UW Cowboys defeated the University of Nevada Wolfpack on Monday Feb. 27. The game marked the end of the home games for the Spring 2023 season and the last home game for two seniors.
Hunter Maldonado and Hunter Thompson were recognized before the start of the game during senior night honors. These two players also recorded a double-double for the night, along with Jeremiah Oden breaking a personal record.
Maldonado had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the game, which made his record a total of 625 points. That many points makes him the all-time assist leader in the Mountain West Conference history. Thompson got himself a career high of 13 rebounds.
The start of the game consisted heavily of offensive plays, as a total of 22 points were made in the first 10 minutes. The two teams continued to trade the ball after shot attempts. The score was 40-37 going into halftime, Cowboys leading after Thompson and Odin added two points from the paint and Brendan Wenzel sank a three pointer.
The pace picked up in the second half, and more defense was put into play. Oden and Xavier DuSell shined in the first few minutes of the second half as they racked up six points after the Wolfpack scored two. The score became 48-43 quickly.
The Cowboys and the Wolfpack were neck and neck for the remainder of the game. Nevada took away the lead from the Cowboys to make the score 48-53 and they remained in the lead for several minutes.
Cowboys pulled out of the slump and got themselves some points on the board, even a few slam dunks. After both teams gained some points from free throws, the score became 52-54.
Oden hopped on the scoreboard once more as he performed a slam dunk to make the score 57-56. Soon after, Nevada was able to pick up the lead again with back-to-back buckets with seven minutes left.
After some battling, Maldonado makes a bucket to tie up the game at 60-60 with five minutes remaining.
The last five minutes were exciting as the game intensified with buckets after buckets being made. Rounding out the game, Oden made a solo slam dunk, marking the win. The score ended 80-71. It was the last home game for Maldonaldo and Thompson and the effort from the team ended in individuals breaking records.
