LARAMIE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Cowboys basketball team easily handled Utah Tech on Saturday evening with an 86–69 victory.
Wyoming put on a defensive clinic in the win, holding Utah Tech to 36% from the field and grabbing 50 rebounds.
“It was the tale of two halves for us tonight,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “I thought the response was decent enough. I thought at times we did not impose our will tonight. Sometimes you have to get the player to see what that looks like. I thought the first half we got there and the second half we wilted a little bit. We got a response we wanted, but just didn’t finish the job.”
The Cowboys shot 50% for the game. The team found 44 points in the paint and added 16 second-chance points.
The Cowboys were led by Kobe Newton with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He also added four assists.
Obi Agbim added 12 points, and he has scored in double figures in every game this season. Jordan Nesbitt added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds — his second of the season and seventh of his career. Guard Dontaie Allen added a season-high nine points with five rebounds.
The Pokes got out to a 6–2 lead in the opening two-plus minutes thanks to Agbim and Newton. The Trailblazers went on to hold Wyoming scoreless for over two and a half minutes to take a 10–9 lead, but a quick 7–0 run by Wyoming made it a 16–10 game with just over 12 minutes left in the opening half.
Utah Tech once again held the Cowboys scoreless for over two and a half minutes to tie the contest halfway through the half. Wyoming responded with a 14–0 run, fueled by Newton, for a 30–16 contest with over five minutes left in the opening stanza.
Newton added a 3-pointer to get to his career high and give Wyoming a 33–18 lead as part of a 17–2 scoring run over five and a half minutes. The Cowboys ultimately took a 42–28 lead into the halftime break after a buzzer beater by Utah Tech.
Poke Cole Henry picked apart the Utah Tech defense, finding open shooters as Wyoming went on to take a 50–33 lead three minutes into the second half. UW held Utah Tech scoreless for over three minutes, with Nesbitt helping Wyoming take a 54–33 lead.
With the win, UW moves to 3–1 on the season and 3–0 at home.
The Trailblazers were led by Tennessee Rainwater with 16 points on the night. Beon Riley added 14 points.
Wyoming will return to action next Friday, hosting Southeastern Louisiana in the Arena-Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
