LARAMIE, Wyo. — In the first Cowboys home game of the new year, the Pokes were having a dominant first half against the University of New Mexico Lobos. Coming out of the locker room for the second half, however, the score slipped away in the Lobos’ favor.
In the first half of the game, the Cowboys kept the Lobos at just 18 points and only 18.5% from the field. Defensively, the Pokes were nearly unstoppable in the first half. Senior guard Jordan Nesbitt led the pack in total rebounds, with eight defensively. On the other end of the court, junior forward Matija Belic led the way with three offensive rebounds.
Despite the overall loss, Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks recognized just that in the first half.
“We were close and close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades and this game stung a bit,” Wicks told UW Athletics. “I’m proud of the guys as they executed the game plan, and they are believing in what we are doing. The process is showing, but the results aren’t right. We had brilliant defensive effort in the first half, and you always expect a team like that to come out with their hair on fire in the second half and they did.”
The 18.5% first half is, according to UW Athletics, among the fourth worst first-half performance in the entire history of the Lobos’ program.
Dontaie Allen led the way with 11 points, followed closely by Cole Henry and Abou Magassa, who had 10 points each.
The Pokes will travel next to Boise State, where they will duke it out on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. For more information on the University of Wyoming’s Men’s Basketball schedule, visit the UW Athletics website.
