The Cowboys earned their 10th conference win in a 14-point comeback win over the Nevada Wolfpack in Reno with a 51-point outburst in the second half.
“We got it going because we got stops on the defensive end,” head coach Larry Shyatt said to Pokes Authority in a video press conference.
Junior guard Josh Adams led all Cowboys scorers with 18 points on 5-14 shooting and eight points coming from the free throw line. Adams also contributed with six assists and four steals in 36 minutes of play. Wyoming’s first half poor shooting led to a 14-point deficit at the half by a score of 27-13.
“We were trying to drive the ball and getting some pull and kicks and getting some wide-open threes. At one point we missed seven open [threes] in a row,” Shyatt said.
The Cowboys, in the first half, shot 1-12 from 3-point range. Overall in the first half, they shot 26 percent from the field and went 0-5 from the free throw line. Nevada also severely outrebounded Wyoming in the first half at 24-11. AJ West of the Wolfpack pulled in 11 rebounds, as well as six points on 3-3 shooting. As a team, the Wolfpack were 10-25 shooting in the first half, as compared to 10-32 in the second half. West ended the game with 19 rebounds and 18 points. The next closest rebounder for either team was Wyoming senior forward Derek Cooke, Jr. with 9.
Wyoming also did not score well in the paint in the first half, being outscored by the Wolfpack 14-4 as opposed to the second half where Wyoming outscored Nevada 22-12 in the painted area. Wyoming was still outrebounded, 16-18, in the second half. For the game, Wyoming had 15 assists on 22 made baskets. Wyoming also drove the lane more in the second half, resulting in more free throws. The Cowboys were 14-20 from the free throw line including the game-clinching free throws from Adams and senior guard Riley Grabau.
“We just kept pushing and the shot began to fall…[This win] was a confidence build,” Adams said to Pokes Authority.
“Whether you’re in the SEC or the Mountain West, road wins are not easy to come by, especially with the emotional high Nevada was on. To me, this was one of the most remarkable comebacks I think I’ve ever been a part of on the road,” Shyatt said.
Wyoming’s win over the Wolfpack comes as their first double-digit win season in conference play since the 2000-2001 season where the Cowboys won 11 Mountain West conference games. San Diego State still holds the advantage as to the regular season championship in the Mountain West with a record of 11-3 and the tiebreaker over the Pokes after beating them twice already. Of the four remaining opponents for the Cowboys, no team ranks better than fifth in the Mountain West.
The Pokes will now have an eight-day lay off between games with the next coming in Laramie against Fresno State (12-13, 7-5) on Feb. 25 at 7:35 p.m. The Cowboys beat the Bulldogs in the Valley already this season in a triple-overtime thriller, 70-65.
