Wyoming...
- Thread starter IE
- Start date
rgagliardi@wyosports.net |
A learning experience.
It?s a common phrase for the University of Wyoming men?s basketball team this season.
Some learning experiences have come during wins, some during losses.
The latest came Wednesday night in a disappointing 75-69 home loss to Nevada at the Arena-Auditorium.
UW (10-10 overall, 3-4 Mountain West) had just gone on an 11-0 run to take a 49-39 lead with 14 minutes, 53 seconds to play. In a game that featured runs by both teams, it appeared the Cowboys had finally gained control of this one.
But they didn?t.
Nevada called a timeout, and out of it Wolf Pack freshman guard Lindsey Drew made a 3-pointer.
Then chaos ensued.
UW junior guard Jason McManamen and Nevada freshman forward Cameron Oliver battled for a rebound.
Emotions took over from there, and not in a good way.
Oliver was called for a technical foul for the physical confrontation with McManamen. At first glance, it appeared he punched McManamen.
But after officials looked at replay for about five minutes, there was no punch. McManamen said he wasn?t punched, just shoved.
Oliver was called for a technical foul, but so was UW sophomore guard Trey Washington III for pushing Oliver as he came in to defend McManamen. Senior guard Josh Adams, the team?s lone senior and team captain, was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct technical for waiving ?goodbye? to Oliver for his pending ejection from the game.
Oliver was not ejected then, but was a couple of minutes later for doing the same thing after a UW foul.
After the chaos, Nevada made four free throws off UW?s two technical fouls. UW made one. The Cowboys led 50-46.
Nevada got the ball and hit a 3-pointer. With 12:11 to play, the Wolf Pack completed a 15-2 run and led 54-51.
?I thought that was a very insignificant, small part of the game,? UW coach Larry Shyatt said of the crazy sequence of events. ?(Nevada) had chances with the ball in the end, and we had chances.
?The referees, the crowd, the temperature in the gym had nothing to do with it. It was players making plays down the home stretch.?
That?s true.
UW regained the lead three different times after that. With 3:40 to play, the Cowboys led 63-60.
Nevada made more plays than UW in the final minutes. The Cowboys didn?t help themselves throughout the game as they shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field and missed eight free throws.
Nevada helped itself by going 7 of 14 from 3-point range. The Wolf Pack entered the game as a 28.6 percent shooting team from behind the arc in conference play.
But the lesson here for UW is about composure.
In the hottest moment of a hotly contested game, the Cowboys lost their cool. It was admirable for Washington to come to the defense of McManamen, but not if it costs the team a technical foul and leads to points for the other team.
In Adams? case, the team leader can?t do the things he did in that situation. Instead of waving goodbye to Oliver, he should have gathered his teammates together and let the officials take care of the situation.
We?ve seen numerous times over the last four years that Adams is an emotional player. That is a big reason why he?s one of the best players in the conference.
But that emotion backfired Wednesday.
Yes, momentum swung in favor of Nevada after the barrage of technicals. But there was going to be more runs and momentum shifts. The entire game was like that, with 13 ties and 13 lead changes.
Unfortunately for UW, Nevada had the final and decisive run when it counted most.
?We didn?t step up when it counted,? Adams said. ?We didn?t do a good enough job down the stretch against any of their guys. That?s why they won.?
This game was like most for the Cowboys this season ? close, with chances for either team to win in the final minutes. And chances are, most of UW?s remaining games will be the same. Twelve of UW?s 20 games this season have been decided by single digits.
The Cowboys need to make more plays than their opponents in those situations, whether it?s making shots, pulling down rebounds or getting defensive stops.
They also must keep their emotions in check, especially when emotions are running high.
UW learned that lesson the hard way Wednesday night.
A learning experience.
It?s a common phrase for the University of Wyoming men?s basketball team this season.
Some learning experiences have come during wins, some during losses.
The latest came Wednesday night in a disappointing 75-69 home loss to Nevada at the Arena-Auditorium.
UW (10-10 overall, 3-4 Mountain West) had just gone on an 11-0 run to take a 49-39 lead with 14 minutes, 53 seconds to play. In a game that featured runs by both teams, it appeared the Cowboys had finally gained control of this one.
But they didn?t.
Nevada called a timeout, and out of it Wolf Pack freshman guard Lindsey Drew made a 3-pointer.
Then chaos ensued.
UW junior guard Jason McManamen and Nevada freshman forward Cameron Oliver battled for a rebound.
Emotions took over from there, and not in a good way.
Oliver was called for a technical foul for the physical confrontation with McManamen. At first glance, it appeared he punched McManamen.
But after officials looked at replay for about five minutes, there was no punch. McManamen said he wasn?t punched, just shoved.
Oliver was called for a technical foul, but so was UW sophomore guard Trey Washington III for pushing Oliver as he came in to defend McManamen. Senior guard Josh Adams, the team?s lone senior and team captain, was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct technical for waiving ?goodbye? to Oliver for his pending ejection from the game.
Oliver was not ejected then, but was a couple of minutes later for doing the same thing after a UW foul.
After the chaos, Nevada made four free throws off UW?s two technical fouls. UW made one. The Cowboys led 50-46.
Nevada got the ball and hit a 3-pointer. With 12:11 to play, the Wolf Pack completed a 15-2 run and led 54-51.
?I thought that was a very insignificant, small part of the game,? UW coach Larry Shyatt said of the crazy sequence of events. ?(Nevada) had chances with the ball in the end, and we had chances.
?The referees, the crowd, the temperature in the gym had nothing to do with it. It was players making plays down the home stretch.?
That?s true.
UW regained the lead three different times after that. With 3:40 to play, the Cowboys led 63-60.
Nevada made more plays than UW in the final minutes. The Cowboys didn?t help themselves throughout the game as they shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field and missed eight free throws.
Nevada helped itself by going 7 of 14 from 3-point range. The Wolf Pack entered the game as a 28.6 percent shooting team from behind the arc in conference play.
But the lesson here for UW is about composure.
In the hottest moment of a hotly contested game, the Cowboys lost their cool. It was admirable for Washington to come to the defense of McManamen, but not if it costs the team a technical foul and leads to points for the other team.
In Adams? case, the team leader can?t do the things he did in that situation. Instead of waving goodbye to Oliver, he should have gathered his teammates together and let the officials take care of the situation.
We?ve seen numerous times over the last four years that Adams is an emotional player. That is a big reason why he?s one of the best players in the conference.
But that emotion backfired Wednesday.
Yes, momentum swung in favor of Nevada after the barrage of technicals. But there was going to be more runs and momentum shifts. The entire game was like that, with 13 ties and 13 lead changes.
Unfortunately for UW, Nevada had the final and decisive run when it counted most.
?We didn?t step up when it counted,? Adams said. ?We didn?t do a good enough job down the stretch against any of their guys. That?s why they won.?
This game was like most for the Cowboys this season ? close, with chances for either team to win in the final minutes. And chances are, most of UW?s remaining games will be the same. Twelve of UW?s 20 games this season have been decided by single digits.
The Cowboys need to make more plays than their opponents in those situations, whether it?s making shots, pulling down rebounds or getting defensive stops.
They also must keep their emotions in check, especially when emotions are running high.
UW learned that lesson the hard way Wednesday night.
IE, you are the man with updates! Shocked you don't win 70% with your knowledge on everything happening, but it's a grind always. Good Luck always with your wagers!:00hour:0008
