Another up-and-down season for Cowboy basketball has come to an end on a low note, as the Cowboys bow out of the Mountain West tournament in the opening round of play for the third season in a row.
The Cowboys certainly didn’t come into the contest with much momentum on their side, especially after dropping their regular season finale to a Fresno State team that had only won a single conference contest before their win over the Cowboys.
The Cowboys’ poor play down the stretch–including losing nine of their last 10 games down the stretch–seemed to layover into the first half of the Cowboys’ first round matchup against San Jose State in the Mountain West tournament. Within just three minutes, the Cowboys totaled three straight turnovers and allowed the Spartans to jump out to a 12-0 lead.
Things weren’t getting any better as the first half further transpired, either, as the Cowboys soon found themselves down by as much as 22 in the late-goings of the half, with the Spartans leading 32-10. The Cowboys would cut the deficit down to 16 at 38-22 by the time the first half buzzer would sound, but the Cowboys already felt like they had one foot out the door in their opening round game and just one half left to play.
“It was just an electric start for us, right? We had active hands, running off our defense and making shots. It was a really great start to the game for us,” Spartans’ head coach Tim Miles said postgame.
The red-hot Spartans torched the Cowboys in the first half, knocking down 14/27 shots from the field and 5/12 from deep as the Cowboy defense again had no answer to the Spartans’ guard-heavy lineup.
The Cowboys were the exact opposite of red-hot in the first half of play–ice cold, you could say–as the Cowboys only shot 9/27 from the field and were unable to connect on any of their eight attempts from deep in the half.
A valiant second half effort was going to be necessary if the Cowboys wanted any shot of making the quarterfinals, and that’s exactly what they got behind the play of senior Jordan Nesbitt. Unfortunately, that effort was too little too late to overcome the Cowboys’ first half woes.
“I don’t think I’ve been more proud than walking back at halftime–I get goosebumps talking about this–and hearing Jordan in the hallway talking about, ‘chin up, chin up. Not done stay in the fight,’” head coach Sundance Wicks said of one of Nesbitt’s best outings all year, where he led the Cowboys in scoring with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“I’ve searched all year for guys to try to be able to have those moments,” Wicks continued. “And [Jordan] did it with conviction, that was the difference. He was convicted in that he was going to have this resilient mindset, that he wasn’t going to go out like this…I knew Jordan Nesbitt was going to be different in the second half.”
Nesbitt ISO and 1!
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 12, 2025
📺 MWN pic.twitter.com/FoitrxzJCn
Nesbitt would end up scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half, willing the Cowboys back into the contest. An eventual five-point swing in the final 30 seconds of the contest suddenly put the Cowboys into a one-possession game, down 64-61. The Cowboys were able to force a turnover and had an opportunity to tie the game late, but a contested three-point attempt by Obi Agbim would just bounce off the rim as the Spartans would hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game and end the Cowboys’ season by a final score of 66-61.
Agbim nails the 3 off the free throw miss and we've got a one possession game 👀
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 12, 2025
📺 MWN pic.twitter.com/fgsbqmfInx
While a 12-20 season won’t catch the eyes of any passerby, a foundation has undoubtedly been laid by Wicks for the future of Cowboy basketball, with that being not anymore evident than how three of his seniors–all of which were in their first year with the program–spoke of their head coach.
“Sundance is the best coach I’ve ever played for,” fifth-year senior Cole Henry said. “There was a reason why I committed there…he made me believe in myself when no one else did.”
“Legend,” Nesbitt said to describe Wicks.
With the Mountain West being as it is for only one more season, Wicks will have his work cut out for him this offseason to build a team to compete towards the top-end of the conference. He was completely honest in his postgame presser of what he is looking to improve upon this offseason, from top to bottom.
“We had too many wasted possessions this year [and] a lopsided assist-to-turnover ratio. Then, to me, I didn’t see enough blood. I didn’t see enough blood on the floor, I didn’t see enough skinned knees,” Wicks said. “I want to see more of that gritty, competitive nature.”
Hopefully, in just a year’s time, we will see a gritty, resilient and ultra-competitive squad that can break the Cowboys’ tournament losing streak.
“That’s what people are going to see and they’re going to laugh right now, but come back here next year, in two years from now, that Wyoming team is going to be vastly different than the year one team,” Wicks said.
Regardless, Wicks will always be appreciative of the first team he had the opportunity to foster as a head coach of the Cowboys, even if he hadn’t had but a year to build and connect this team from the ground up.
“I’m extremely grateful for the year one team.”
We certainly should be too. While the wins weren’t always there, the effort was. And the precedent they’ve helped set will be the baseline of future success within Cowboy basketball.
