March 11, 2024 |
Photo – Cowboys – Courtesy gowyo.com
The Wyoming Cowboy basketball team closed out the regular season with a dominating 86-47 win over Fresno State. At the half, the Cowboys led 46-to-30, and cruised through the second half to close out the regular season with their eighth conference win, and a 15-16 overall record.
On Saturday night, the Cowboys went on a lights-out shooting spree – 63% from the field and 46 from the arc. The Pokes backed up their reborn offense with timely defense.
In the second half, the Cowboys never let up on the Bulldogs.
Keith Kelly had the final call as Wyoming finished out the regular season with a dominating performance on the road. The Cowboys outscored Fresno State 40-17 in the second half after Wyoming came out and scored the first seven points. Wyoming dominated both sides of the court from start to finish.
The Cowboys and Bulldogs we’ll meet again this week in opening round action at the Mountain West tournament on Wednesday.
Wyoming Head Coach Jeff Linder marked up the team win to discipline, saying the Cowboys executed the game according to the scouting plan.
Mark up the win to the on-target shooting. For the 10th time this season, the Cowboys shot 50+ percent. The Cowboys are 9-1 this year when they’re shooting like they did Saturday night.
Akuel Kot led the scoring with 17 points, going 6-of-9 from the field. Mason Walters added 14 points and nine rebounds. Brendan Wenzel added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Sam Griffin added 10 points along with five assists. Caden Powell added eight points and seven rebounds.
For the team it was a total game effort. The Pokes avoided any temptation to let up in the second half and coast to the win. They kept the pedal down the whole way.
The Cowboys will face the Bulldogs again on Wednesday in Las Vegas as the eighth and nineth seeds in the Mountain West Tournament.
