Ebube Bolsters Wyoming’s Frontcourt Ahead of Conference Tourney
LARAMIE -- Haul in the pass; go score.
That's what Scottie Ebube will be tasked with Wednesday in Las Vegas when the Cowboys take on San Jose State in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.
It worked well in the first meeting.
In just 17 minutes of action, the 6-foot-10 junior connected on 11 of his 14 attempts from the field, netting a career-high 22 points. Despite the eventual nine-point loss inside an all-but vacant Provident Credit Union Event Center, Ebube, Wyoming's "zone breaker," appeared to have turned a corner.
He also added six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end of the floor. Zero turnovers on the night might be the most impressive stat.
That damage came against a formidable frontcourt that included Robert Vaihola and Sadaidriene Hall.
"He can make a big difference when he's right," Sundance Wicks said Friday during his weekly press conference inside the bowels of the Arena-Auditorium.
He was far from in the second matchup Feb. 22 in Laramie.
The Mundelein, Ill., product was sidelined for the fourth straight game, serving an indefinite suspension for violating Wicks' "cultural conduct" standards. His infraction was never made public, but the rules are set in stone: Be a good human, a great teammate and be on time.
Though he was technically reinstated just before that outing against the Spartans, he was still making his way back into his coach's good graces. Wicks stood his ground.
He was missed.
"It's what we needed last time," said senior forward Cole Henry, who also made sure to mention Vaihola should again be in street clothes this Wednesday, dealing with a knee injury. "I mean, Scottie's push in the last game probably would've got us over that hump."
Wyoming squandered an early 13-point lead and was outscored by 11 in the second frame of an 82-73 loss. The visitors finished with 40 points in the paint and attempted 32 free throws compared to just 17 by the Cowboys, prompting Wicks to say, "They were the men tonight. We were the boys."
The 275-pound Ebube could've helped in that department, Henry said.
He'll get his chance inside the Thomas and Mack Center.
"The only person that's going to be able to guard him is their other 7-foot center," Henry continued, referring to senior Chol Marial, who was actually shortchanged by two inches. "For me, playing against him, he's not as strong as me, so he's definitely not as strong as Scottie.
"So, yeah, he's going to help us out a ton."
Tipoff is slated for 12 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network. The winner will take on regular-season champion and No. 1 seed New Mexico the following afternoon at 1 p.m.
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