gorski pouring in 11 points.
“You always try to find a bright spot when you get a win on the road,” Edwards said. “We found a way to win despite some players having maybe their worst games of the season. It was good to see [Alex] Aka Gorski make some shots, and obviously Louis Adams did a great job as well.”
The Pokes shot 44 percent from the field with the Spartans shooting 48 percent. The Pokes forced 21 turnovers tying for the second most this season. The Pokes were 21-of-27 from the charity stripe for 78 percent.
James opened the contest scoring the first five points for the Pokes and assisted on another bucket to give UW a 7-4 lead in the opening minutes. But one of the MW’s top scores in Ryan Welage scored five straight points for SJSU for a 9-7 lead.
The Pokes and Spartans would battle until a 12-0 run by the Cowboys saw UW build a 29-16 lead. Four different Pokes scored during the run with all of the players coming off the bench. The run lasted over three and a half minutes.
Wyoming would build the lead to 16 points at 36-20 with 5:15 left in the half. James got to double-figures during the run, as it was a part of a defensive stand that saw UW hold the Spartans to 1-of-10 from the field.
The Cowboys went into the half with a 47-33 lead. The UW bench poured in 29 points in the opening frame, as UW shot 49 percent from the field in the first half in back-to-back games.
The Pokes offense started slow in the opening four minutes of the second half going 2-of-8 from the field. But the Cowboys forced three turnovers to open the half to still enjoy a 51-39 advantage. SJSU used a 9-2 run on the Pokes to pull within seven points at 53-46 with under 14 minutes left in the contest.
Both teams were already in the double bonus nine minutes in to second half. Welage cut the lead to five points on an and-one play to make it 62-57, but freshman guard Hunter Maldonado hit a triple to push the lead back to eight at 65-57 with under 10 minutes remaining.
Sophomore Andrew Moemeka and Maldonado helped the Pokes build the lead back to as much as eight points again with six minutes left, but Welage and the Spartans pulled within one point on a 7-0 run to make it a 73-72 game with 3:17 left in the game.
A dunk from senior forward Alan Herndon gave UW a 75-72 lead, but Welage tied the game at 75-75 with a triple with 1:44 remaining. Neither team could find the bucket until Justin James threw down a dunk with five seconds remaining, but Jalen James, who Justin James recorded the steal on went the length of the court to tie the game at 77-77 with under a second left and send the game to overtime.
Both teams exchanged punches in overtime with James giving UW the upper hand to make it an 82-80 game only to be responded with a tough layup by Ashtin Chastain halfway through the extra period. James added a layup with 2:04 left for an 86-84 game. James then added a smooth jumper for a 88-84 contest late and UW finished the game off for the 90-86 win.
Wyoming continues their road swing next Wednesday heading to Colorado State for the second edition of the ‘Border War’. That contest is set for a 7 p.m. start on AT&T SportsNet.