TJ Taylor Leads Balanced Attack in Cowboys Win Over the Titans

A 13-0 run at the start of the second half propelled the Wyoming Cowboys to a 76-49 victory over Detroit Mercy Tuesday night in Laramie.

Wyoming (2-3) snapped a 3-game losing skid with this win. They scored a season-high in points, shot a season-best 47 percent from the floor, and had four players in double figures. The Cowboys outscored the Titans 43-18 in the second half. Detroit Mercy struggled and shot only 20 percent in the last 20 minutes of play.

TJ Taylor led the way with a career-high 22 points on his birthday. AJ Banks scored 15 points, while Hunter Maldonado had 13 points, a career-best seven assists, and five rebounds, and Jake Hendricks added his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It was 33-31 at halftime. The Cowboys got a basket from Taylor and three’s from Banks and Maldonado that led to a Titans timeout. Hendricks knocked down a triple and Taylor capped the run with a blocked shot on defense, followed by a dunk at the other end. That made the score 46-31. Detroit Mercy never got closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

UW also out-rebounded the Titans 43-37 and had a season-high 16 assists on 26 field goals. They shot 15-16 (94%) from the free-throw line.

Detroit Mercy (0-3) shot only 28 percent from the field. They were by Brad Calipari with 13 points off the bench. The nation’s third-leading scorer, Antoine Davis, who was averaging 27 points per game, was held to only 11 points.

The Titans started the game with an 8-0 run. Wyoming answered with a 10-0 surge for their first lead. The game went back-and-forth the rest of the first half with nine total lead changes and the score was tied five times. After three free throws for UW, Maldonado made a lay-up with 24 seconds left in the half for a two-point cushion at the break.

The Cowboys are right back in action Thursday, as they host the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.