The Wyoming Cowboys were looking for their first win on the road in the regular season against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in over two decades. That last win came in 2003 and, unfortunately, the Pokes will have to wait another year to try and end that dreadful streak.
Speaking of dreadful, there isn’t any other way to describe the Cowboys’ offensive performance in the road loss. A quick look at some of the numbers from the contest says just about everything.
The Cowboys coughed up the ball a total of 12 times. Despite this number being just barely over their average per game, it was still very costly as the Rebels were able to turn those turnovers into 21 points.
It took the Cowboys 7:56 to score their first points of the second half, and that’s not even considering the drought they went on before halftime. All in all, that stretch without a single field goal was around 10 minutes.
The Pokes found themselves down 23 points with about 11 minutes to go in the contest. That was the Rebels largest lead of the night, which remained at double-digits for almost the entire second half.
“Coming on the road we knew we had to take care of the ball and when we have open looks, we have to knock them down,” head coach Jeff Linder said postgame.
Despite all these factors, it still didn’t feel like the Cowboys were totally down and out of this game. After the Rebels made it a 23 point game, the Cowboys would go on a quick 10-0 run to make it a 13 point game with 7 minutes left in the second half. While they wouldn’t get any closer, it never felt like the Cowboys gave up and after an improbable comeback against Colorado State the week before, a comeback didn’t feel impossible.
While that comeback never came to fruition, one thing is for certain. These Cowboys never give up.
The Cowboy offense seemed to be firing on all cylinders early, as Akuel Kot seamlessly knocked down two tough mid-range jumpers for a quick 4-0 start. This start would give the Cowboys their only lead of the night, though. The Rebels quickly go on a 10-2 spurt, giving themselves a 10-6 lead.
The Cowboys would fight back with a Bredan Wenzel three and Kot would knock down another jumper to make it 11 all with 12 minutes left in the first half. Again the Rebels would go on a big run, boosting themselves up with a 7-0 run to make it 19-11 with 8 minutes left in the first half.
Caden Powell would score in the lane to end the Rebel run, and both teams would trade threes as Sam Griffin would get on the board with a deep shot. Wenzel would continue to fight to keep the Cowboys in it, as he’d make a layup and hit another three late as a sputtering Cowboys offense would trail the Rebels 29-21 late in the half. Griffin would hit a pair of free throws with a minute left, but the Cowboys would still trail 31-23 at half.
Then, the less than ideal start to the second half would find the Cowboys down 42-23 as the Rebels opened the half on a 11-0 run. Griffin would score the first bucket for the Cowboys, but the Rebel lead would quickly spiral to their largest of the night at 48-25 as the Cowboys were being outscored 17-2 with 11 minutes to go.
The Cowboys offense would then finally come alive, as the freshman duo of Cam Manyawu and Kael Combs would clean up on the offensive glass to bring the Cowboys within 13 at 48-35.
The Rebels would quickly push that lead back out to 18 with a layup and a three. Manyawu would continue to have a solid second half, keeping the Cowboys in the game late with his presence down low. It wouldn’t be enough, though, as the Rebels would hit two straight threes late to put the nail in the coffin as they’d beat the Cowboys 62-48.
The Cowboys were led offensively by Manyawu with 13 points, as he nearly had a double-double with 9 rebounds as well. Wenzel paced him with 12 points. No other Cowboys scored in double figures, as the Cowboys’ backcourt duo of Kot and Griffin only combined for 15 points on 6/23 shooting collectively. Mason Walters only scored 6 points as well, but did snag a team high 13 rebounds.
As a team, the Cowboys were 34.6% from the field and 16% from deep while allowing the Rebels to shoot 43.9% from the field and 40% from deep. The Cowboys were able to out rebound the Rebels 42-31.
The Cowboys will return to action at home in their second contest against New Mexico this season, the game set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. this Tuesday.
