Cowboys basketball suspends 3 backups for rest of season

LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team’s depth took a big hit just days before the start of the Mountain West tournament.

Cowboys coach Larry Shyatt announced late Friday that three backup players – 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Hayden Dalton, 6-7 freshman guard Justin James and 6-4 junior guard Morris Marshall – have been suspended for the remainder of the season for failing to meet the expectations off the court, according to a release issued by the school.

Also suspended were freshmen Austin Conway and Andrew Moemeka, who are redshirting this season.

James and Dalton had become key contributors to off the bench.

James had played in all 30 games for Wyoming – including three starts – and averaged 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 16.4 minutes.

Dalton played in 28 games and averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while playing 14.7 minutes per game. Marshall had played sparingly in eight games this season.

The Cowboys (13-17) have finished the regular season and await their seeding and opponent for the MW tournament next week in Las Vegas.

The release said there would be no further comment from UW athletics regarding the players’ suspensions.