Tuck’s Take: Pokes Batter, Bully UNLV in 98-66 Dismantling

LARAMIE -- The Cowboys' collective jaw wasn't exactly made of glass through the first three games of a grueling Mountain West slate, but it was described as "light."

Those are Sundance Wicks' words.

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Wyoming took a flurry of haymakers in the opening minutes against league newcomer Grand Canyon. A pesky Air Force squad was eventually outlasted in the late rounds. Conference heavyweight New Mexico let the visitors hang around in the first half before landing a TKO in a 20-point blowout in the vaunted Pit.

Against UNLV Tuesday night inside the Arena-Auditorium, it was Leland Walker and the Cowboys finally delivering the knockout punch.

"When a dude gets up off the mat after getting one in the chin, you find out what you're made of," Wyoming's eccentric head coach said following a 98-66 dismantling of the Runnin' Rebels. "I said, that's who we got to be. We got to be scrappy, we got to be tougher and we've got to fight.

"We can't be afraid about who we're facing in the ring. I don't care. Everybody in this league has got a heavy hand."

Walker finished with a game-high 28 points and connected on 4-of-6 from deep. Khaden Bennett, the recipient of the buffalo trophy, handed out to the player who "walked into the storm," netted 13 and finished with seven rebounds. Most impressive, the junior guard was a team-best plus-34 in plus/ minus.

Damarion Dennis capped this outing with 12 points and Naz Meyer finished with 10.

Wicks' boys played the role of peak Iron Mike Tyson in this one. UNLV, much bigger and taller, served as a feeble Lou Savarese. Though it wasn't a 15-second fight, abruptly ending with a devastating left hook, it might as well have been.

What Wicks envisioned in the preseason came to fruition in front of the faithful -- running the opponent right out of the gym.

Wyoming did just that, leaning on the Rebels in the paint and hitting nine triples, including eight over the first 20 minutes, building a lead that eventually ballooned to 38 points. The visitors were outscored 46-26 in the paint. They lost the rebounding battle, too. That was 43-29, including a 14-11 advantage for the Cowboys on the offensive glass.

"That's 98 points in this league," Wicks added, eyebrows raised. "You know, bringing back the old days of, like, welcome to altitude."

Yes, UNLV is playing without 6-foot-8, 255-pound Iowa transfer Ladji Dembele and guard Myles Che, who were both lost for the season. Al Green and Naas Cunningham also just returned to the lineup after a nasty bout with the flu.

The latter two combined for a single rebound in 12 total minutes.

"We got them at the right time," Wicks added.

Kimanai Hamilton paced the Rebels with 19 points and Tyrin Jones chipped in with 16. Leading scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn also reached double figures with 10. The rest of the lineup? Just 21 points. Finishing just 9-of-25 in the lay-up category certainly didn't help the cause.

Wyoming also outscored UNLV's bench, 34-9.

The optics were as bad as the score.

Cowboy starters were being pulled off the floor with more than eight minutes remaining in regulation. Walk-on Talan Taylor played more than three minutes. So did Sheridan's Garrett Spielman.

Uriyah Rojas pulled down a defensive rebound under the basket with 7:31 to go and did his best Josh Allen impression, heaving a perfect strike down court to a streaking Dennis. The sophomore guard reeled in the pass and laid it up and in, giving Wyoming a commanding 85-54 lead.

What was so unique about that sequence?

Four Rebels stood on their side of the center stripe and helplessly watched.

"We were bad. We were just bad. We were bad. We were soft. We were bad," a blunt UNLV head coach Josh Pastner told his local broadcast crew. "We couldn’t score. We left so many points on the board. (Wyoming) played with desperation and we played soft, so that’s going to get you beat."

Demoralized. That's the best way to describe the Rebels' collective body language as they fell to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

"When you see guys who are tired, you want to just attack them," Walker added. "We can beat them how we really want to beat them."

Wyoming moves to 2-2 in the league standings and 11-4 overall. A trip to Reno is next on the docket this Saturday night. The Wolf Pack saw a seven-game winning streak go by the wayside Tuesday night against San Diego State. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.

Wick's isn't about to dance on anyone's grave, but that trademark smile creased his face when asked if this is what it's really supposed to look like inside this building, no matter the name across the opponents' chest.

"I want you, every time you think about Laramie, you think about the worst day of your life, as an opponent," Wicks said. "The worst travel day, too. I just wish there was snow. I wish there was snow, and I wish there was ice, and I wish there was rain.

"... I wish there was just bad weather and wind. I wish they could have all the bad things that everybody thinks are bad that we love, as Wyomingites."

Mission accomplished.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players