(Photo courtesy of UW Athletics)
The Wyoming Cowboys hit the road on Wednesday for their first road tilt of the young season, facing off with Sam Houston (1-2). The Pokes fell behind in the early goings and while they stayed close for the rest of the game, couldn’t put it together enough to jump ahead of the Bearkats and lost 78-70 to move to 4-1.
Wyoming jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first two minutes but the game quickly tightened up and stayed back and forth. With about 11 minutes left in the first half however, the Bearkats knocked down a handful of free throws and a three pointer to go up by 4.
While it stayed tight for the rest of the half, the Pokes couldn’t regain a lead and they trailed by only 3 right before half until Isaiah Manning drilled a buzzer beating jumper to make it 5. The score showed a close game, but the Pokes seemed to lag just a step behind Sam Houston for most of the half, setting up a need for some enthusiasm coming out of the locker room.
Leland Walker was an integral part of the offense in the first half, putting up 10 points and 4 rebounds to stay within striking range of the Bearkats. What was clear through the first 10 minutes however was the importance of fouls and free throws. Sam Houston was a perfect 11-11 off of fouls and Wyoming put up just 2 points on 5 extra shots, giving the Bearkats a big 9 point advantage off of free throws.
Out of the gate, the game just went back and forth as the next period got underway. Every time Wyoming got within 2 or 3 points, Sam Houston pulled away immediately, and the Pokes just couldn’t close the gap and take a lead.
Unfortunately, those free throw problems persisted for the Cowboys too. In the second half, Wyoming was 7/17 while the Bearkats stayed shooting at a high level, nailing 18 of their 22 attempts. The box score shows a glaring and painful fact; 29 points off free throws for Sam Houston, 9 points for Wyoming. Even though they committed more fouls, Wyoming’s struggle to get the easy points left a bitter taste.
A Magassa dunk made it just a three point game with 2 minutes left, but Sam Houston didn’t stumble late in the game and once again knocked down their free throws to keep Wyoming an arm’s length away and come out on top, 78-70.
Leland Walker shined in the loss, scoring an impressive 24 points, more than double the second highest scorer, Naz Meyer, who posted 11. Sam Houston and Wyoming shared very similar stats except in the free throw category, and Wyoming led in shooting percentage and rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome other issues.
Wyoming returns home for a Sunday afternoon matinee with Norfolk State. They hope to reset and get back on track when they tip off against the Spartans at 2 p.m.
