Desperate.
That’s how Cole Henry and Obi Agbim described the state of the Wyoming Cowboys’ basketball team tonight. They were desperate for a win to end a season-long five game losing streak and there appeared to be no better time to accomplish that than against the Air Force Falcons–who were winless in conference play and 3-22 up to this point–on your own home court
However, things were looking pretty dire for the Cowboys after one half of play at the Arena-Auditorium. The Cowboys–who were coming off one of their worst efforts of the year after they were drilled by 35 points in the second Border War of the year against Colorado State–were putting yet another lowly offensive half of basketball together, garnering only 28 points in the first half while shooting 35.5% from the field and 25% from deep.
The Falcons, in contrast, were quite proficient in the first half, shooting 48.1% from the field and 38.5% from deep. After the Falcons’ Kyle Marshall drained a long two pointer to send both teams to halftime, something clearly had to change in the second half on both ends of the floor for the Cowboys.
“Our guys came into the locker room and [I] just looked at them and challenged them to just find more with each other,” head coach Sundance Wicks said postgame. “You have to be more connected on the defensive end, more connected on the offensive end.”
And that they immediately were, as the Cowboys would immediately force a pair of turnovers to open the half defensively, as well as scoring the first six points of the second half, but they were unable to cascade that into a further run, as the Falcons quickly responded.
The Cowboys would stick with it, however, as it wasn’t long after the Falcons’ response that the Cowboys would finally string together a big run, exploding on a 19-2 scoring blitz over a four and a half minute period midway through the second half. Finally, the Cowboys were on the right side of a big second half scoring run, after they gave similar scoring runs in almost all of their losses during their recent five game skid.
“It was good in the second half to come out there and be tough,” Henry said.
a one handed hammer • @colehenry_1 pic.twitter.com/guYO5dq6ap
— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) February 19, 2025
While the Cowboys were unable to cruise to a decisive finish off the back of their momentous run–the Falcons would come back to cause some unease, tying the game at 62 all with just under three minutes to go–a huge three-pointer by none other than Agbim would put the finishing touches on an impressive and gritty double-digit comeback by the Cowboys.
“It’s good to enjoy little wins like this, especially getting closer to March. It’s good to get the feeling of how to win and how to [be] down 10 at half time and come back and win,” Henry said.
While a win that breaks a five-game losing streak is sweet no matter how you earn it, this victory by the Cowboys may pose more questions about the roster than it did answers. Wicks admitted he decided he had to shorten his bench in the second half, as may be more common down the stretch as Wicks finds out who his “men” are down the stretch leading into March.
“I had to make the choice to shorten the bench. I said at halftime, you got your chance, if you get three minutes in the first half and you don’t give me any sort of hope, sorry, but I’m going with the guys that could give me some life and give me some hope and that’s not personal,” Wicks said.
“It’s coming down to the stretch where in March, you play men. You play men in March, and you can’t play guys who whine, complain or make excuses. You got to play the men who can just handle it.”
It was clear who Wicks trusted down the stretch in tonight’s contest, as only six players played for minutes ranging in the double-digits and four even reached 30 or more minutes in the contest.
Agbim and Henry stood out in particular, as Agbim finished with a game-high 22 points to complement four assists, and Henry finished his night with a career high in points, scoring 16 on the night along with nine rebounds. Allen rounded out the scorer in double figures for the Cowboys with 12 points and Jordan Nesbitt tallied a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cowboys will play their second-to-last home game this Saturday when San Jose State rolls into town. The Cowboys lost the first contest of the season to the Spartans by a score of 67-58.
