Pokes, Bulls close out Diamond Head Classic

* University of Wyoming Athletics media relations release

HONOLULU -- The Wyoming Cowboys will close out non-conference play on Saturday facing South Florida in the consolation championship of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at 11:30 a.m. MT on ESPNU.

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Fans can listen to the contest, as well as follow stats on GoWyo.com. The contest will be broadcast live on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network, as Reece Monaco will have the call with Kevin McKinney on color.

About The Teams

Wyoming is 10-2 on the season after defeating Northern Iowa on Thursday, holding on for a 71-69 win. The Pokes knocked down nine threes in the second frame on their way to the victory, as UW hit 13 for the game.

The trio of Hunter Maldonado, Graham Ike and Drake Jeffries led the Cowboys with help off the bench from Brendan Wenzel. Maldonado added 17 points to lead the team along with seven rebounds and six assists. Jeffries added 16 threes with four three pointers. Ike added 12 points going 5-of-5 from the field. Wenzel added nine points off the bench.

The Pokes struggled from the arc in the first half but finished the game shooting 40 percent after going 13-of-30 in the second half. The Pokes held Northern Iowa to 3-of-10 from behind the arc in the second half. The Pokes scored 19 points off turnovers in the victory.

South Florida is 5-6 overall this season after defeating Hawai’i 76-69 on Thursday evening. USF lost to BYU in the opener by a score of 54-39. South Florida knocked down six three pointers and shot 37.5% from downtown after only hitting six total threes over its last three games. South Florida logged nine total steals and forced 15 Hawai’i turnovers. The Bulls scored 22 points off those miscues.

About The Players

Wyoming is led in scoring this season by Ike at 19.4 points per game. He also leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game. Maldonado adds 16.9 points per game. He also adds 5.5 rebounds per game 5.5 assists per game to lead the team. Guard Xavier DuSell 11.5 points per game, as he has hit 33 threes this season. Jeffries adds 10.8 points per game and leads the team with 39 three-pointers.

The Bulls are led in scoring this season by Caleb Murphy at 12.6 points per game. He also adds 3.3 rebounds and leads his team with 40 assists on the season. Javon Greene adds 10.2 points per game and adds 4.5 rebounds to rank second on the team. Russel Tchewa leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.

About The Series

Wyoming and South Florida will meet for the second time on Christmas Day. USF took the first meeting at Marshall on December 6, 1991 by a score of 85-68.

Up Next

The Wyoming Cowboys open Mountain West Play on New Year’s Day hosting Boise State at 2 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium.

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