Wyoming is ‘Winning in the Margins’ While Claiming 5 of Last 6

LARAMIE -- Winning in the margins.

That has become the identity of this young, inexperienced Wyoming basketball team. It again was on full display Saturday afternoon in San Jose.

Get our free mobile app

The Cowboys connected on all 15 of their free-throw attempts in that 88-78 road victory. They had a 23-14 advantage in second-chance points. That only happens thanks to 14 offensive rebounds, three of which were hauled in by 6-foot-1 guard Damarion Dennis.

Wyoming leads the conference, averaging 11.8 boards a night on the offensive glass.

A career night from rookie forward Gavin Gores didn't hurt matters, either. The Wisconsin product netted 20 points on a perfect 7-for-7 outing from the field. Dennis added 15. Point guard Leland Walker chipped in with 13, all coming in the second half.

"(We've won) five of our last six, which hasn't been done in 26 years," head coach Sundance Wicks said on his postgame radio appearance after the Cowboys capped the regular season with an 18-13 record, including a 9-11 mark in Mountain West play. "Our freshmen scored 19 of our first 21 points. You know, we shot 57% again from the field. I think it means that's two blistering games in a row where we've really shot the ball well and played well for each other."

Though Wicks did say he was disappointed in matching offensive possessions -- 56 each, thanks to a dozen Wyoming turnovers -- and allowing 29 points in the process -- the Spartans snagged 12 offensive rebounds themselves -- he raved about the bench play.

For good reason, too.

The Cowboys, led by a 10-point outing from Simm-Marten Saadi and nine from Adam Harakow, outscored SJSU by a whopping 41-4 margin.

"The 'Ramadan Warrior' was great again," Wicks said, referring to Harakow, who sank all three of his attempts from deep. "Adam hit every shot from outside, right? Just a special kid right there."

Walker, though, according to Wicks, is making this entire machine hum in unison. He's the "dual-threat quarterback," if you will.

"That's a perfect point guard line for me, man," he said of the senior's 13-point, three-rebound, seven-assist outing. Walker didn't turn the ball over one time and finished with a plus-26 in 31 minutes on the floor. "... When you win by 10 and you're a plus-26, that's impacting winning. I was really on him about two weeks ago after the Boise State game (Walker netted just eight points on 2-of-14 shooting, missing all six of his attempts from beyond the arc and pulling down a single rebound) and what we need from him. He has just doubled down on the role and role clarity, you know?

"Narrow your focus, enhance your performance."

Wyoming has secured the No. 9 seed at this week's conference tournament and will take on UNLV in its own building in Wednesday's opener. Tipoff inside the Thomas and Mack Center is slated for 1 p.m. Mountain Time.

The last time a Cowboy team won a game in this event, 2021-222, it took a 12-point, seven-rebound outing off the bench from Brendan Wenzel to knock off the Rebels, 59-56. While that squad was star-studded, featuring the likes of Graham Ike, Hunter Maldonado, Xavier DuSell and a very young Noah Reynolds, they too were winning in the margins, eventually securing a berth in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

It was all hands on deck.

This one will be, too.

"We haven't seen them and they haven't seen us, in a long time. We're both different teams," Wicks said, referring to Wyoming's 98-66 rout of visiting UNLV back on Jan. 6 in Laramie. Since, the Rebels have gone 9-8 with impressive wins over Utah State (x2), Boise State (x2), Grand Canyon and Nevada. "This whole thing will be completely different down there, but nonetheless, playing Vegas, in Vegas, just like 21-22, man, this is going to be a heck of a matchup.

"I'm excited for our guys' opportunity to go down there and keep playing."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players