Cowboys Expecting a ‘Dog Fight’ in Opener Against UNLV

LARAMIE -- What will it take for the Cowboys to play four more games in four days?

A "March mindset."

Sundance Wicks' marching orders haven't changed on the eve of the annual Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas: "Make winning plays."

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Wyoming's head coach Sunday said he doesn't care about seeding or the fact his young squad will face UNLV inside its home arena, he wants to see the aspects that led to winning five of the final six games down the stretch for the first time in 26 years.

"If you can continue to keep doubling down on the things that are making you play the right way," he said. "... I like where our guys' minds are, I like where our focus is and I like how we've been playing, but also know that, you know, UNLV is probably liking the same thing about those guys. So, expect a formidable matchup."

It was the exact opposite of that the last time these two teams hooked up.

"We got thumped," the Rebels' first year head coach Josh Pastner said earlier this week on his coach's show, RebZone. "We were not good."

That's an understatement.

Leland Walker, who Tuesday was named to the Honorable Mention All-Mountain West team, netted a game-high 28 points and fellow guard Khaden Bennett chipped in with 13 as the Cowboys shot 55% from the field and connected on 23-of-29 free throws en route to a 98-66 dismantling of the visiting Rebels in early January.

"I had altitude sickness," Pastner continued. "Half our team had altitude sickness. It was a bad game. We were bad. Wyoming was really good. We are a different team than we were then and Wyoming is a different team than they were then."

UNLV shot just 38% from the field and was outrebounded, 43-29. The Cowboys doubled up the visitors in the paint, 46-26, and led by as many as 38. Kimani Hamilton (19), Tyrin Jones (16) and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (10) combined for 45 points. The rest?  Just 21.

From that point on, the Rebels went 9-8 in league play, including a season sweep of the regular-season champion Utah State Aggies. UNLV also took both meetings against Boise State and knocked off Grand Canyon.

"UNLV has been one of the hotter teams in the league, recently," Wicks said. "I mean, their offensive efficiency has spiked, their defensive rating has gone up."

He said Gibbs-Lawhorn is the "engine." Howie Fleming Jr. is the "connector." Jones is the "attacker" and Hamilton is the "glue."

Senior forward Walter Brown didn't score a single point in Laramie, missing his lone attempt from the field in 11 minutes of play. Still, Wicks said he keeps the flow for the Rebels and makes winning plays.

"They're a much more balanced and connected team than when we played them last time," Wicks continued. "So, you expect a straight up dog fight. I mean, they have found their stride and we have found our stride. We're both playing really good basketball right now."

Tipoff inside the Thomas and Mack Center is slated for 1 p.m. Mountain Time and the game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

Fans can also watch, listen to the contest, as well as follow stats on GoWyo.com. The game will be broadcast live on radio over the 26 affiliate stations of the Cowboy Sports Network with Keith Kelley on the call and Kevin McKinney on Color.

About The Teams
Wyoming heads into the contest with a 18-13 overall record and finished 9-11 in conference play downing San Jose State 88-78 on Saturday. The Pokes have won three-straight contests and five of their last six.

The Pokes average 77.3 points per game this season and allow 73 per night. The Pokes are grabbing 35.3 rebounds per game this season to rank fifth in the conference and are +4.4 this season on the glass. The Cowboys are grabbing just under 12 offensive rebounds per game, which leads the MW. Wyoming is hitting 8.4 three-pointers per game for the season and are shooting 33.5 percent from behind the arc.

UNLV heads into the contest with a 16-15 overall record and was 11-9 in conference play. The Runnin’ Rebels score 80.2 points per game for the season and allow 78.8 points per night. UNLV is shooting 47.3 percent from the field with opponents adding 45.8 percent.

UNLV hits 7.3 triples per game and shoots nearly 35 percent from behind the arc. The Runnin’ Rebels grab 34.9 rebounds per game and record 7.8 steals per game.

About The Players
Wyoming is led in scoring this season by Leland Walker at 13.8 points per game for tenth in the MW. He also adds a team-high 3.6 assists per game, which ranks eighth in the conference. Nasir (Naz) Meyer adds 12.7 points per game this season and adds 4.8 rebounds per game for second on the team.

Khaden Bennett adds 10.5 points per game and owns the team lead with five rebounds per night. Damarion Dennis adds 10.9 points per game for the season and is shooting 52 percent from the field.

UNLV is led in scoring by Dra Gibbs-Lawhorrn at 21 points per game. He led the MW conference in scoring with 23.6 per game in conference games. He has hit 91 threes this season.

Kimani Hamilton adds 12.6 points per game and adds 4.9 rebounds per night. Tyrin Jones adds 11.9 points per game and has 56 blocks on the season.

About The Series
Wyoming trails the all-time series 47-22 to the Runnin’ Rebels. Wyoming has won two of the last three meetings including downing UNLV 98-66 on Jan. 6 in Laramie.

Up Next
The winner of Wednesday’s contest will face top-seeded Utah State on Thursday at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals in a contest televised on CBS Sports Network.

* A UW press release contributed to this article

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