Wildcats Shoot Nearly 70% in Second Half of 84-71 win in Laramie

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Cowboys went over nine minutes without a field goal to close the first half and open the second half in an 84-71 loss to Big Sky Conference favorite Weber State on Saturday evening in the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.

It marked the first home loss of the season for the Brown and Gold as Wyoming falls to 6-4 on the season.

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“Credit to Weber State. They have been on the road for a few days and, after a tough loss against Nevada, I knew we were going to get a really good effort from them,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “I told our guys what they were going to feel and sometimes you can tell them, but sometimes you have to feel it for yourself. From a talent standpoint Weber is very talented. For us to take the next step, we have to have the ability to take the advantage. I felt we got stuck at times. But we will learn from this and get ready for our trip to El Paso.”

The Cowboys were led by Akuel Kot with 24 points on the night. It marked his third game this season with over 20 points. He has scored in double-figures in 43-straight career games.

Sam Griffin added 22 points on the night and has scored in double-figures in every game this season. Brendan Wenzel added 11 points for his third game in double-figures this season.

Wyoming shot 49 percent from the field in the contest, but Weber State countered shooting 56 percent on the night. Weber State shot 47 percent from behind the arc with Wyoming at 39 percent, as Wyoming came into the game leading the nation in three-point percentage. Weber State held a 29-25 advantage on the glass.

The Pokes got out to an 8-5 lead early with a balanced offensive attack led by Kot. He would later make it a 13-9 game at the 14:40 mark of the first half hitting Wyoming’s first triple of the game. Wenzel later scored five-straight points for a 18-12 contest.

Weber State would make it a two points game, but Kot go to double figures with a layup and jumper for a 26-22 game with under 10 minutes left in the half. The Wildcats battled back and tied the contest at 29-29 with just over seven minutes left in the half.

The Wildcats held the Pokes scoreless for nearly five minutes and took the lead and built it to 38-31 with three minutes left in the half. It was a 9-0 run for the Wildcats and led to their first lead of the game. The lead was pushed to 11 points at 44-33 with 93 seconds left in the first frame and that would be the score at the half.

Weber State pushed the lead to 15 points in the early goings of the second half, but a pair of buckets by the Pokes made it a 48-37 game with just over 17 minutes left in the contest. Kot added a bucket and a pair of technical free throws and another bucket for a 10-0 Wyoming run and a 48-43 game with under 16-minute left.

The Wildcats pushed the lead back to double-digits, but a three-pointer by Kobe Newton made it a 58-51 game with 11:55 remaining. Wenzel and Kot helped make it a five-point game again at 60-55 with under ten minutes left on the clock. But Weber State held Wyoming scoreless for over two minutes and built the lead back to 10 points.

Weber State would maintain the lead making four-straight field goals, as it was enough to take the contest 84-71.

The Wildcats were led by Dyson Koehler with 19 points. Dillon Jones added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Wyoming returns to action on Wednesday heading to the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational facing South Dakota State at 5 p.m.