Tuck’s Take: Wyoming’s ‘Batman’ Sinks Wolf Pack in Laramie

LARAMIE -- Sundance Wicks said this roster is loaded with Robin's.

Through the first 13 games, though, there has been just one Batman -- Obi Agbim.

"You need both," Wyoming's first-year head coach said, accompanied by that trademark smile.

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The senior guard netted a game-high 18 points and drained a triple with 1:10 remaining to give the Cowboys a one-point lead. That, coupled with two made free throws off the right hand of Touko Tainamo, was just enough in a 66-63 upset over Nevada Saturday in front of more than 4,300 inside the Arena-Auditorium.

The Mountain West's leading scorer finished the night 7-of-12 from the field. He connected on 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. Agbim also added four assists and a pair of steals in the win.

Oh, by the way, the 6-foot-3 Colorado product did a majority of his damage against Tre Coleman, a two-time All-Conference Defensive Team member. His other favorite victim was former Cowboy Xavier DuSell, who finished with a minus-6 in just a dozen minutes on the floor.

"No, because he does it all the time in practice, too," Wicks said when asked if Agbim does anything to surprise him anymore. "Like, he gets mad when he misses a shot, which is weird. I'm like, nobody's ever been perfect before, but he gets mad if he's not 10-for-10 from the field. He's just kind of that perfectionist."

Tainamo, the Cowboys' top "Robin" on this night, capped his outing with 15 points off the bench. The Finnish Freak, as he is affectionately known by his teammates and coaches, hit a pair of threes and was 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Agbim's numbers don't surprise him one bit.

"Every shot he takes, I think he's going to make it," said the 6-foot-9 senior who was moved from the four spot to the five before the last game against Cal State Fullerton.

Wicks agrees.

"He's so confident right now," he added. "I don't care what shot he shoots, I feel like it's going in. You don't have a lot of players that you get a coach where every time you just watch him play, you're like, go ahead. Whatever I called, I don't care, because he has to go make plays for us.

"I'm a much better coach when you got guys like that who can go make plays."

How good has the Fort Lewis transfer been?

Agbim has netted double-figures in every game this year, including a season-best 28-point outburst against Bellarmine nine days ago inside this very building. He's reached the 20-point mark five times.

Even in lopsided losses to Texas Tech and BYU, Agbim, who is shooting nearly 54% from the field, still carried the load, including sinking 21 in a loss to the Cougars.

Today could've been different.

Coleman has the pedigree. He also has Agbim by four inches and 45 pounds, not to mention four-plus years of Division-I basketball.

"I expect them to put their best defender on me, you know, wear me down, try to make me mentally check out. I expect them to play their hardest on me," he said. "Honestly, I just do whatever I have to do for the team, whether it's taking a big shot or getting others involved. I just feel like, you know, the team trusts me, and I want to just lead and allow us to win."

The Cowboys did just that, claiming their third straight victory, moving to 1-1 in league play and continuing the tradition of making this dome a house of horrors for Steve Alford and the Wolf Pack, who have now dropped six straight in Laramie.

Dontaie Allen connected on all three of his triples, including one from the corner as the first-half buzzer sounded. The senior transfer from Western Kentucky also pulled down a team-high five boards. Matija Belic, who was a plus-8 on the night, added the same number of points and Jordan Nesbitt chipped in with six, vaulting Wyoming to 8-5 on the season.

AJ Wills, despite finishing with just one bucket, provided a spark off the bench, dishing out four helpers and wrangling two rebounds. He also drew a violent charge midway through the first half that helped ignite a 9-0 run. Scottie Ebube also pitched in with four points and a steal in just 13 minutes.

Having this many "Robin's," Wicks added, makes the Cowboys a difficult team to scout.

"You got guys that are averaging 10 points, nine, eight, seven, six," he added. "At any point in time, those guys can go have 15, like Touko had tonight."

Wyoming did commit 19 turnovers in this one, but turned 16 Nevada giveaways into 10 points. The Cowboys also limited one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Mountain West to just 5-of-11, three coming from big man Nick Davidson.

Kobe Sanders, along with Davidson, both paced the visitors with 15 points. Justin McBride added 11. Coleman netted just seven on 3-of-6 shooting.

"Get used to it," Wicks said as he sat down for his postgame press conference. "Not the winning part, get used to style of play. When you learn to live how we live, when we hang on possession after possession, When you've been in three one-possession games in the non-conference, when you've been in a lot of pressure-packed situations, that's just how we try to grind them out, man.

"We're trying to get that pace of possession down slower, slower, slower. Everybody wants to play fast and feed a lot of mouths. We just want to win."

Preseason favorite Boise State (10-3, 2-0) will pay a visit to the high plains for a New Year's Eve showdown. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

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