Wyoming used a 22-5 run in the second half Thursday to pull away from DePaul for a 72-58 win at the Las Vegas Classic.
DePaul (7-5) led for most of the first half before Wyoming tied it up 29-29 at the break. The Blue Demons scored the first six points of the second half and still led 38-36 with 14 minutes remaining.
Hayden Dalton’s layup with 13:42 remaining started Wyoming’s big run. Junior guard Alexander Aka Gorski caught fire during the spurt, scoring 10 points in a five-minute span. He finished with 12 points off the bench.
Wyoming (10-2) opened up a 58-43 lead by the six-minute mark.
While DePaul is known for star guards Billy Garrett Jr. and Eli Cain, the duo was held without a made field goal over the final 9:15 and only two the entire second half. Garrett did not even attempt a shot in the final seven minutes.
“One of the things we went into the game with was to focus on their scorers,” Wyoming coach Allen Edwards said after the game. “Our guys were excited about the job they did on their top two players. We did what we needed for the team to win the basketball game.”
Junior forward Tre’Darius McCallum led DePaul with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Despite going 4-of-11 from the field, Garrett finished with 17 points thanks to 8-of-10 free throw shooting.
Cain shot 2-of-18 from the field and tallied 5 points.
Wyoming was led by Dalton, who had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
DePaul will face Missouri State on Friday in the Las Vegas Classic consolation game. The Demons faced the Bears in November at Allstate Arena and came back from 13 points down to win on a Garrett buzzer-beater.
