(UW Media Relations Photo)
Head Wyoming men’s basketball coach Sundance Wicks is a big fan of the three-point shot. His team wasn’t shy about letting it fly from deep in their home contest against an undermanned Fresno State Bulldogs team, either.
At first, it seemed as if none of their long-range attempts wanted to drop. Back-iron, rim-outs and air-balls were most of what the Cowboys could draw in the early-goings of the first half, making just 3-of-12 (25%) from deep to open the contest.
“I felt a little bit today, in that first half, our guys were thinking that Fresno was down a couple guys and they weren’t gonna be the ‘Dogs that they’d been,” Wicks said.
It was much of the same story for the Cowboys the first time these two teams met, where the Bulldogs escaped with a narrow 63-60 win over the Cowboys. The Cowboys were a harrowing 5-of-19 (27%) from deep in that one, a main contributor to their loss to the Bulldogs that day.
The Cowboys’ slow start offensively in Laramie allowed the Bulldogs to build an early eight-point advantage in the contest, as they led the Cowboys 28-20 just a little over halfway through the first half.
It was at that point where they finally started to heat up.
Despite holding an advantage for a large portion of the first half, the Bulldogs would eventually concede the lead to the Cowboys in the dying seconds of the first half behind a crafty finish by freshman Naz Meyer.
The spin & the finish 🤯 pic.twitter.com/PubhH5JuAN
— Wyoming Cowboy Basketball (@wyo_mbb) February 18, 2026
The Cowboys wouldn’t look back after taking that slight lead at the half, as they’d hold onto their advantage for the entirety of the second half en route to a comfortable 92-82 finish to avenge their loss to the Bulldogs earlier in the season.
“It feels great to come out here and compete with this team and get it done, because this was a big one for the [tournament] seedings,” Meyer said.
The win was certainly a vital one for this desperate Cowboy squad, who sat two games behind both Fresno State and Colorado State in the Mountain West standings. The Cowboys fell to the Rams 79-68 in their last outing, giving away a double-digit second half advantage that led to their undoing. The Cowboys didn’t let their lead slip against the Bulldogs, though.
Making a season-best 15 threes certainly helped.
“We were making the right plays, seeking paint and kicking out and playing for each other,” Meyer said. “I think that’s why we were shooting at a high clip because we’re playing for each other and not shooting bad ones.”
The Cowboys also finished with 21 assists on 34 made field goals, while only turning the ball over nine times. They also outrebounded the Bulldogs by three, despite running a “small-ball” lineup due to lingering issues limiting the Cowboys’ size.
“At the end of the day we had to prove that the small-ball lineup could actually work, because I don’t know what other lineup we’re going to play,” Wicks said. “I think this lineup puts pressure on you over and over again and it’s a little bit more like the run and gun Pokes.”
The Cowboys now sit at a 5-10 record in the league standings, now just one game behind the Bulldogs and still two behind Colorado State. Boise State, who the Cowboys will meet on the road in one week, currently sit two and a half games ahead of the Cowboys.
This upcoming stretch of five games before the conference tournament is going to be a big one for the Cowboys–and the Cowboys will be a hard team to beat if they continue to shoot the ball like they did tonight.
“You want to be trying to find your rhythm and flow and be playing your best basketball in March,” Wicks said.
The Cowboys will begin that final five game swing with a road trip against Grand Canyon. The Lopes and the Cowboys last met all the way back in December, with the Lopes taking the win in Laramie by a score of 82-70.
