Despite scoring 12 points, guard Riley Grabau was not able to lead the Pokes to victory against New Mexico
The Wyoming Cowboys (14-8, 5-4 MW) fell to the New Mexico Lobos (18-4, 9-1 MW) on Wednesday night for the second time this season. The loss came after the Cowboys led the Lobos into an overtime that resulted in a 66-61 defeat.
Wyoming went into The Pit missing two key members; head coach Larry Shyatt and sophomore guard Josh Adams. Despite the void left by their absences, the Cowboys forced the Lobos into overtime after two halves during which the lead changed 23 times, never by more than four points.
The Cowboys performed well offensively and defensively, even without Adam’s speed, strength and average 12.1-point contribution. In his first career-start, Redshirt junior guard Charles Hankerson Jr. replaced Adams, adding 10-points to the Cowboy’s score and a career-high six assists.
Wyoming held the second-ranked Lobos scoring to under 60, ending regulation in a 57-57 tie after a failed jumper by junior forward Larry Nance Jr. Nance, who ended the night with 10 points, four blocks, two steals and three assists, led the Cowboys to a 59-59 tie late in overtime, after two free throws.
Junior guard Riley Grabau led the team’s scoring with 12 points on four three-pointers. Grabau went four-for-six from behind the arc, making Wednesday’s game his 13th double-figure game. Wyoming shot 36.8 percent from outside the paint, making seven of nine attempted three pointers.
Wednesday night’s back-and-forth game saw contributions from all over the roster. Eight Cowboys scored, including three players from off the bench. Freshman guard Trey Washington III, freshman guard Jerron Granberry and junior forward Matt Sellers all added to Wyoming’s final score.
Senior guard Nathan Sobey was the fourth Cowboy to score in the double-digits. Sobey joined the ranks of Nance and Hankerson with ten points.
The Mountain West’s 2013 player of the year did not prove difficult to contain. Kendall Williams only went 2-of-3 from the field and had four turnovers. William’s 13 points came from the line, where he went 9-of-12.
Senior forward Cameron Bairstow lead the Lobos scoring with 23 points and 11 rebounds, followed by 7-foot junior center Alex Kirk who added 15 points and 10 boards.
The Cowboys went 24-of-25 from the field for 44.4 percent, while the Lobos only hit 42 percent of their shots, making 23-of-54 from the field.
Rebounds were a leading factor in the five-point loss, New Mexico outrebounded Wyoming 43-to-22. Wyoming’s free throw performance also contributed to the defeat, the Cowboy’s shot for 66.7 percent from the line, compared to Lobos 73.1 percent.
Wyoming will next head to UNLV to take on the Runnin’ Rebels. Tipoff is set for 8pm at the Thomas & Mack Center.
