February 19, 2024 |
Photo – Waiting for a rebound – Courtesy gowyo.com
The Cowboys coaching staff made it clear before Saturday night’s matchup against San Jose State that Wyoming needed to win. The players got the message. They never trailed in the 80-75 win over the Spartans.
San Jose State tied the game at 70 with 2:48 left in the second half. Up to that point, Wyoming held the lead the entire game. 15-seconds after the Spartans tied the game deep in the second half, the Cowboys regained the lead and held on for the win.
One of the big moments of the night came at the 9:21 mark of the first half. Kenny Foster, the 6-5 senior guard from Aurora, Colorado, made his first appearance since injuring his Achilles heel in October. 30 seconds into his return to action, Foster grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a second chance layup.
Foster played 12 minutes Saturday night as Wyoming improved to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in conference play.
Recovering from an Achilles heel injury normally takes about a year of recovery. Foster’s appearance Saturday night was practically a miracle. He joked about it with Keith Kelly in the post-game interview.
Sam Griffin was the leading scorer on the night with 21 points. Griffin was on the court for nearly the entire game—38 and a half minutes. The senior from Miami, Florida shot 6 of 15 from the field, 3 of 10 from the arc and hit six of six from the line. Griffin scored the first bucket of the night to give Wyoming a lead they never relinquished.
The Spartans made a deep run into the Wyoming lead in the second half. San Jose State tied the game at 70-70 with 2:48 remaining. Mason Walters hit a jumper seconds later as Wyoming regained the lead and held on until the end.
For head coach Jeff Linder, it was a do or die game.
The Cowboys continue their road swing tomorrow night in a late game. Wyoming and Nevada will tip at 9 p.m. Tuesday night. We’ll have the radio broadcast here on Bigfoot 99.
