Any Pokes fans staying up late last night to catch the Cowboy’s tilt in Nevada saw a tough loss, with Wyoming losing 76-58 and trailing by nearly double digits from the get-go. Jeff Linder was ejected in the first half and the Pokes were unable to crawl back into the game.
The Cowboys were unable to fire on any cylinders in the first half last night, especially offensively. Shot after shot, the Pokes couldn’t build a run or scoring streak of any kind. On top of that, the Wolfpack began cashing their shots to hop out to a ten-point lead 7 minutes in.
To add troubles on an already struggling team, Jeff Linder was ejected about halfway through the first period after contesting a foul against Cam Manyawu. It wasn’t entirely clear what was said, but Linder was sent packing to locker room early.
At the half, the Cowboys were down by 23 points. They were only shooting 26% with 10 turnovers and didn’t seem to be doing anything right.
In the second, the Pokes were able to hang in the game and didn’t let the Wolfpack extend their lead any more then they already had, but they were down so much that a comeback was nearly impossible. Nevada kept a comfortable lead at all times and cruised to a big win, keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
One of the only bright spots for Wyoming was a notable performance from the Freshman Cam Manyawu who put up 12 points and was 5-5 shooting from the field, along with grabbing 12 rebounds. Wenzel put up 17 points and was 50% from beyond the arc. Sam Griffin and Mason Walters also scored 12 and 11 points respectively. Despite picking up in the second, the deficit was too much for Wyoming.
Wyoming is now 13-13 overall and 6-7 in the conference. They host another NCAA tournament hopeful in Boise State this Saturday evening at 5:30 PM.
