LUBBOCK, Texas — In the University of Wyoming men’s basketball team’s first game against a “power-five” school this season, it stood tall. No. 20 Texas Tech needed a second half rally to squeak past the Cowboys, 76-72, inside United Supermarkets Arena.
“I’m proud of our guys’ effort. They were resilient on the road,” head coach Sundance Wicks said. “We would have liked to have made a few more shots that would have helped the assist category. At the end of the day, I was really proud of how our guys battled on the road in a tough environment. This is a league environment. This is what the (Mountain West Conference) looks like.”
Leland Walker paced Wyoming, pouring in a season-high 28 points. He was 10-for-20 from the floor, hitting half of his four 3-point attempts. Walker also chipped in a team-high five rebounds and two assists.
No other Cowboy made it into double figures, as the supporting cast had good balance. Khaden Bennett scored nine points to go alongside his team-high three assists. Uriyah Rojas also tallied nine points, while Nasir (Naz) Meyer recorded eight points.
“KB and Leland are two guys that have been on championship teams, have played championship basketball and know what it’s like to win,” Wicks said. “Those guys, you have to have them down the stretch, and they’re going to be crucial for us going forward.”
JT Toppin led the Red Raiders with 27 points. Lejuan Watts scored 19, and Christian Anderson contributed 15 points.
It was a blow-for-blow type of second half. No team led by more than six points – Texas Tech laying claim to that on a few different occasions – while Wyoming also owned a couple slight advantages.
The Pokes’ last lead occurred at the 7:38 mark of the second half. Rojas drove in for a layup that made it 56-55. The Red Raiders met that with a 7-0 run capped by a Donovan Atwell jumper with 5:14 to play.
Walker trimmed his squad’s deficit to 65-63 at the 2:51 mark of the second half with his first of two second-half 3s. His second trey pulled Wyoming to within 75-72 with under nine seconds to play in the contest.
Texas Tech – which struggled from the charity stripe, going 18-for-30 – made just enough down the stretch of keep the game just out of reach. Wyoming, on the other hand, did not miss at the free throw line, making all 13.
The Red Raiders built the game’s largest lead late in the first half. They held a 36-26 advantage with under three minutes to play, but the Pokes closed the frame on an 11-2 run – six points coming from Walker – to make it 38-37 at the break.
Wyoming’s largest lead happened very early on. Matija Belic scored five of the Cowboys’ first 10 points, as they held a 10-5 edge four minutes into the game.
The Pokes return to Laramie this upcoming weekend. They host Dartmouth on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium.
PRESS PASS: Roaming The War
Wyoming Cowboys vs. Montana State Bobcats
Gallery Credit: DJ Johnson/ 7220sports.com
-LOOK: Pokes vs. Bobcats