Cowboys Cruise Past Trailblazers 86-69 on Saturday Evening

Newton scores career-high 19 points

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 16, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys (3-1 overall) cruised past Utah Tech on Saturday evening with 86-69 victory in the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes dominated the glass grabbing 50 rebounds for the second time this season and held Utah Tech to 36 percent from the field.

“It was the tale of two halve for us tonight,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “I thought the response was decent enough. I thought at times we did not impose our will tonight. Sometimes you have to get the player to see what that looks like. I thought the first half we got there and the second half we wilted a little bit. We got a response we wanted, but just didn’t finish the job.”

The Cowboys shot 50 percent from the field on the night and held the Trailblazers to under 40 percent, as an opponent hasn’t shot over 40 percent in the Arena-Auditorium this season. Wyoming finished the night with a season-high 23 made free throws. The Pokes also dominated the glass in the contest 50-27 for the second +20 game on the glass this season. Wyoming recorded 44 points in the paint and added 16 second chance points.

The Cowboys were led by Kobe Newton with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He also added four assists. Obi Agbim added 12 points, as he has scored in double-figures in every game this season. Jordan Nesbitt added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. It was his second of the season and seventh of his career. The Pokes had five players record five or more rebounds on the night. Guard Dontaie Allen added a season-high nine points with five rebounds.

The Pokes got out to a 6-2 lead in the opening two-plus minutes thanks to Agbim and Newton. The Trailblazers would hold Wyoming scoreless for over two and half minutes to take a 10-9 lead, but a quick 7-0 run by Wyoming made it a 16-10 game with over 12 minutes left in the opening half.

Utah Tech once again held the Cowboys scoreless for over two and a half minutes to tie the contest halfway through the half. Wyoming responded with a 14-0 run fueled by Newton for a 30-16 contest with over five minutes left in the opening stanza.

Newton added a three pointer to get to his career-high and give Wyoming a 33-18 lead as part of a 17-2 scoring run over five and a half minutes. The Cowboys would take a 42-28 lead into the half after a buzzer beater by Utah Tech.

Cole Henry picked apart the Utah Tech defense finding open shooters as Wyoming would take a 50-33 lead with 17 minutes left to play. UW held Utah Tech scoreless for over three-minutes with Jordan Nesbitt helping Wyoming take a 54-33 lead.

Wyoming would use the foul line and take a 66-41 game halfway through the second half. Nesbitt show continued getting his double-double and pushing the Cowboy lead to 28 points with under eight minutes left.

The Cowboys would go into the bench from there and made free throws late from Utah Tech gave Wyoming an 86-69 win to move to 3-0 at home this season.

The Trailblazers were led by Tennessee Rainwater with 16 points on the night. Beon Riley added 14 points.

Wyoming will return to action next Friday hosting Southeastern Louisiana in the Arena-Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.