Wyoming anchored by their defensive prowess, used their size advantage and rode multiple big runs to a 68-42 victory over Denver in Laramie.
“I was very surprised what we did tonight,” head coach Larry Shyatt said. “After we got off to a poor start we played as good as basketball we have played since we have been back.”
The Pioneers started four guards and were missing their starting center so the Cowboys exploited Denver’s lack of size and out-scored them 32-18 in the paint.
“Once we created a Nance presence inside the game sort of flowed,” Shyatt said.
Wyoming dug themselves an early hole by taking bad shots and not playing great defense, which are two things that Wyoming very rarely does. So after Denver jumped out to a 9-2 lead Shyatt called a timeout and subbed a few guys in and that really seemed to spark the Cowboys.
“(Coach) called us in and yelled at us,” junior guard Josh Adams said. “He did his job and we came out and responded.”
Wyoming responded and a little later used a 12-0 run that put itself ahead 23-16. To open the second half Wyoming went on an 11-3 run that opened up the game.
“When we crank up our defense that’s what happens,” Nance said.
“We just settled down into our grove,” Adams added.
The Pokes held Denver to just 38.5 percent from the field (15-for-39), which is well below the Pioneers average of 45.2 percent. They also only had one player to score in double-figures and that was senior guard Cam Griffin with 13.
Leading the way for the Wyoming was Nance who had 17 points and five boards. Adams recorded 11 points and six assists. Senior guard Riley Grabau had six points and six rebounds and redshirt senior guard Charles Hankerson Jr. chipped in 10 points, five assists and zero turnovers.
“(Hankerson) had a great second half,” Shyatt said. “He really distributed the ball well.”
The Cowboys benched outscored the Pioneers 22-7 backed by nine points from redshirt freshman forward Alan Herndon and seven from freshman guard Alex Aka Gorski.
“(Herndon) was really active on the glass,” Shyatt said. “He was also the recipient of a couple nice pitches from Nance and Hankerson.”
Wyoming improved to 7-0 with the win and will play its first road game of the season at 5 p.m. versus SMU in Dallas, Texas.
“We have already been on the road on our bus trip to Utah,” Nance said. “This is a veteran group. We know what it’s like. It’s nothing new.”
SMU, coached by Larry Brown, was picked by many to win the American Conference and to a formidable opponent come NCAA Tournament time.
“We will get a taste of the road on Friday,” Shyatt said. “I expect (SMU) to have older and very talented players.”
