Maldonado exits Saturday's game after 'struggling to breathe'

LARAMIE -- Hunter Maldonado left Saturday night's 85-68 home loss to Boise State with 3:03 remaining and was taken to the trainer's room where he was "struggling to breathe," according to Jeff Linder.

Wyoming's third-year head coach was clearly sidetracked during his brief postgame press conference, which lasted less than five minutes.

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"I've got Hunter Maldonado in the training room right now struggling to breathe, which ultimately, that's what I'm focused on," Linder said. "And so, you know, it's a guy that probably should not have maybe ... I mean, A guy that was sick, feeling sick, and in this day and age, a lot of guys, when they feel a little sick, you know what -- they decide they're going to tap out. In the case of Maldonado, it just shows his character and it just shows his toughness and how much he cares about the program, knowing that he wants to try to find a way to right the wrong and try to get the ship in the other direction.

"And, you know, he's in a bad way right now."

Linder was asked if the senior guard would be hospitalized.

"Yeah, right now he might," he said. "I mean, he's in a bad spot."

Maldonado took a hard fall on the Broncos' end of the floor midway through the second half and stayed down for a brief period before being helped to his feet by teammates. Another fall late would lead trainers to pull him off the floor and up the tunnel inside the Arena-Auditorium.

Maldonado also missed the first four minutes of the second half with a nose bleed.

"I mean, it's just tough," Linder added. "It's tough for our guys to see a guy like that, who is struggling to breathe. It's tough for them to see. It's tough for our guys to go through it. So that's what my focus is on right now."

The 6-foot-7, 202-pound Colorado Springs native played 34 minutes Saturday night and finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He also led the Cowboys with four assists. Maldonado averages 13.5 points per night to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

UW officials said they will provide an update on Maldonado's condition. Stay tuned to 7220sports.com for more on this story.