Wyoming Cowboys roll to 93-56 victory over Portland Pilots

LARAMIE – Wyoming continued its spectacular begin to the season with a 93-56 victory over Portland on Saturday night time in entrance of a crowd of three,428 on the Arena-Auditorium.

Leland Walker completed with 15 factors, seven rebounds and 6 assists to steer the unbeaten Cowboys (4-0).

Jared Harris, who had solely scored two factors in his transient UW profession, added a career-high 16 factors as a part of a balanced assault with 12 completely different Pokes scoring.

“I was really proud,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks mentioned after his crew executed the scouting report at a excessive degree. “We played 12 guys and all 12 impacted winning. We didn’t play 12 just because it was a blowout, we played 12 intentionally because that’s how we play fast, we play fast with depth. While everyone else was struggling to find six, seven and eight we’re developing nine, 10, 11, 12.”

UW out-rebounded the taller Pilots (3-1) 48-31, together with turning 18 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance factors. The Cowboys have been additionally 13-for-33 (39.4%) on 3-pointers whereas holding the guests to 2-for-12 (16.7%).

Khaden Bennett transformed two aggressive drives to the rim and Walker accomplished a three-point play throughout an 11-2 spurt by the Cowboys to start out the second half.

After a timeout, Matija Belic knocked down a basket on one finish and took a cost on the opposite. Kiani Saxon threw down a dunk on a lob from Walker, Harris beat the shot clock with a 3 and Nasir (Naz) Meyer made an acrobatic layup to make the rating 65-40.

Damarion Dennis made back-to-back layups and Uriyah Rojas knocked down a 3 to complete a 19-0 run that prolonged the result in 79-40.

With 2:14 remaining, UW head coach Sundance Wicks referred to as a timeout and drew up a play for walk-on Garrett Spielman for a dunk, which had the group on its ft because the Pokes outscored Portland 52-25 within the second half.

The Cowboys outscored Portland 18-5 in fast-break factors, 40-32 within the paint and had a 57-33 edge on bench factors.

 

“For us it’s so important to keep doubling down on this identity so the fans know what they’re going to come to see, what they should expect to see. The crowd (size) keeps going up a little bit more every night,” Wicks mentioned. “When we get to 4,000 or 5,000 or 6,000 in here it’s going to be a complete competitive advantage. People are going to be out of oxygen when they come in here because we’re going to be taking it all up with our fans. That is what we want.”

 

The Pokes led 41-31 on the intermission after making six 3-pointers whereas limiting the Pilots to 1-for-5 behind the arc within the first half.

 

UW’s depth continued to shine as Harris, who had solely performed for 2 minutes over the previous two video games, sparked the offense with 9 first-half factors off the bench, together with a spotlight reel dunk in transition. Walker, who didn’t rating through the 79-65 win over Austin Peay, added seven factors earlier than the break.

 

After beginning ahead Abou Magassa was whistled for 2 fouls within the first minute of the sport, Gavin Gores checked in and opened the scoring with a dunk. Gores, a real freshman, completed the sport with 9 factors and UW outscored the Pilots by 33 factors throughout his 21 minutes on the ground.

 

Simm-Marten Saadi, one other true freshman who added eight factors off the bench, splashed a 3-pointer on the buzzer to present UW the 10-point halftime lead.

 

The Cowboys will play their first highway recreation of the season at Sam Houston State at 5:30 p.m. subsequent Wednesday in Huntsville, Texas.