Wyoming blows out San Jose State with efficient offense

The three most efficient shots in basketball are 3-pointers, layups/dunks, and free throws and Wyoming capitalized on each of those shots as they easily put away San Jose State in the first round of the MWC Tournament as the Cowboys defeated the Spartans 111-80.

In total, Wyoming scored 99 of its 111 total points from 3-pointers (33), layups/dunks (46), and free throws (20). 111 points is the most points scored by Wyoming in the MWC Tournament and most points scored by a team in regulation in the MWC Tournament.

Wyoming shot 59.7% from the field (40 of 67) and 40.7% from 3-point range (11 of 27). The Cowboys held a plus 20 advantage in points in the paint, 52-32.

The Cowboys outscored the Spartans by 17 points in the second half, 52-35. Wyoming scored 50 in both halves.

Four Cowboys scored in double-digits, they were led by freshman forward Graham Ike who scored 21 of his 32 total points in the first half. Ike, who averaged only 9 points per game in the regular season, shot 86% from the floor, 12 of 14 and made eight of his 10 free throws. Ike’s 32 is the most points scored by a freshman in the MWC Tournament.

Xavier DuSell added 19 points with five 3-pointers. Hunter Maldonado, an honorable mention for the All-MW team, had 17 points and Marcus Williams, the MW Freshman of the Year and member of the third team All-MW, had 15 points.

It was fairly close in the first half, San Jose State took a brief lead midway through the first half, 27-26, but it was brief as Wyoming made a 3-pointer on the next possession and never looked back.

The Cowboys went on a 9-0 run late in the first half to go back up double-digits and they never looked back. Aside from a brief moment early in the second half when the Spartans cut it to nine points, the game was never that close the rest of the way.

San Jose State started off the game fairly well offensively, making seven of its first 11 3-pointers, but then cooled off in the second half making only two of its last nine. After making 55% of its shots in the first half, the Spartans only shot 30% in the second half. Richard Washington led the Spartans with 18 points.

Wyoming advances to play San Diego State tomorrow in the first quarterfinal game at 12:00 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.