(UW Media Relations Photo)
The Border War rivalry between the Wyoming Cowboys and Colorado State Rams has always delivered some great matchups–but this one felt extra dire for both teams.
Two teams with identical conference and overall records coming off devastating blowout losses on the road, the stakes for the 245th rendition of the Border War couldn’t be higher. With both teams just scraping by with 3-7 records in Mountain West play, a win would breathe life back into one team. A loss would do the exact opposite.
The Cowboys–and Khaden Bennett in particular–seemed poised right out of the gates to put together a win. Bennett would come out hot, knocking down his first three attempts from deep as the Cowboys would race out to a 13-3 lead in the early goings.
“I think, as a basketball player, you always want to feel [confident] like that,” Bennett said of his scorching hot start to the game. “Those threes helped me, so I think that was really good for me.”
RAINING THREES FOR #️⃣3️⃣ 🌧️ pic.twitter.com/HQNmiASw8W
— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) February 1, 2026
This contest was far from becoming a blowout, despite the Cowboys roaring out to a big advantage early and holding the Rams to just one make on their first 10 attempts from the field. The Rams would eventually find their rhythm offensively and would hold the Cowboys scoreless for the last three minutes of the first half, drawing within four by halftime at 27-23.
“We had three turnovers in the last two minutes of the first half, so we weren’t scoring and we weren’t getting stops,” head coach Sundance Wicks said. “The growth point of this team is what we keep talking about is how are you impacting the game? Can you defend and rebound and take care of the basketball?
“When shots aren’t going in, you still have that energy. Do you still have that juice? Can you still set that tone?”
The Cowboys would pick their offense back up after the halftime intermission, as both Naz Meyer and Bennett would hit from deep back-to-back to open the half. The Rams kept pace with the Cowboys, though, maintaining within that four point margin for much of the opening minutes of the second frame.
A 12-0 run midway through the second half–courtesy of four made triples in a row by the Cowboys–completely busted this game wide open for the Cowboys, though. That run allowed the Cowboys to create their largest amount of separation at 16 points, a cushion that would hold strong against a late comeback effort by the Rams as the Cowboys would win the contest 68-57.
“It was an outstanding performance from our guys, complete team effort and an unbelievable state effort here to get us home,” Wicks said.
The defensive scout against the Rams–prepared by former standout Chris McMillan, who has won his fair share of Border Wars as a player–was simple. Limit their three-point shooting and force them in the paint. The Rams entered the contest with the highest three-point shooting mark in the entire conference, making around 40% of their attempts from deep.
The Cowboys held them to just 17.4% on four makes for the entire game.
“Ball pressure, staying with the shooters–they had three really good shooters–just staying locked in on the shooters,” Leland Walker said was the key in the Cowboys’ defensive effort.
It also helped that the Cowboys themselves had one of their best three-point shooting nights as a team. They finished with 12 made three for 48%, their most efficient shooting night from beyond the arc on the season.
Bennett was the driving force in the Cowboys’ three-point barrage, as the junior transfer finished with a season-high 22 points on 6/8 shooting from deep. He also added a double-double with 10 rebounds and finished +17 in the box score, playing more minutes than any other Cowboys.
Needless to say, his fingertips were all over this win.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a guy play harder and want it more than what he did tonight,” Wicks said of Bennett. “To go for 22 points, to have it on the offensive and defensive end, [to finish with] 10 rebounds. I get goosebumps talking about him, man.”
Damarion Dennis paced him with 16 points and was a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line, and Walker finished with 10 points and team-high four assists.
Wicks was most impressed with the home crowd, however, as a season-high attendance of 6,384 seemingly transformed themselves into a sixth man for the Cowboys.
Border War dub just means more 🤠💯 pic.twitter.com/pWvFmiRep1
— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) February 1, 2026
“It was as good of an atmosphere as I’ve ever coached in as a head coach, and that’s a big shout out to our fans. I tell you, that was a 10-point difference from the start because of those guys, and our players fed off it,” Wicks said.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Cowboys in their next two outings, as they look to take on two of the top teams in the league when they travel to San Diego State on Tuesday, then take on Utah State at home on Saturday.
