LARAMIE, Wyo. — It was looking dark for the Pokes basketball team in sun-splashed Cancún, Mexico.
Following a pair of free throws by Tulane standout Kaleb Banks, Wyoming trailed 52–36 with 13 minutes, 58 seconds remaining. However, instead of packing it in and heading to the beach, Sundance Wicks’s team, which the head coach aptly describes as “gritty, not pretty,” put together a beautiful comeback.
The Cowboys limited the Green Wave to just 11 more points and 25% shooting from the field in the second half to pull off a stunning 64–63 victory on Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Resort.
Jordan Nesbitt drew the defense into the paint and threw a pass to the corner where Touko Tainamo buried the game-winning 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left.
“What happened is trust, trust, trust,” Wicks said after UW improved to 5–1. “We just kept the flow. We were looking for the best shot. We wanted to take one before 10 seconds, and Touko Tainamo — man, he steps up.”
Obi Agbim led the way with 18 points and two of UW’s four made 3s in the defensive slugfest. Cole Henry, who returned to the starting lineup at the five spot, finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block.
Nesbitt and Tainamo didn’t start but closed out the confidence-building win. Nesbitt finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Tainamo had 13 points and five boards.
Wicks also praised backup point guard A.J. Wills for helping stabilize the team after the Pokes had some costly turnovers against the full-court press during Tulane’s 21–2 run over the final wo minutes of the first half through the first six minutes of the second half.
So, what changed?
“[Assistant coach] Nic Reynolds gave me some great adjustments about halfway through the second half,” Wicks said. “He was seeing something I wasn’t seeing. I always give a shout out: A good idea can come from anywhere, and Coach Reynolds gave me a good idea to start run our push action, which is getting Henry to flash into the middle. We were really beating them down in the slot, so I thought that’s where a vulnerable spot was.”
UW’s defense was even more impressive down the stretch, including forcing an air ball on the Green Wave’s final possession.
The Cowboys had a 44–34 rebounding edge and all nine players in the rotation scored. Kobe Newton missed his first five shots but tied the score 61–61 with a strong take to the basket.
All five of Tulane’s starters scored in double figures, led by Asher Woods’s 15 points, but UW had a 30–0 advantage in bench points.
Nevertheless, there are still two areas Wicks needs this team to improve on — free throw shooting and turnovers.
The Pokes were a respectable 18-for-26 (69.2%) at the stripe after going 19-for-33 in the 64–61 win over Southeastern Louisiana last Friday, but the Green Wave was gifted 16 points off 11 UW turnovers.
“It takes some of these moments for these guys. You’ve got to have culture wins,” Wicks said. “Defend, rebound and take care of the basketball.”
UW will face Loyola Marymount in the Cancun Challenge championship game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on CBS Sports Network.
