The Pokes “whipped” the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.
Wyoming, led by junior guard Josh Adams’ 14 points and seven assists, made 22 buckets on 22 assists and held Colorado to nine second half points in their 56-33 victory in Laramie Saturday afternoon.
“First of all my hats goes off to Wyoming tonight,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “It wasn’t even close. It was an old fashion butt whipping, they whipped us in every conceivable way.”
“This is a great team and a great staff that we just beat,” senior forward Larry Nance Jr. added.
The Cowboys success stemmed from their defensive mentality. They were able to hold the Buffaloes to 28 percent, shooting (12-for-43), (2-for-20) in the second half, and 27 percent (4-for-15) from behind the arc. Even though undersized Wyoming was able to defense rebound, limit the amount of offense rebounds and even out-score the Buffaloes 24-10 in the paint.
“We did a good job of keeping them off the glass,” Nance said. “That was goal number one.”
“This defensive rebounding piece is so important,” head coach Larry Shyatt said. “We failed to do that last year. Defensive rebounding is a must.”
Wyoming did not make a basket that was not assisted on. The 22 assists marked the third consecutive game that the Cowboys have logged over 20.
“Every single person on this team probably gets more excited when they see someone else do good,” junior guard Josh Adams said. “No one really cares what we do as long as we get that W.”
Wyoming jumped on Colorado early and at one point held a 19-11 lead. But with 8:57 to play in the first half Wyoming hit a scoring lull. The Cowboys went 5:58 without a bucket and saw Colorado take a 22-19 lead. Redshirt sophomore guard Jason McManamen broke the drought with a 3-pointer that tied the game at 22.
Wyoming took a two-point lead (26-24) into halftime. Adams, who had sat for the better part of seven minutes to close the first half due to foul trouble, ignited an 8-0 run featuring two corner 3s in which he was the sole contributor to open up a double-digit lead on the Buffs.
“It just happens that way,” Adams said. “It was just my teammates finding me. I can’t take any credit. Everything has to go to the team having confidence in me.
Colorado would not threaten the Cowboys the rest of the night.
Wyoming for the third consecutive game shot over 50 percent from the field as they went 22-of-42 for 52 percent. The Cowboys went 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from deep and had their fewest turnovers (8) they have had all season.
Along with Adams, Nance stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, five boards, four assists, four blocks and three steals. Redshirt senior guard Charles Hankerson Jr. also had double-digit points with 10 to go along with four rebounds and four assist. Boulder native Riley Grabau chipped in six points, three assists and zero turnovers, Derek Cooke had six points and three boards.
Wyoming’s bench also contributed significantly. Freshman guard Jeremy Lieberman logged 18 minutes of floor time and recorded three assists and zero turnovers. Redshirt freshman forward Alan Herndon played 13 minutes and scored five points. Redshirt sophomore guard Jason McManamen played 11 minutes and scored three points.
Wyoming’s front court duo of Nance and Cooke limited Colorado’s leading scorer and rebounded senior forward Josh Scott to six points and seven rebounds. Coming in he was averaging a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.
“He is a great player,” Nance said. “Me and DC that was our challenge. We took (19 and 10) personal. This is our house and there is no way you are getting 19 and 10. That is something to be proud of.”
The Cowboys played in front of the largest crowd in the Arena-Auditorium this season as just over 9,000 fans were in attendance.
“These Wyoming fans come from all over the state,” Adams said. “Two to eight hours to see this team play. It means the world to us. They are a real driving force behind what we do.”
“We need them every night,” Shyatt added. “Pretty tough facility adds to your defense, adds to your passion, kudos to our people that showed up today.”
The 33 points given up by Wyoming was the fewest it has given up since the first ever game in the A-A in 1982 versus Air Force when the Falcons scored 29.
Wyoming had a quick turnaround as they took on Florida A&M at 7 p.m. on Monday night in the A-A.
“It’s an important game Monday because it is the next one,” Shyatt said.
“It’s a nameless opponent,” Adams added. “We gotta come out and play the same way we did tonight.”
