PROVO, Utah (12/30/23) – The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule Saturday. The Cowboys fell to No. 12/14 BYU, 94-68, inside the Marriott Center.
“Solid is an understatement,” head coach Jeff Linder said. “That’s a really good team. That’s a really mature team. Their skill level, it’s just a slow drip, and as much as we told our guys, there’s a certain intent that’s required every possession to beat a team like that.”
The loss drops the Pokes to 7-6 on the season. The win improves the Cougars to 12-1 on the year.
The Cowboys shot 40 percent from the floor (25-for-63), and they connected on 7 of 20 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Cougars hit 53 percent (39-for-73) from the floor, 44 percent (14-for-32) from deep and won the rebounding battle, 46-30.
Sam Griffin paced the Pokes with 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting, which included a 3-for-3 clip from 3-point range. He added a team-best five rebounds and five assists.
It was a balanced scoring performance after Griffin. Mason Walters tallied 12 points, while Caden Powell and Akuel Kot chipped in 10 points apiece.
Noah Waterman and Trevin Knell led BYU. They each poured in 17 points.
BYU created its sizable lead with the help of an 18-0 run early in the contest. After Wyoming took a brief 10-9 edge on a Kot 3-pointer with just over 15 minutes to play in the opening half, the Cougars responded with 18 straight to construct a double-digit advantage.
Griffin scored 11 points in the final 4:14 of the half, which cut a BYU-19 point lead to 11 at 44-33 at the break. A Walters’ free throw on the first possession of the second half pulled Wyoming to within 10, but that’s as close as it drew from there on out.
The Cowboys open Mountain West Conference play Tuesday. They play host to San Jose State at 6:30 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium.
