The Wyoming Cowboys officially kicked off their 2025-2026 season on Monday, hosting the Northern State Wolves, a DII program out of South Dakota. The Pokes rolled to a 99-75 season opening win, showing flashes of their new look team and fresh faces.
It was an especially sentimental game for Pokes head coach Sundance Wicks, with the 2nd year leader of the Cowboy’s facing off against his alma mater, where he graduated in 2003. In his time at Northern State, Wicks etched his name in the record books and finished his time at the school 25th all-time in scoring and still sits in 10th in all-time rebounding. In his first ever competition against his old school, Wicks looked to use the opportunity to start his second season with a win.
From the get go, the Wolves showed a strong ability to cash points from beyond the arc, and it was this sharp shooting that helped them go back and forth with Wyoming early on. Wyoming on the other hand had a big presence in the paint, out rebounding Northern State to stay competitive.
Wyoming couldn’t build any kind of lead over the Wolves in the first 10 minutes, and about halfway through the first, it was tied 26-26. Wyoming cobbled a few big runs together before the break and grabbed a 50-40 lead, their largest of the night, as the teams headed to the locker room.
Still keeping around that 10-point lead, the Pokes plugged along in the second, led by G Naz Meyer. They racked up the points, but defensively it was a challenge to cap the Wolves. Around the 12 minute mark F Gavin Gores slammed a dunk home which Meyer followed up with a nice left handed layup to force a Wolves timeout and grab a 14-point lead.
That sequence seemed to spark a little something in the Pokes, and their lead grew little by little, finally seeming to keep the Wolves scoring down a bit. Wyoming was able to jump to a 88-68 lead with 6 minutes to go, and were able to coast to a comfortable 99-75 win.
“There were some good things that happened tonight,” Wicks said after the win. “Good to get the win, but not happy with the process of getting the win.”
The fast paced offense that Wicks alluded to in the offseason showed up in the opener, and achieved a solid 55% field goal percentage while going 6-16 on three pointers. The defense seemed to lag behind at points, but the Pokes came out on top easily. The Wolves attempted 40 3-pointers over the course of the night and landed 12 of those, while putting up a 40% field goal percentage.
The freshman Naz Meyer emerged as an offensive leader and threat, putting up 19 points, going 3-4 from beyond the arc and also grabbing 6 rebounds. Returning veteran Abou Magassa led the Pokes with 8 rebounds while also putting up 7 points. Khaden Bennett was right behind both Meyer and Magassa with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
The Pokes return to the Arena Auditorium after their first win on Saturday, Nov 8, facing off against Cal State Fullerton.
