• Meyer leads team with 17 points
The Wyoming Cowboys held the North Carolina offense in check in the first half, but the Tar Heels responded in the second frame taking the contest 76-63 on Tuesday evening at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“Guys got to be able to meet the moment better and that’s what we talked about in our pregame,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “But the effort on the glass was outstanding. That’s who we are. That’s our identity and it’s nice to see some of those identity games like this, especially against a good North Carolina team. I told these guys; it’s got to keep happening. We got to keep doubling down on this because we’ve got to be. Gritty team and that’s the gritty nature of this game is we can maximize those possessions and go get a point per possession off an offensive rebound instead of less than that, that would be huge.”
Wyoming was held to 36 percent from the field with the Tar Heels shooting 50 percent and shot 53 percent in the second frame. Wyoming held a 43-37 advantage on the glass with 19 offensive rebounds with 15 coming in the first half.
Wyoming was led in scoring by Nasir (Naz) Meyer with 17 points along with four rebounds and four assists. Renars Sondors recorded 12 points hitting four threes on the night. Gavin Gores added nine points for the Pokes. Michael Mora led the team grabbing eight rebounds on the night. Khaden Bennett struggled from the field but added seven rebounds and four helpers.
The Cowboys got out to an early 6-0 lead in the opening ninety seconds with a pair of buckets from Meyer and a layup in transition from Mora. The Pokes would go scoreless for a stretch, but Bennett added his first basket of the night for an 8-4 with 16 minutes left in the first frame.
The Tar Heels would take their first lead at 12-11 at the 12-minute mark, as UW went through a stretch of 1-of-11 from the field. The Pokes would take back the lead for several minutes, but a 10-0 run by North Carolina made it a 22-15 game with under eight minutes left in the half.
Canin Jefferson and Sondors added a pair of threes for a 6-0 run to make it a 22-21 game with six minutes left in the first frame. Wyoming held UNC scoreless for over five minutes, and Uriyah Rojas capped an 8-0 run with a layup for the Pokes.
A pair of dunks fueled a late first period run for the Tar Heels, as UNC made it a 31-29 game at the half with Wyoming being held to 32 percent from the field.
The Pokes tied the game 31-31 early in the second frame on a layup from Gavin Gores. North Carolina added a 6-0 run and took a 37-31 lead with 17 minutes left in the game. UNC pushed the game to a 46-37 lead with a 7-0 run with under 15 minutes remaining.
Meyer and the Cowboys would cut the lead to eight with under nine minutes left. UNC held the Pokes scoreless for well over three minutes and made it a 13-point game with under six minutes remaining.
North Carolina pushed the lead to double-digits halfway through the second half. After another run by North Carolina, Wyoming responded with a 10-0 run for a 71-63 contest with just over a minute left. But it wasn’t enough, as the Tar Heels took the contest 76-63.
The Tar Heels were led by Terrence Brown and Isaiah Dennis with 14 points, as five players scored in double figures. Sayon Keita had eight rebounds and six blocks on the night.
The Cowboys return to action on Saturday with a trip to Front Range foe Denver at 1 p.m. in a contest on ESPN+.