Tuck’s Take: Bennett’s ‘Legacy Game’ Lands in Border War Lore

LARAMIE -- Chris McMillian had the scout in this one.

Why? That's simple -- it's personal.

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Wyoming's former point guard and current assistant said pregame the key to victory over the Cowboys' most-hated rival was limiting production from beyond the arc. When Colorado State makes eight triples or more, the record is 10-2.

The visitors didn't sniff that number.

Wyoming, on the other hand, did. And then some.

Khaden Bennett sank six of the team's dozen threes and finished with a season-high 22 points as the Cowboys rolled to a 68-57 victory Saturday night in the 245th edition of the Border War. The junior guard, who was a plus-17 in 36 minutes, tacked on 10 rebounds and a pair of assists in the win, the 140th in the history of this annual slugfest.

Damarion Dennis added 16 points, including going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line, and Leland Walker chipped in with 10. Adam Harakow capped his night with nine.

Forward Jevin Muniz led CSU with 14 points and seven helpers, and Kyle Jorgensen netted 13, adding two of the Rams' four threes on the night on 23 attempts.

Josh Pascarelli, who averages nearly 12 points a night and hits 44.4% of his attempts from distance, finished with a goose egg in the scoring column.

Guess who was guarding him?

"I get goosebumps talking about him," head coach Sundance Wicks said, referring to Bennett. "... Legacy game. He's the hardest playing guy. I mean, every time he comes out for starting lineup, I say, 'You're the hardest playing guy I know.' I don't know if I've ever seen a guy play harder and want it more than what he did tonight."

That crop of CSU snipers, early in the season, led the nation in three-point shooting.

Bennett said he always feels like a big night is on the horizon.

"I just continue to put in the work, you know? Eventually it has to happen for me," the Quinnipiac transfer said. "Then, obviously my teammates continue to trust in me. So that's really what happened."

Wyoming moves to 13-9 overall and 4-7 in Mountain West play. The Rams, who never held a lead, fell to 12-10 and are now staring up at the Pokes in the league standings at 3-8.

These two longtime nemeses will hook up again on Valentine's Day in Fort Collins.

The 6,384 in attendance inside the Arena-Auditorium erupted when Bennett splashed his sixth make from deep with 7:20 remaining. McMillian, who wore this very uniform from 1998-2003 and appeared in 125 games, threw both arms in the air and violently pumped his fists as the Cowboys took a 16-point lead.

That all-too-familiar chant -- "It sucks to be a CSU Ram" -- followed.

"I love that song," Wicks joked. "It's one of the timeless, classic songs in American culture, right? It's a great song. Everybody should sing that tonight till midnight."

Wyoming, which connected on 48% of its shots from distance, traded twos for threes in its fourth conference win. CSU did its damage in the paint, claiming that battle, 36-14.

Like Wicks always likes to say, threes are just worth more.

Though Bennett claimed the in-house buffalo trophy, he wasn't the undisputed MVP. That honor also belongs to Laramie's own Neil Summers. He hasn't played a minute during his freshman season. Sheridan's Garrett Spielman gets a nod, too. So does Talan Taylor, Will Martin and Nic Reynolds.

The latter two are coaches.

It's an all-hands-on-deck approach.

"Our scout team is phenomenal." Wicks said. "I'll tell you this right now, Neil Summers. It's a hell of a (CSU forward) Rashaam Memba. He was giving our guys the blues yesterday in practice. We went to Neil Summers, and it was just like, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. You got to stop Neil. They couldn't stop him.

How do you hold that team to just four threes?

"You try to replicate it as best you can," Wicks continued. "We just went live."

Wyoming point guard Leland Walker said that CSU's players weren't saying much on the court. Why? "They were taking belt ...," he joked.

Guarding the perimeter was no laughing matter.

"Ball pressure," he said, was the key. "You know, staying with the shooters. They have three really good shooters and we stayed locked in, in the first half and the second half."

Wicks, still soaked from the celebratory shower he just received in the home locker room, didn't sugarcoat it -- this one meant the world to him. Admittedly, he shed some tears in the locker room. He thanked his team for the inspired effort. It was the Gillette's products first victory in this storied rivalry.

Wyoming wore its red, white and blue state-pride threads in this one. The back name plate spelled out "One Wyoming." That wasn't just a catchy slogan tonight.

"I told those guys before we went out, I said, 'Grab your jersey.' I said, 'That's not just a uniform, that's the fabric and the thread of the state of Wyoming," Wicks said. "That's the guts, that's the grit, that's the uncomfortable nature that we live in here in this state. I said, 'Uncomfortable is our mission tonight. I said, 'We're not doing this for anybody else.

"'We're doing this for the state of Wyoming.'"

The league's bully is on deck, in their house. The Cowboys will travel to southern California Tuesday night to take on frontrunning San Diego State. Wicks said he's not worried about an emotional letdown. Not yet, anyway.

"I told them after I go buy beers at the Buck, I'm thinking about San Diego State, OK?"