LARAMIE, Wyo. — What had the potential makings of a big victory lap after the Cowboys’ 69–62 win at home against Air Force last Tuesday turned to an utterly disappointing defeat at the hands of the San Jose State Spartans. The Pokes would blow a 13-point first-half lead to go down at home 82–73.
Obi Agbim had another successful night as the Cowboys’ leading scorer; he would put up 20 points for his ninth 20-plus-point game this season. Jordan Nesbitt had a career night with a season-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Cole Henry, who has picked up his scoring quite a bit this last week, put up 11. Nesbitt and big freshman Abou Magassa each put up a team-high seven rebounds.
Tonight’s contest started off pretty slow for both teams, as neither could make a point in two minutes of game time. Henry would end the slump with a free throw before a Spartan free throw would tie the game up 1–1. Henry would also get a layup before the Spartans took their first lead of the night with a three.
Wyoming would promptly respond with three back-to-back threes and a 13–0 run before San Jose could get another point up. They would cut the lead to seven with a 4–0 run, but the Cowboys would extend their lead again with more excellent three-point shooting. With around six minutes left in the half, the Pokes found their biggest lead of the night at 30–17.
Momentum would then begin to shift to the Pokes’ detriment. The Spartans would cap off the half with an 8–0 run, cut off by an Agbim three and garnished with another San Jose bucket to make the halftime box score 39–37 in Wyoming’s favor.
San Jose State would immediately break the lead in the opening seconds of the second frame. Nesbitt would make the game his own for a moment, though, adding five points of his own and helping hold the Spartans without a single bucket through three minutes, giving the Pokes their lead back.
San Jose State next went 3–3 on field attempts with an and-one play to break into a nine-point lead. Wyoming would attempt a comeback and take the lead back twice, but the game was the Spartans’ to take from there on out.
The Pokes had a better night than recently from beyond the three, shooting at .421. The Cowboys also shot at .473 from the field in general. San Jose State bested the Pokes in rebounds and turnovers, which certainly played a part in some of those San Jose runs and Wyoming shooting slumps.
The Pokes will have to wait until Tuesday before they can get back on the court and steal a win. They travel to the University of Nevada to take on the Wolf Pack on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. For more information on the Cowboys’ schedule, see the UW Athletics website.
