The Cal Poly Mustangs took the trip to Laramie this Saturday and were met by Cam Manyawu and the Cowboy’s dynamic backcourt as the Cowboys dominated the Mustangs through both halves.
Brendan Wenzel would open up for the Cowboys with a nice drive for two to start the game and Manyawu would score his first bucket courtesy of a nice pass from Caden Powell. Sam Griffin would go on a 5-0 burst of his own, Akuel Kot would score his first bucket and Manyawu would score a tough transition bucket to give the Cowboys a 13-3 start to the game. The Mustangs would battle back, though, and make it a four point game before Oleg Kojenets would show off some nice footwork to score his first lay in to help the Cowboys maintain their lead.
Kobe Newton would lace the first three of the night for the Cowboys midway through the first and a tough take to the basket by Jacob Theodosiou would earn him his first points off a free throw. Wenzel would cash in his first three and Manyawu would rise up for a monster slam to give the Cowboys all the momentum, pushing the lead to 33-15 as Newton would be all bottoms on his second three point attempt. The Mustangs wouldn’t go away, though, as they’d go on a 7-0 run in response, stopped by a Griffin lay-in. The Mustangs would continue to battle back towards the end of the half, as it would be 41-31 heading into the locker room.
Manyawu would pick up where he left off in the first half, scoring the first bucket for the Cowboys in the second half and Powell would dunk for his first bucket of the game as the Cowboys would perfectly break the Mustang full-court press. Kot would knock down his first triple and Manyawu would score again as the Cowboys would open a 16 point lead to start the second half. Griffin would knock down his first three and Manyawu and Kot would hit free throws to extend the Cowboy lead to 20 midway through the second half.
Newton would be pure on his third triple of the night, as he’d remain perfect in that category, to further the Cowboy lead. The Mustangs would attempt to chip away at the Cowboys lead, bringing it to a 14 point game late in the second half but Manyawu would score an and-one to answer, Wenzel would knock down a three and the Cowboys would hit their free throws late to put the Mustangs away and win the game 80-66.
Manyawu led the way for the Cowboys, scoring his second double-double in his second collegiate game. He scored 19 points on a perfect 7/7 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds to earn his double double. The Cowboys one-two backcourt punch of Kot and Griffin also both scored in double figures, with 16 and 14 respectively. Both Newton and Kojenets would score 9 off the bench, and Kojenets would record a team-high 5 blocks.
The Cowboys shot well from the field, netting 52.1% of their shots and 38.9% from beyond the arc. The Cowboys left 12 shots up for grabs at the charity stripe and only shot 65.7% from there as well, a stat line that they would certainly want to improve upon in future contests. The Cowboys also held an advantage on the glass, out rebounding the Mustangs by 9. The Cowboys also had an even 15 to 15 assists to turnover ratio in the game as well.
The Cowboys hit the road next week to compete in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in South Carolina, where they will take on the Saint Louis Billikens on Thursday, with the game set to tip off at 12 p.m.
