The Wyoming Cowboys faced off against the Fresno State Bulldogs this Saturday, winning the contest in thrilling fashion, 68-67 on an Akuel Kot buzzer beater.
The Pokes moved to 9-8 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West, ending a two game skid and getting a win after losing four out of their last 5.
The game opened up very evenly keeled, with each team trading points, and it was 7-7 after the first five minutes. After the Pokes took a 10-9 lead, the defenses took over, and for 3 minutes both teams failed to find a bucket. The Bulldogs were able to break the scoring back open and quickly made it 17-10 in their favor. Meanwhile, missed baskets began to pile up for the Pokes. However, Sam Griffin cashed his 2nd three pointer of the afternoon which reinvigorated the Cowboys offense, and they brought it back within two.
Fresno State pulled away again and went on a 8-0 scoring run in only a minute and a half, forcing the Pokes to regroup and call a timeout after going down 25-15. The Pokes slowly started to chip away at the Fresno State ten point lead, aided by a strong defensive stretch in which they held the Bulldogs scoreless for 3 minutes. Even with the great defense however, the Pokes struggled to score on the offensive side of the ball, with a slew of missed field goals and turnovers. At the end of the half, it was 35-28 for the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Sam Griffin was the top offensive contributor in the first period, going 4/8 with ten points. For the Bulldogs, the former Cowboy Xavier DuSell put up 7 points, thanks to two 3 pointers. One of the difference makers in the first half was points off turnovers, with Fresno able to capitalize on the Pokes errors, turning them into 7 points. Wyoming only cashed 1 point off Fresno turnovers conversely. Additionally, Fresno State put up a 47% field goal percentage while Wyoming was only able to post a rough 36%.
Akuel Kot fired up the crowd with a three pointer to start the half, but the Bulldogs kept their lead at 6 with a quick layup immediately after. The Pokes began to slowly inch closer to the Bulldogs, opting to drive to the basket and get layups rather than take the deeper shots that they struggled with in the first half. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Pokes brought it to within two at 40-38 after a Mason Walters layup, but Fresno quickly hopped back out to a nine point lead, helped by another DuSell three. Fresno continued to stretch their lead and went up by 12 with ten minutes to play.
It would be two straight Brendan Wenzel threes that got the fans in the Arena Auditorium back to their feet and made it a 52-48 game. Wenzel stayed on fire, and after a Fresno three pointer quieted the crowd, he brought them right back with a layup and free throw to keep the Pokes in it. He then nailed another three after a Bulldog score, and with five minutes left the Cowboys were only down by two. Fresno scored again but after another Griffin three, that lead was cut down to one. Shortly after, Wenzel slammed home a dunk that gave the Pokes the lead and Kot splashed a three to put the Pokes up by four with 2:14 remaining.
Isaiah Pope added a three for the Bulldogs, and after keeping the Wyoming offense scoreless on their possession, Fresno had the ball with 24 seconds remaining, down by one. They found the basket for two, putting the ball in Wyoming’s hands with 5 seconds left. With time expiring, Akuel Kot nailed a stepback two pointer to give the Pokes the win.
Despite the struggles for most of the game, the Wyoming offense caught fire coming down the stretch, thanks to an incredible effort from Brendan Wenzel, who ended the night with a team leading 17 points and 8 rebounds. Griffin posted 16 points, and the hero Akuel Kot had 12. The Cowboys trailed for 32 minutes of the game and were down by 12 late, but they found a way to get it done.
After a short break, the Pokes return to Laramie next Saturday to take on Nevada at 5:30 PM.
