Six Cowboys score in double-figures
The Wyoming Cowboys opened the season with a 95-48 victory over Regis in the Arena-Auditorium on Tuesday evening. The Pokes dominated the second half outscoring the Rangers 53-21 shooting 60 percent from the field.
“Big shout out to Rex Walters,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “Look, those guys had us reeling on our coverages in the first half with the pace of play that they play with. Our guys, six guys in double figures, I’ve said this, I think we’re going to be a team that wins as a team and loses a team. I really believe that we got to be four or five guys in double figures every night type of team because we just have so many guys that are really solid. We don’t need to be this hero ball team. We got back to our rebounding ways, 12 offensive rebounds we wanted. We want to stay under 10 turnovers. We kept that mark. We were solid and we’re consistent for the most part offensively, which has been a staple for us, but defensively, I thought in the second half we really picked it up. I want to see us defend, rebound, take care of the basketball, as you well know. I thought we got soft on some of our finishes, but in the second half, our effort really spiked, and that was the hardest I’ve seen our guys play in the preseason.”
The Pokes had six players score in double-figures on the night. Khaden Bennett led the team with 15 points, as he faced off against his younger brother in the contest. He also added six rebounds. Nasir (Naz) Meyer added 11 points on the night. Gavin Gores added 10 points along with five rebounds. Parker Gerrits added 12 points in his debut for a new career-high in his collegiate career. Linus Ruf recorded 10 points in his collegiate debut. Canin Jefferson added team-high four helpers along with nine points. Michael Mora also added 10 points in the contest.
Wyoming shot 55 percent from the field in the contest and held the Rangers to 38 percent. Wyoming finished the night scoring 26 points off 19 forced turnovers. The Pokes also scored 23 points in transition on the night.
The Pokes got off to an early 7-0 lead in the opening ninety seconds hitting three-straight shots that included the first career points for Renars Sondors in a Wyoming uniform.
The Pokes went on an 11-0 run over five minutes to build a 21-6 lead eight minutes into the contest. Neil Summers, Mora and Jefferson all scored their first points for the Brown and Gold during the run.
A 7-0 run spearheaded by Smiley and Gerrits made it a 28-10 game halfway through the opening half. The Pokes would go scoreless for over two and half minutes with the Rangers making it a 33-19 game.
The Rangers would hit three-straight attempts from behind the arc and made it a 13-point game with a minute left in the half. Gerrits closed the half with a bucket for a 42-27 lead at the break.
Both teams opened the second half strong offensively, but the Pokes used the transition game to make it a 54-35 game with under 16 minutes left, as both Meyer and Bennett got to double-figures early in the frame.
The Pokes would make five-straight buckets lead by Ruf to extend the lead to 62-37 with 13 minutes left. In total, the Pokes would go on a 12-0 run holding the Rangers scoreless for over three minutes for a 68-37 lead as a dunk by Gores highlighted the run for the Pokes.
The Cowboy also added another run this time of 12-0 to build an 80-39 lead with under eight minutes left in the contest. The Pokes would continue to put the pressure on and walk away with the 95-48 win.
The Rangers were led by Quinn Lambert with seven points along with five rebounds.
Wyoming returns to action on Friday hosting Idaho State in the Arena-Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.