The Wyoming Cowboys dropped their first Mountain West conference road game this Saturday against a tough New Mexico Lobos team. The Cowboys’ offense struggled against the Lobos high-flying defense that forced 23 Cowboy turnovers in the contest.
“To have the game down to seven points in the second half when you turn the ball over the way we did and make it a game that is something to build off of, but we aren’t talented enough to spot the good teams in our league points and it is too hard to dig out of the hole,” head coach Jeff Linder said after the contest.
The Lobos would open the scoring early down low, answered quickly by Brendan Wenzel with a nice runner in the lane. Mason Walters would also knock down a three pointer as the Cowboys would open the game nicely with a 5-2 lead early. However, Walters was out of the game early with 3 fouls in the first 4 minutes. The Cowboys were also struggling with turnovers early, as the Lobos would go on a quick 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. Manyawu would end the run on the offensive glass with a nice putback, but that was answered quickly with a Lobo three. Manyawu was quick to answer again with a nice reverse lay-in down low. The turnovers would continue to pile up for the Cowboys though, as they quickly found themselves down 17-9 until Kobe Newton would cash in a huge three from the corner as it was a 5 point game halfway into the first half.
The Lobos would go on another 7-0 stint as they’d own their biggest lead of the night at 12 while forcing as many Cowboy turnovers. Oleg Kojenets and Sam Griffin would get on the board as the Cowboys found themselves down only 26-16 with 5 minutes left despite the turnovers. Manyawu would continue to impress on the offensive glass as he’d put back another Cowboy miss, but the Cowboys still couldn’t catch a break as they’d continue to put the Lobos at the line as the Lobos had 18 attempted free throws late in the half. The Lobos would end the half on a 11-4 as the Cowboys would have a 39-22 differential to make up in the second half.
Griffin would open the second half with his first made field goal from beyond the arc, but that was quickly answered by the Lobos with a runner in the lane. Akuel Kot would also score his first field goal of the game with a nice finish down low, as both of the Cowboys leading scorers would come out shooting well, but the Lobos would continue to answer. Caden Powell would also score his first bucket of the game as the Cowboys were swinging in the second half. Powell would score again off a nice feed by Walters and Walters would take it in for two himself the next possession as the Cowboys would cut the lead down to 8 within the first 4 minutes of the half. The Lobos would finally have the answer to extend it back to 10 before Kot would knock down his first three to make it 45-38 in favor of the Lobos. The Lobos would fight back though, as they’d push the lead back out to 13 at 53-40. Wenzel would knock down two free throws to stop the bleeding and Griffin would hit a nice runner to make it 53-44 halfway through the second half.
The Lobos would quickly push the lead back out to 13 again as the Cowboys would continue to try and come back with 8 minutes left in the game. Walters would have the answer with a nice and-one down low, but the Cowboys turnover bug would strike again as they couldn’t get a stop. However, Walters and Griffin would strike back again to keep it within 10. The Cowboys and the Lobos would continue to trade baskets back and forth until the Lobos would open up a 6-0 run late to run away with the game as the Lobos would take the game over the Cowboys by a score of 77-60.
The Cowboys shot 41.2 from the field in the contest but only 19% from beyond the arc with 4 made threes. The Cowboys held a slight advantage of the glass with 39 rebounds to the Lobos’ 34. The Cowboys gave up the ball 23 times in the contest, in which 18 of those came in the first half after only giving up 5 turnovers against San Jose State.
Griffin led the way offensively for the Cowboys with 18 on the night. Manyawu came off the bench and nearly had a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Walters rounded out the scorers in double figures with 10.
The Cowboys continue their road trip this Tuesday to take on the Utah State Aggies, the game set to tip off at 7 p.m.
