LARAMIE, Wyo. – It was a very promising beginning Friday night for the MSU Denver men's basketball team in an exhibition game at Wyoming.
 
The Roadrunners were in the game until the closing minutes in a 79-67 loss to the Cowboys.
 
"For us, it was a huge step forward compared to last year when we were in that situation against Colorado State," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "This is the same level team, the same type of team. Our kids battled, fought hard and competed, and they gave Wyoming everything they could handle.
 
"They just made one more run that we weren't able to stop, and we weren't able to make a run of our own. I'm proud of our guys. It was a great effort and we learned a ton from this game."
 
Guard Brayden Maldonado, the returning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, was outstanding with 24 points, including 5 of 11 shooting from 3-point range.
 
Newcomer Mario Lacy, Jr., limited to 19 minutes due to first-half foul trouble, finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, and another newcomer – point guard KJ Garrett – had seven points and seven assists.
 
Trailing 42-35 at halftime, MSU Denver pulled within 49-48 on a four-point play by Maldonado with 14:43 left, and stayed close while getting it down to two, 59-57, on Lacy's layup with 9:23 to go.
 
Wyoming scored the next five points, but another Lacy basket put MSU Denver within 64-59 with 7:48 left.
 
The Cowboys eventually built their first double-digit lead of the game at 71-60 with 4:56 to go.
 
MSU Denver led several times in the first half, the last time at 23-21 on a basket by Caleb McGill with 10:21 to play.
 
"We guarded them hard, held under 40 percent from the field," Ficke said. "But we fouled too much (Wyoming shot 41 free throws) and had some untimely turnovers late that turned into points."
 
Sam Griffin led Wyoming with 24 points, while Akuel Kot – yes, the same Akuel Kot who was an all-region player last year for Fort Lewis – had 22.
 
"We actually played much better against him tonight than we did last year at any point in time," Ficke said, laughing. "We made him work for it, and he hit tough shots and pull-ups, and he got to the free throw line too many times. He's a special, special player and I know they're excited about him."
 
MSU Denver takes on another high-caliber Division I opponent on Saturday at 7 p.m. when it plays at Colorado.
 
"The biggest thing for us right now is we're getting some good things and we're still just getting our feet wet, figuring out who we are, what exactly each guy's role is and how to play with each other," Ficke said. "We have a lot of depth, a lot of guys who can helps us night in and night out.
 
"Once we get everyone fully healthy, we can take what we learn from this weekend into practice for the next two weeks before we start playing our regular-season games. I'm excited about our group and the potential we have for this year."