The Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball team fell to the Northern Iowa Panthers 71-54 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“Well, the last one’s always hard unless the streamers come down. First thing out of my mouth is definitely going to be compliments to Northern Iowa. They’re terrific,” head coach Larry Shyatt said.
The first half of the game was back and forth with each team exchanging blows. Northern Iowa went on a 10-0 run early on with senior forward Larry Nance Jr. and junior guard Josh Adams out of the game. The Panthers took an 18-9 lead before Wyoming took a timeout. Nance and Adams came back into the game 13:06 left in the first. Wyoming went on a four point run and was able to cut the lead to six. In the final 10 minutes of the first half, Wyoming was able to hold UNI to 4/16 shooting from the field. Wyoming could not get the lead closer than 10 points though. The half ended with senior guard Charles Hankerson Jr. hitting a buzzer beating three ball. The Panthers led 35-24 at the half.
Hankerson led Wyoming in scoring with 12 points. He had four three-pointers in the half. Larry Nance Jr had one shot attempt in the first half. No other Cowboy was in double digits during the half.
UNI forced seven turnovers, while UW earned three. The Panthers converted those turnovers into six points, while Wyoming got none. The panthers got some heavy lifting from their bench as they contributed 15 points.
The second half began with the Panthers going on an 11-1 run. UNI had a 46-25 lead over the Cowboys. Wyoming called a timeout 4:40 into the second half. After the timeout Wyoming went on a 14-0 run that was able to cut the Panther lead to 10 points. Larry had 13 points in the run. Wyoming could not get much closer than that and fell in the end. Wyoming subbed out their starters so they could get a standing ovation from the Cowboy faithful. The Pokes fell 71-54 to the Panthers.
The Panthers converted 12 Wyoming turnovers into 16 points. The Panthers bench outscored the Cowboys bench 41-2.
“I’m just so thankful to get this opportunity. I’ve never in my life been around a group like this, a group who genuinely loves each other,” Hankerson said.
Hankerson had a career high in three-point shots made in a game with five. He ended the game with 15 points. Nance ended the game with 16 points and seven rebounds. Adams had four points and contributed six assists to the Wyoming cause.
This was the final game for five Wyoming seniors.
“I’ve had the best four years,” Larry Nance Jr. said.
He had a towel draped over his head to hide the tears that he had running down his face.
“Well they went out as champions. That’s how this season went. These guys went out as champions. They played the ninth ranked team in the nation, and we’re very proud of that,” coach Shyatt said.
They went out as champions indeed. The Cowboys won the Mountain West this year. It is the first time that any team at Wyoming has won a Mountain West title. They also made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years. They ended the season with a 25-10 record.
