• Pokes shoot 70 percent from behind the arc in second half
The Wyoming Cowboys hit big threes in the second half and defended the arc against one of the nation’s top shooting teams downing Nevada 66-63 on Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes improved to 6-0 in the Dome of Doom this season for the best home start since 2021-22 and move to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
“That is a good win against a quality opponent, and it was gritty not pretty,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “We just want to win and for us pressure is good, and stress is bad. We want pressure and our pace puts pressure on opponents and teams try to speed us up and we want opponents to have stressful possessions late in the game.”
Wicks commented on the fans following the win over Nevada. “Poke fans love great weather, the roads are good, weather is fine, come on out and lets wine and dine. It was a great night and the fans helped and added stress in key moments late. That is what it is all about.”
The contest featured 23 lead changes and seven tied scores, but the Pokes led for nearly 26 minutes of the game. Wyoming hit 11 threes for the third-straight game with double-digit threes and shot a season-high 52.4 percent. The Cowboys shot 48.9 from the field with the Wolf Pack shooting 44.7 percent. The Pokes held a 26-25 advantage on the glass.
Wyoming was led by Obi Agbim with 18 points, as he has scored in double-figures in every game this season. He was 4-of-7 from behind the arc and leads the conference in three-point percentage. Touko Tainamo scored a season-high 15 points going 2-of-3 from behind the arc and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Dontaie Allen added a trio of threes tying a career best and led the team with five rebounds. Matija Belic added eight points and hit two threes on the night for his first in the brown and Gold.
Nevada held the early advantage on the Cowboys in a defensive battle in the first four-plus minutes taking a 5-3 lead, as Wyoming went scoreless for over three minutes in the early goings of the contest. Agbim added five-straight points to give Wyoming an 8-7 lead.
Wyoming went on a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes to take a 17-9 lead halfway through the first half. Four different Cowboys added buckets during the run including a triple from Belic for his second of the game.
The Poke went scoreless for over two and half minutes with the Wolf Pack making it a 19-16 game for the Pokes. Nevada kept battling on the defensive end and held the Pokes scoreless for over four minutes, but a Dontaie Allen three gave Wyoming a 26-24 lead.
Nick Davidson gave Nevada a 31-30 lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Agbim got to double-figures with a three-pointer for a 33-31 game for the Pokes with 15:39 left. That lead was short lived with the Wolf Pack going on a 5-0 run.
Wyoming went to the rim on an 8-0 run for a 41-36 lead with 12 minutes left. The Wolf Pack battled back and tied the game at 46-46 halfway through the half on another Davidson three pointer. Tainamo answered right back with a three of his own.
Tainamo added a three-pointer and later a free throw for a 55-52 lead for the Cowboys with 6:20 left in the contest. But the Wolf Pack charged back and took the lead back at 56-55 a minute later. Allen and Agbim added a pair of threes to give the brown and Gold a 61-59 advantage with just over four minutes left.
The contest would be tied for the seventh time near the three-minute mark with both teams battling late. Nevada took the advantage on a jumper for a 63-61 lead with 1:33 left. Agbim responded on the following trip down the floor for a 64-63 lead for the Pokes.
Both teams would get defensive stops with the Wolf Pack getting a look at the lead with 15 seconds left, Wyoming would get the stops with Tainamo hitting threes and UW took a 66-63 win to move to 1-1 in conference play.
The Wolf Pack were led by Davison and Kobe Sanders with 15 points. Davidson also added six rebounds to lead the team.
Wyoming will host Mountain West Preseason favorite Boise State on New Year’s Eve in a 6:30 p.m. start in the Arena- Auditorium.
