• Pokes trailed by 16 points in second half
The Wyoming Cowboys trailed by 16-points with 14 minutes remaining and used timely baskets and defense to earn a trip to the title game of the Cancun Challenge with a 64-63 win over Tulane at the Hard Rock Resort in Cancun, Mexico on Tuesday. Touko Tainamo hit a triple with nine seconds left to lift the Cowboys to 5-1 on the season.
“I was proud of this group tonight,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “You know I love rock fights on Tuesday nights. We held a team to 23 second half points, and I will tell you this, the guys kept battled and never gave up and we are going to keep finding lineups that work for us. We started to use our push action in the second half and beat them down the slot and we looked for a shot for Kobe Newton, but we kept the flow and found the best shot and Touko stepped up and hit a big shot.”
The Cowboys shot 40 percent from the field on the night and were held to just four three pointers, but the last one lifted the Pokes to the win. Wyoming held Tulane to 34 percent on the night and have held five of six opponents under 40 percent this season. UW also held a +10 advantage on the glass at 44-34.
Wyoming was led by guard Obi Agbim with 18 points for his 49th career game in double-figures. Guard Jordan Nesbitt added 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Tainamo added a season-high 13 points going 5-of-8 from the field. Forward Cole Henry added 10 points for his ninth career game in double-figures.
Both teams got off to a fast start offensively, but a pair of threes by Tulane would give the Green Wave a 11-7 lead five minutes into the contest. Wyoming would go scoreless for nearly five minutes as Tulane took a 17-7 lead with under 13 minutes left in the first half.
Agbim added a layup and a triple followed by a triple from Dontaie Allen for a 17-15 game as the 8-0 run put the Pokes back in the game hallway through the first half. The Cowboys would battle and take a brief 23-22 game with under eight minutes left in the first stanza, but a pair of layups from Tulane would give them the advantage right back.
The Cowboys would battle back and take a 32-31 lead on a pair of free throws from Oleg Kojenets with four-minutes left in the frame. He would add another pair for a 34-31 lead. The Green Wave closed the half on a 9-0 run to take a 40-34 lead at the half.
Tulane would push the lead to double-digits in the early goings of the second half and would take a 14-point lead at 50-36 five minutes into the second half. Tulane pushed the lead to 16-points until a pair of free throws from Tainamo with 14 minutes left. Henry made it a 10-point contest at 52-42 with under 12 minutes left.
Wyoming did not allow a basket for the Green Wave for over five minutes and a Nesbitt layup made it a 52-44 game halfway through the second half. A pair of layups from Tainamo made it a 52-48 contest. It was six-minutes without a basket for Tulane as they added a 5-0 run for a 57-48 game with seven minutes left.
The Cowboys would make it one possession game at 57-54 with just over four minutes left. Henry made it a 61-59 game after a missed free throw with two minutes left. Kobe Newton tied the game at 61-61 with a layup with 53 seconds left. Asher Woods hit a jumper for a 63-61 lead for Tulane with 27 seconds remaining.
Wyoming would get a chance to take the lead and capitalized with Nesbitt finding Tainamo in the corner for a three-pointer that would prove to be the game winner for the Cowboys.
The Green Wave were led by five players in double-figures with Woods leading the team with 15 points.
Wyoming will wrap up play at the event on Wednesday in the championship contest at 6:30 p.m. against Loyola-Marymount.
