Cowboys Down Southeastern Louisiana in Defensive Battle, 64-61

Pokes hold SLU to 33 percent from the field

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 22, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboys held Southeastern Louisiana to 33 percent from the field in a 64-61 win on Friday evening in the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie. Wyoming struggled from the field on the night but used the offensive glass for 14 second chance points to move to 4-1 overall on the season.

“I put 4-1 right on the board in the locker room after the game and a lot of teams in the country would like to wake up on Saturday morning and be 4-1,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “To that point it is hard to win, and they tip my cap to their staff they are well coached. We have a big Three and we have to hit two each game and that is defend, rebounds and take care of the basketball and tonight we defended and take care of the basketball.”

The Pokes have held all-four opponents in the Arena-Auditorium to under 40 percent this season. Wyoming was held to 37 percent on the night and 23 percent from behind the arc. The Pokes held a 52-30 advantage on the glass for the game.

The Cowboy were led by Jordan Nesbitt with a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebound for his third double-double of the season. All his 13 points came in the second half. Obi Agbim added 11 points and has scored in double-figure in all five games this season. Abou Magassa recorded a career-high nine points and had a career night on the glass with seven rebounds. Oleg Kojenets added a season-high seven point and career-high eight rebounds. A.J. Wills added a season-high nine points with Touko Tainamo adding eight point and eight rebounds.

Agbim added a pair of threes with the Cowboy defense holding Southeastern Louisiana scoreless for the first four and a half minutes, but SLU added a triple for a 6-3 contest with 15 minutes left in the first half.

The Lions would cut the Cowboy lead to one-point at 6-5, but an and-one play from Dontaie Allen and a jumper from Wills and a layup from Magassa and a pair of freebies made it a 15-5 contest near the 11-minute mark of the opening frame.

Wills added a pair of threes and Tainamo added a layup for an 8-0 run and a 23-10 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the first stanza. The Lions made it a seven-point game, but the Pokes pushed the lead to 13 points on a layup from Kojenets.

Wyoming took a 36-26 lead into the break holding Southeastern to 27 percent from the field. The Lions scored only two points in the paint in the first half.

The Cowboys struggled to open the second half offensively with the Lions making it 38-33 game in the early going of the first half. Wyoming went over five-minutes without a field goal with Southeastern tying the game at 41-41 and took a 43-41 lead at the 12-minute mark of the second half.

A fast break alley-oop by the Lions made it a 46-43 game for SLU with under 10 minutes left in the contest. Tainamo gave the Cowboys a brief 47-46 lead, but SLU tied the game right after. The teams would trade leads over several minutes.

Nesbitt would get to double-figures with a triple and gave Wyoming a 54-52 lead with just over three-minutes left in the contest. The Pokes would make it a five-point lead as part of a 6-0 run with 2:49 remaining.

The Pokes would take a 58-54 lead, but a pair of free throws from the Lions made it a 58-56 game with just over a minute left in the game. Tainamo gave Wyoming a 60-56 lead with a nice reverse layup and a free throw from Wills made it a 61-56 game with 28 seconds left.

The Lions raced down the floor and added a basket for a 61-58 contest with 25 seconds left. Agbim got to double-figures with a pair of free throws, but SLU answered with a three-pointer for a 63-61 game with nine seconds left. The Lions had a look late to tie after Cowboy free throws, but the Pokes held and took the win 64-61.

The Lions were led by Kam Burton with 20 points on the night going 7-of-9 form the field. Sam Hines Jr. added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Wyoming heads to the Cancun Challenge next Tuesday taking on Tulane in a contest at 4 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.