Ogirri finds his shot in win over Pioneers

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming senior Sean Ogirri defends Denver's Kyle Lewis on Saturday.

Wyoming-Denver Boxscore

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Through one exhibition game and four regular-season contests, questions were asked about senior Sean Ogirri’s struggles at times in his first season with the Cowboys.

This about a player still averaging over 12 points per game.

On Saturday, those questions returned from the media although in a little different light, as Ogirri scored a Cowboy career-high 19 points in the 62-54 win over Denver.

Ogirri had made just 10 3-pointers in the previous four games, before connecting on 6 of 13 attempts on Saturday. He turned out be the only Cowboy to hit from the land of 3, as the rest of the team was 0-for-6.

“Any team that goes zone, Sean is the go-to player that I look for and everybody else looks for, that we design plays for,” Wyoming senior guard Brandon Ewing said. “If they go zone, they have to pick their position -- let Tyson (Johnson) score down low or leave Sean for an open 3. Once he hit one and once he hit two, and he gets going, that is all she wrote.”

Just about every 3-pointer by Ogirri proved to be critical in either getting the Cowboys back in the game or taking a lead. His two straight 3-pointers up by four six minutes into the second half. His final 3-pointer at the 9-minute mark put Wyoming back out in front for good at 45-43.

“It was about time I started making some shots,” Ogirri said. “I made shots to keep us in the game and give us leads. I felt pretty good.”

Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer has said all along that he has confidence in Ogirri, even when he struggles.

“Sean came to the party tonight,” Schroyer said. “We started to see that look in Sean’s eyes. He has been where we want to go (NCAA Tournament). Having him and Brandon out there leading us is a nice thing for a coach.”

Ogirri said it is all about keeping his confidence and continuing to play good defense.

“That also led to our beating them down the stretch,” he said. “But it is all about being confident and just shooting it.”

Ewing has a scare
Ewing also had another solid game with 16 points, including 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

“Brandon is playing his best basketball of his career,” Schroyer said.

Ewing received a little scare early in the game when he landed awkward on his shoulder going for a high pass.

He left the game for a couple of minutes and didn’t have problems from that point on.

“It was scary a little bit and I thought my season was over,” Ewing said. “I was more frustrated than I was in pain. The trainer did a good job of getting me back.”

Waddell continues to come on
Wyoming redshirt freshman post Adam Waddell didn’t match his statistics from the Texas State game (16 points, 8 rebounds), but he did come on in the second half and hit on all four of his field-goal attempts in a career-high 27 minutes.

“Adam Waddell is getting more confident. He is really growing up,” Schroyer said. “Our guys are every confident in him when he’s on the floor, and I like the spark he gives us off of the bench.”

Playing to win
Of the Cowboys five wins, three have been close in crunch time, with the Cowboys still on top.

Ewing said that the last 10 minutes for this team is “winning time.”

“This team, one through 15 through the coaching staff to the last guy on the bench, we have one goal in mind, and that is to win,” Ewing said. “We’re not trying to count our wins to get to 20 wins, we’re trying to win every game that we play. The last 10 minutes is winning time for us.”

The 5-0 start is the best start since the 1997-1998 season.

“I don’t think I have been 5-0 since high school,” Ewing said with a smile. “It feels real good right now. We’re working on the next one, Boise State, then we have another one at LMU (Loyola Marymount), back on the road. We’re going to get the next one at six.”

Wednesday’s game at Boise State will be the first road game for the Cowboys this season.

They said it will be business as usual.

“We’re going to prepare for them on Monday, we’ll see what happens. We’ll be ready,” Ogirri said.

Cowboys turn to defense to stop Denver

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Cowboys were in for a slowdown Saturday against Denver and despite a couple of transisiotn spurts that turned the tide, answered the bell with a 62-54 win over the Pioneers at the Arena-Auditorium.

Up against Denver coach Joe Scott’s slow-down style of play, the cowboys switched gears for their fifth win in five tries.

“I thought our kids really executed defensively,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “I thought our guys stepped up and made plays offensively when we needed to.”

Wyoming had scored 202 points in its previous two games and had been averaging 91 percent this season. The Cowboys weren't playing Texas State or Prairie View A&M this time.

"It's been really good to see so many styles of play in these first five games," Schroyer said. "Denver is very deliberate in how they attack things. Texas State wanted to get up and down the court as many times as possible, and Prairie View wanted to get the ball to the basket and crash the boards with all five guys. I believe that will prepare us for down the road."

Sean Ogirri scored 19 points to lead the Cowboys, who are 5-0 for the first time since the 1997-1998 season. Brandon Ewing finished with 16 points for Wyoming.
'
A 15-3 run opened things up for the Cowboys, who trailed 43-32 on a 3-pointer by Denver's Kyle Lewis. Wyoming found a couple of cracks in the Denver slow-down game and it was enough to get them going.

"I think we got out in transition a little bit and kind of sped things up, and that's pretty much our game," Ewing said. "They pretty much controlled the tempo for a little bit of the game by keeping the score low. But once we got into transition a little bit and Sean started knocking down his 3's, spreading out the defense, everything started opening up for us."

Rob Lewis scored 17 points and Nate Rohnert added 11 for Denver (0-4).

Wyoming turned to a 1-3-1 defense to slow down the Pioneers, who hit 11 of 32 3-pointers, but just 4-of-21 in the second half.

“It kind of made them get out of rhythm a little bit,” Schroyer said. “They forced up a couple of shots and we were able to get the flow going the way we wanted it.”

Scott, who had some memorable battles with Wyoming when he coached at Air Force (2000-2003), said that his team needs to take advantage of what is given them.


"Against the zone, we had some open looks,” Scott said. “Our guys have to learn that when we are open, those are the shots that we are trying to get.”

Wyoming led 29-27 at halftime, but Denver led on three occasions in the second half, the last on a 3-pointer by Kyle Lewis with 9:38 to play. Ogirri answered with a 3-pointer and the Cowboys went on a 15-3 run and led by as much as 11 in the final minutes.

Denver did cut the lead back to five with 45 seconds left, but the Cowboys got one free throw by Ogirri and two more by Afam Muojeke to close the scoring.

The Cowboys hit the road for the first time Wednesday when they face Boise State at 7 p.m.

Cowboys hold off Texas State

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming freshman A.J. Davis is fouled hard by Texas State's Dylan Moseley as the Cowboys Mahamoud Diakite looks on. Moseley was whistled for an intentional foul on the play.

Wyoming-Texas State boxscore

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowboys traded 3-pointers for free throws against Texas State on Wednesday night.

The end the result was a one point game -- a single free throw or the difference between a 3-pointer and a 2-point field goal in the 97-96 Wyoming victory at the Arena-Auditorium.

The game was a free-throw and 3-point shooting contest with each team in contrast of each other. Wyoming hit 44 of 56 free throws, to 10-of-19 for Texas State, while the Bobcats connected of 16 of 33 3-point field goals to just 3-of-15 for the Cowboys.

“It was crazy,” Wyoming senior guard Brandon Ewing said. “They are a team that likes to get out and run. They don’t look at the score, they just play and that’s what we do. Pound-for-pound, we matched up well with each other. It came down to the wire, 97-96.”

It almost came down to overtime, as Wyoming (4-0) led 97-93 lead with 4.5 seconds remaining, only to see Texas State sharp-shooter Brent Benson hit a 3-pointer, with a foul. Benson, however, missed the free throw. The game was far from over even when Wyoming’s Adam Waddell grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He missed both free throws, but the ball was tipped back to him and he got his own rebound as the Cowboys pulled out the win.

Although overtime often favors the home team, Ewing said he didn’t want to take any chances.

“The first person I looked at was Tyson Johnson,” Ewing said. “I’m like, ‘I don’t want to go to overtime with them because their player (Benson) was just heating up, hitting nine 3s.’ It would have gotten scary out there.”

It certainly wasn’t a game for the defense, as there were 10 lead changes and a lot of points.

Benson scored a game-high 32 points as he hit 9 of 12 3-pointers. Brandon Bush scored 22 points for Texas State, with Cameron Johnson adding 11.Ewing scored 27 points to lead Wyoming, followed by senior Tyson Johnson with 22 and the freshmen Waddell and Afam Muojeke with 16 points each.

Schroyer said with the 56 free-throw attempts, the Cowboys did what he wanted them to do -- go straight to the basket.“Our goal is a minimum of 40 attempts,” Schroyer said. “We want to throw it into the post and play in straight lines. With a team like that, you have to play north-south and not east-west. We did enough to win the game.”

Along with the 193 points combined, there were 54 fouls and 27 turnovers between the teams. The 44 free throws made are a Wyoming A-A record.

“Apparently it was bad defense for both teams, that’s what was happening,” Texas State coach Doug Davalos said. “Ours was putting them on the line too much and I give credit to them, they played better defense than we did.”

Trailing 50-46 at halftime, the Cowboys battled back from a 10-point deficit in the second half by using a 15-4 run for its first lead (68-66) since they led 26-20 a the 9:22 mark of the first half.

“I’m glad the guys were able to find a way to win,” Schroyer said. “We didn’t play our best at times, but they are a good team. You have to credit Texas State, they just kept coming at us.”

The Cowboys will return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host Denver.

Davis becoming Cowboys spark

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming freshman A.J. Davis steals the basketball against Johnson & Wales on Saturday.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The lights are turning on and A.J. Davis is more and more at home for the Wyoming Cowboys these days.

The freshman guard/wing came in this season as most freshmen do, wide eyed and unsure of himself in a new surrounding.

But based on the early results, Davis is finding his mark with the Cowboys. Through three games, he’s averaging 7.0 points and 4.7 rebounds a game.

Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said that Davis grew up a bit in the big win over Johnson & Wales last Saturday.

“He’s in the right place probably 70 percent of the time, versus two weeks ago when he was in the right place about 30 percent of the time,” Schroyer said. “He’s getting more comfortable with what we do. He’s getting thrown in the fire. It’s great for him, he plays through a lot of his mistakes. The light bulb is starting to go on with him on both sides of the ball. It’s great to see because obviously we’re going to need A.J. throughout the year.”

Davis said that when he first came to Wyoming, he struggled learning the system.

“Now it is easy,” he said. “I just let the game flow to me. I just go from there.”

Davis got his first start as a Cowboy on Saturday and responded with a big game, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He’ll likely, though, be one of the first players off the bench this season, something that he is enjoying.

“Coming off the bench, it gives you a lot of perspective, seeing what your teammate is doing that you sub in for, so you don’t go in and do the same mistakes that they were doing. It’s pretty nice seeing what I can do, to not mess up when I do go into the game,” Davis said.

Like most sixth men in basketball, the 6-foot-6, `195-pound Davis gives the Cowboys a spark, whether it is offensively with some athletic dunks, or on defense with steals or high-arcing rebounds.

“I’m just playing my part as the energy man. That’s what coach really wants from me coming off the bench, bringing energy, rebounding whatever I can do to help the team win,” Davis said.

Davis describes himself as an aggressive player with athleticism who can slash to the basket. That’s what Schroyer likes about him.

“He is strong, athletic and aggressive and can really get to the basket,” Schroyer said. “He also can play with a high motor and can slash.”

As a freshman, Davis said that he learns every time he goes out on the court as Schroyer has to remind him to be patient with the basketball.

“He says don’t let it get sticky, things like that … don’t go exploring, go through your reads,” he said. “I’m learning the offense more by knowing more things that I can get when I do have the ball.”

The early schedule is good for players like Davis who are getting their feet wet in Division I basketball. Davis said that after some early butterflies, he is getting more comfortable each time out.

“It doesn’t matter who we play, I just go out there and play,” said Davis, who added that he is also bonding with the team as well. “At first it was all individual, so now it is becoming more like a brotherhood. All of us are coming together on and off the court. It’s pretty fun.”

With a couple of highlight-reel dunks to his credit already, Davis said he is enjoying himself out on the court.

“Besides winning, I just love playing the game of basketball,” he said.

About Texas State
Texas State enters their game with the Cowboys with a 2-1 record. Texas State opened the 2008-09 season at the Verizon Wireless Tip-Off Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, beating Call State Fullerton 76-66, before falling to San Francisco 88-74. Last Wednesday in their home opener, they beat Houston-Tillotson 104-81.

Schroyer said it is the best team that they have played to date.

“They are a really good basketball team,” Schroyer said. “They play 13 guys, they are going to press us for 40 straight minutes. It is definitely something different than what we have seen. They are talented athletically and we’re going to have to be really to play.”
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WYOMING COWBOYS (3-0)
Probable Starters
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 24.0 4.0 1.7
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 16.0 7.7 2.3
C #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 5.3 7.7 1.3*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 13.7 3.0 2.7
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 16.0 2.7 7.0
Reserves
PG # 1 JayDee Luster^ 5-9 165 So. San Diego, Calif. Redshirting
G # 2 Arthur Bouëdo 6-2 165 Fr. Aix en Provence, France Hasn't yet played
F # 5 Ryan Dermody 6-9 205 Jr. Loveland, Colo. Hasn't yet played
G #12 Galand Thaxton 6-2 175 Fr. Laramie, Wyo. 1.0 0.5 0.0
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 3.7 4.3 1.3*
F #25 Djibril Thiam# 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal Hasn't yet played
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 3.3 4.3 1.0*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 7.0 4.7 1.7
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS (2-1)
Probable Starters
F #23 Brandon Bush 6-7 205 Sr. Houston, Texas 10.3 4.7 3.0
F #44 John Rybak 6-5 207 R-Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. 8.3 5.0 0.7
C #24 Ty Gough 6-10 255 So. Pharr, Texas 6.7 6.0 0.0
G #11 Corey Jefferson 6-0 175 Sr. Angleton, Texas 4.3 3.0 6.0
G #22 Brent Benson 6-1 170 Sr. Gainesville, Ga. 17.7 2.3 1.7
Reserves
F # 1 Emmanuel Bidias a Moute 6-7 240 Jr. Yaounde, Cameroon 13.0 5.3 0.3
G # 3 Roshun Jackson 6-6 180 Fr. San Antonio, Texas 2.7 1.0 0.3
G # 5 John Bowman 6-4 220 Fr. Mesquite, Texas 4.0 2.5 0.5
G #10 Tre Nichols 195 Fr. Killeen, Texas 7.0 2.0 0.0
G #21 Gordan Taylor 6-2 175 Jr. Pearland, Texas 3.0 1.3 0.3
F #30 Jonathan Sloan 6-8 230 So Richardson, Texas 0.7 1.3 0.0
G #32 Ryan White 5-11 170 So. Houston, Texas 3.3 2.0 2.7
F #33 Cameron Johnson 6-7 210 So. Richardson, Texas 6.3 3.3 0.0
F #45 Dylan Moseley 6-6 215 Sr. Frisco, Texas 1.0 0.7 0.3

Cowboys roll past Johnson & Wales

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming's Sean Ogirri looks to run a play Saturday against Johnson & Wales.

UW-Johnson & Wales boxscore

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Starting or coming off the bench isn’t important to senior guard Sean Ogirri. Finishing at the end is what counts.

A starter for much of his career, Ogirri was five minutes late for a film session on Friday and didn’t start on Saturday against Johnson & Wales. It didn’t really matter, as he had his best game as a Cowboy, scoring 18 points in Wyoming’s 105-64 rout of the Wildcats.

“It didn’t bother me, I’ve come off the bench before,” said Ogirri, who led Wichita State to the Sweet 16 and was the leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament his sophomore season, “I was late for a team meeting and it won’t happen again.”

In just his third game with Wyoming after transferring from Wichita State, Ogirri was 6-of-12 from the field, including four 3-pointers. He went into the game averaging 11.5 points a game, but had been struggling with his shooting touch.

“I just have to calm down. I feel like I can shoot well, I think I can make more shots,” Ogirri said. “The shots went in and we had a big lead, so it really didn’t matter.”

Cowboy sophomore center Mikhail Linskens also had his best game of the season and best rebounding contest of his career. Linskens, matched up against a much smaller Johnson & Wales team, scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

“Mikhail played much better tonight,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “He had 12 rebounds in 17 minutes. We look at he and Adam (Waddell) as a combination. To get 18 rebounds out of the two is huge.”

The 7-foot Linskens said he just wants to come out and play hard.

“Their biggest guy was 6-7, so I felt like I had to dominate the boards because I am taller than them,” Linskens said. “It’s my job to do that. My job, Adam’s job and Mahamoud’s (Diakite) job is to go to the glass and get the boards. Today went pretty well.”

In his first two games, Linskens scored just four points and had 11 rebounds.

“I’m feeling more confident and getting more rhythm,” Linskens said. “The first couple of games, I kind of struggled personally defending smaller players who were quicker than me. Today was better.”

Brandon Ewing was one of six Cowboys (3-0) to score in double figures for Wyoming with 20 points and seven assists. Tyson Johnson added 16 points, followed by Afam Muojeke and freshman A.J. Davis with 14 each. All nine Cowboys who played got in the scoring column.

“I thought we played well in stretches,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “It was a good win for us. We were able to get people a lot of minutes.”

The Cowboys never trailed and weren't threatened by Johnson & Wales (1-4), a NAIA Division II Independent team from Denver. Wyoming scored the game’s first 11 points and led 23-8 just seven minutes into the contest, before taking a 55-29 advantage into the locker room at halftime.Wyoming shot 56 percent from the field (39-of-70), while the Wildcats shot just 29 percent (20-of-69).

Johnson & Wales was paced by Sasha Pate with 14 points, followed by Andrew Baker with 13 and Ethan Evenson with 11.

“I thought at times our guys played well, and we knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” Johnson & Wales coach Jeff Culver said. “Wyoming is a great team and we’re definitely outmatched in a number of positions. Size was something that we were on the short size of. Our guys played hard and got it turned around quickly.”

The Cowboys will return to action Wednesday as they host Texas State beginning at 7 p.m.

Cowboys host Johnson & Wales

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming coaches Fred Langley, left, and Heath Schroyer watch action Tuesday against Prairie View A&M.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Johnson & Wales reminds Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer a little of Prairie View A&M in that the Wildcats are a small and athletic team that will once again test his Cowboys.

Early-season tests are what the Cowboys are all about and it will be the Cowboys third in the regular season. Tip-off Saturday will begin at 6 p.m.

It will also be another chance for Wyoming post players Adam Waddell and Mikhail Linskens, along with senior guard Sean Ogirri to get some much-needed rhythm.

Wadell, a redshirt freshman, is averaging 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds a game, while the 7-foot Linskens, a sophomore, is averaging 2.0 points and 5.5 rebounds a game.

"It was hard because when you look at their minutes -- Mikhail played 17 and Adam played 12 -- it was a really hard matchup for them," Schroyer said. "As easy at it sounds ... we're just going to pound in there, we have to guard them on the other end of the floor. They went five guards, so it was hard on them. It's especially hard on Adam because he has been getting some cheap fouls because he is physical. I thought Mikhail started the game really well. It was a tough matchup for them."

The biggest player on Johnson & Wales is just 6-foot-6.

Ogirri, who is in his first and only season on the court with the Cowboys, transferred from Wichita State, sitting out last season. He’s averaging 11.5 points a game, but has struggled at times both offensively and defensively.

Wyoming senior guard Brandon Ewing, though, said he is not worried about his backcourt mate.

“Sean knows what it takes to win,” Ewing said. “Even though the stat line doesn’t show it, his leadership in the huddle, his leadership on the court … Sean has been where we are trying to go.
Sean never averaged 30 points for Wichita State, but Wichita State was also a Top 10 team. He knows what it takes to win.

“Sean is good. When the University of Wyoming Cowboys win, Sean is great.”

Schroyer pretty much echoed Ewing’s thoughts.

“Sean is still kind of feeling his way and getting back into the game after sitting out last year, but I have confidence in Sean Ogirri,” Schroyer said. “I believe after he gets a few games under his belt, he will be a special player for Wyoming.”

The Cowboys had to hold off Prairie View A&M 80-75 on Tuesday after blowing out Cal State Bakersfield in their opener.

Having to play at crunch time proved to be beneficial for the Cowboys.

“Offensively, I was pleased with the way we attacked the basket and got to the line. We work hard on free throws. We spend about 15 to 20 minutes a day working on them, and that showed tonight,” Schroyer said Tuesday night. “Prairie View is a good team, not a great team, but they provided us with some tough matchups and they played hard. It was good to have a close game in that we had to come up with stops at the end, we had to make plays and we had to hit free throws.”

After Saturday’s game, the Cowboys will return to action Wednessay at home against Texas State, before hosting Denver Nov. 29.
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WYOMING (2-0 Overall)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 27.0 4.0 0.5
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 16.0 7.0 2.5
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 4.0 3.5 1.5*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 11.5 2.5 2.5
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 14.0 3.5 7.0
Reserves
PG # 1 JayDee Luster^ 5-9 165 So. San Diego, Calif. Redshirting
G # 2 Arthur Bouëdo 6-2 165 Fr. Aix en Provence, France Hasn't yet played
F # 5 Ryan Dermody 6-9 205 Jr. Loveland, Colo. Hasn't yet played
G #12 Galand Thaxton 6-2 175 Fr. Laramie, Wyo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
C #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 2.0 5.5 1.5*
F #25 Djibril Thiam# 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal Hasn't yet played
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 4.0 4.5 1.0*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.5 3.5 1.5
Johnson & Wales (1-3 Overall)
Probable Starters Ht. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #22 Nick Maly 6-4 So. Broomfield, Colo. 8.0 4.3 3.3
F #30 Andrew Baker 6-6 Jr. Broomfield, Colo. 8.3 5.0 2.6
G # 1 Chris Lambrecht 5-9 Fr. Colo. Springs, Colo. 5.7 1.7 2.7
G #11 Ryan Goodenburger 6-2 Sr. Pagosa Springs, Colo. 8.0 4.0 0.3
G #24 Chris Brunson 5-10 Jr. Commerce City, Colo. 5.7 2.3 1.7
Reserves
G # 2 Ethan Fisher 6-0 Jr. Ft. Collins, Colo. Hasn't yet played
G # 3 Corey Puckett 5-10 Fr. Erie, Colo. 1.0 0.3 0.0
F # 5 Sasha Pate 6-5 So. Dallas, Texas 7.7 3.7 2.3
F #10 Sean McGee 6-5 Jr. Boulder, Colo. Hasn't yet played
F #14 Dexter Lewis 6-4 So. Deerfield Beach, Fla. Hasn't yet played
F #15 Nate Lark 6-6 Jr. Dayton, Ohio 7.3 7.3 0.7
G #20 Julius Rowe 6-0 Jr. Salt Lake City, Utah Hasn't yet played
G #21 Tyler Hunt 6-0 So. Carbondale, Colo. Hasn't yet played
G #23 MJ Crespin 6-1 Jr. Greeley, Colo. 17.5 5.5 2.5
G #32 Ethan Evenson 6-2 So. Hillsboro, N.D. 3.3 1.3 2.0
F #33 Shane Chase 6-5 Sr. Honolulu, Hawaii Hasn't yet played

Schroyer signs another Stoneridge Prep player to letter of intent

Cowboy basketball head coach Heath Schroyer announced on Thursday the signing of Amath M’Baye (pronounced A-maught, M-Bay) to a national letter of intent to attend the University of Wyoming. M’Baye will enroll at Wyoming for the fall semester of 2009 and begin his Cowboy career at that time. The early signing period has now ended.

“We are really, really excited about signing Amath,” said Schroyer. “He fits a need that I feel our program really needs for the future. He is 6-9 (205 pounds) and plays the game with a very high motor. He is a great rebounder but also has very good perimeter skills and can step out and shoot the ball. He has the versatility that will fit nicely in our system."

M’Baye will come to Wyoming from Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif. M’Baye was born in Senegal, but moved to France during his childhood.

M’Baye is currently in his first season at Stoneridge Prep, which is three games into the 2008-09 season. Through those first three games, M’Baye is averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game.

Prior to making the trip to America and Stoneridge Prep, M’Baye spent the summer of 2008 playing on two elite teams. He played on both the Africa Adidas Nations Team as well as the French Hoops AAU team. With the Africa Adidas Nations Team, he averaged 14 points and six rebounds a game. With the French Hoops AAU team, he averaged 15 points and six rebounds a game.

“I think Amath has the chance to not only be a good player, but a great one," Schroyer said. " He is a quality young man and a very good student. This is a great day for Cowboy basketball.”

M'Baye joins Michael Dietz, of Casper and Thomas Manzano, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who both signed last week, for the 2009-10 basketball season.

Cowboys survive to hold off Panthers

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming senior guard Brandon Ewing brings the ball up the court with Prairie View A&M's Michael Griffin defending.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Cowboys have now seen the gamut of victory, so to speak, two games into the season.

They saw what it was like to basically thump a team when they beat Cal State Bakersfield by 26 points in the season opener last week. On Wednesday, they saw what it takes to win a close game, despite struggles, holding off a pesky Prairie View A&M team, 80-75 in the Arena-Auditorium.

If this was the Cowboys second test of the young season, they won with a slightly passing grade.

Wyoming senior forward Tyson Johnson said it was a good thing to have this type of game.

“This is a test for us to see how tough we are,” Johnson said. “Prairie was real good tonight, but we just have to go to practice tomorrow and work harder because we made a lot of mistakes, a lot of turnovers.”

If Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer had his druthers, he would like a more convincing victory. At the very least, he would not want the outcome to be undecided with just a couple possessions remaining.

With that said, he too will take this win.

“Anytime you have a young team and win, it is a good win,” Schroyer said.

Despite their mistakes, Schroyer said the Cowboys did what they had to do at crunch time to win the game. That again is a good thing.

“We had to execute out of timeouts and we executed when we needed to,” Schroyer said. “We had defensive stops when we needed them and we hit our free throws down the stretch.”

The Cowboys, however, did have their share of problems, mainly turning the ball over (17 turnovers) and weak on defense at times.

“I think we just let the pressure get to us a little bit. We let them make a lot of shots,” Johnson said. “”We really didn’t defend well. I knew we were going to close it out because we got three seniors out there who worked hard through the whole game.”

The Panthers had 22 more shots from the field than the Cowboys, although Wyoming held a 39-36 rebounding edge.

“I didn’t think we played particularly well defensively,” Schroyer said. “We held them to 39 percent shooting from the field, which is what we want, but we gave them way too many opportunities. We had a hard time defending the dribble.”

Leading just 76-75 with just over a minute to play, the Cowboys got a pair of free throws by Johnson and his put-back off of a Ewing miss to clinch the win.

“It was just Brandon trying to create. He’s our best player and he went to the basket. The ball was tipped, so I just went and got it,” said Johnson, who scored 20 points, second on the team to redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke’s 23 points.

Ewing had another solid game with 14 points, eight assists and five rebounds. At times, though, his frustration showed outwardly in the Cowboys’ play.

“The frustration wasn’t at my team directly, it was more like,’ I know we’re a better team than that,’” Ewing said. “Even though we were winning at halftime -- it is always good to have a lead -- but we are better team that that. Now we have to go back to the lab, practices have to get better. Even though we are 2-0, we have to get better, day-by-day.”

Darnell Hugee led Prairie View A&M with 19 points, followed by Derek Johnson with 13, Christopher Jones and Tim Meadows with 12 each and Dorian McDaniel with 10.“I thought our guys played very well,” Prairie View A&M coach Byron Rimm II. “We had a few bad bounces here and there, but Wyoming is a very good basketball team. We came out and competed, though.”

Ewing said that sometimes you can’t win by 30 points every game. You have to learn how to win some battles.

“That’s when you know you are a pretty good team,” Ewing said. “Whether you win close games at home or close ones on the road, you have to be a decent team to squeak out a close one. This team, even though they are 1-4, they are battle-tested. They’ve been at UCLA, where we are going in the future; they’ve been to Missouri, so they have been on the road. I knew they weren’t going to come in here scared.”

The Cowboys will return to action Saturday at 6 p.m. when they host Johnson & Wales.
---
COWBOYS 80, PANTHERS 75
Prairie View A&M 75 (1-4)
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA TP
33 HUGEE,Darnell f 7-13 0-1 5-7 19
44 McDANIEL,Dorian f 4-15 0-5 2-2 2 10
05 JOHNSON,Derek g 3-7 1-3 6-7 13
11 JONES,Christopher g 4-7 1-2 3-4 12
41 MEADOWS,Tim g 4-11 2-4 2-2 12
00 SHIVERS,Jacoie 0-0 0-0 0-0 0
03 RICHMAN,Alex 0-1 0-1 0-0 0
10 GRIFFIN,Michael 2-5 1-3 0-0 5
21 KHALFAN,Ahmed 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2
23 BELL,Donald 1-6 0-1 0-0 0 2
32 GARRISON,Tarrence 0-1 0-0 0-0
Totals 26-68 5-20 18-22 75
Wyoming Cowboys 80 (2-0)
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA TP
11 MUOJEKE, Afam f 7-13 1-3 8-11 23
21 JOHNSON, Tyson f 4-8 0-0 12-13 20
13 LINSKENS, Mikhail c 1-1 0-0 0-0 2
00 OGIRRI, Sean g 4-10 2-7 2-2 12
23 EWING, Brandon g 3-8 1-4 7-10 14
15 WADDELL, Adam 1-1 0-0 1-4 3
32 DIAKITE, Mahamoud 2-5 0-0 2-3 6
51 DAVIS, A.J. 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-48 4-15 32-43 80
Prairie View A&M 31 44 75
Wyoming Cowboys 34 46 80
Officials: Eric Curry, Larry Spaulding and Lonnie Dixon. Technical fouls: Prairie View A&M-HUGEE,Darnell. Wyoming Cowboys-None. Attendance: 6896

Despite offensive outburst, it is all about defense for Muojeke

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming freshman Afam Muojeke drives past a Colorado School of Mines player earlier in the season.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

How do you top 31 points in your Cowboy debut?

Scoring 32 would probably do it.

He’ll certainly take his points, but redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke is looking at different numbers for now. Actually, he liked 26 last Friday -- the amount the Cowboys won by against Cal State Bakersfield.

“It was just a team effort,” Muojeke said Tuesday as they get ready for Wednesday’s meeting with Prairie View A&M (7 p.m. at the A-A). “I’m just glad we went out there and got the win. My individual performance is based on what the team and the seniors do for me. They open everything up. I’m just glad that we got the win.”

The lanky Muojeke (6-foot-7, 215 pounds) has a potentially strong all-around offensive game. He can take it to the hoop or he can stop and pop the 3-pointer. He did both with ease at times against Bakersfield.

That’s his game offensively, but the other side of the ball is where he wants to improve the most.

“I’m really hoping to play team defense … that’s how we win games, on the defensive end,” Muojeke said. “I don’t think I have tapped my potential defensively. I think I can be the heart of the team, getting everybody ready for the game. That’s basically what I do.”

Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer said he was happy for Muojeke after the win over Bakersfield, but warned the media to not get used to it. After all, Muojeke is a freshman and he has the potential to have games like he did in the opener and games where he struggles like a newcomer.

Potential, however, is the best way Schroyer describes his new wing player.

“I think Afam has all of the tools to be a fabulous player,” Schroyer said. “The word potential has been thrown around him for a long time. He’s 6-7, very long and very athletic. I look for him to have an immediate impact for this team and be a focal point for this program.”

For Muojeke, immediate is now, despite the fact that this is his second year with the program. Struggling with a preseason knee injury last year, Schroyer opted to redshirt his talented true freshman.

Sitting out gave Muojeke the chance to watch the game, even if he wasn’t crazy about the idea.

“Going out and playing with the guys last year, they really took me through it,” he said. “It was a long process and I really didn’t want to do it, but they took me through it and I learned a lot.

“I think it was best to fully recover and do what Coach told me to do. I wasn’t really fully healthy at mid-season, so I took the time to watch and learn the system a little more. But it’s very hard to sit.”

The Cowboys open with seven home games before taking on a much more challenging road schedule that includes encounters at Boise State, Utah State and UCLA. Again, defense comes to Muojeke’s mind as they get ready for the Mountain West Conference season.

“These games are really important, just on the defensive end,” he said. “That’s how we are going to get it done this year. Our offensive will come.”

A coach’s dream, at such a young age, Muojeke already knows what to say when talking about Wednesday’s game with Prairie View A&M.

“We’re just going to take it one game at a time,” Muojeke said. “We have Prairie View (Wednesday). They are a very athletic team and we hope to go out and get the victory to keep us rolling.”

In the meantime, Muojeke keeps working on his defense, and of course, 30-footers … just in case. Fighting the shot clock last Friday, he nailed a long 3-point attempt that would makes a player brag “I called that,” in a game of h-o-r-s-e.

Muojeke had it all of the way.

“I practice those almost every day,” he said with big grin. “It just came natural. I’m just glad it went in.”

Muojeke, Cowboys roll in opener

Richard Anderson photo

Wyoming senior Tyson Johnson scores on a lay-in Friday against Cal State Bakersfield. At bottom, left, is redshirt freshman Adam Muojeke.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Afam Muojeke doesn’t look like a freshman art times and that has head coach Heath Schroyer smiling. Then he looks like a newcomer, in his first college game, and that has Schroyer in somewhat of a haze.

There, he sees Muojeke’s potential as unlimited.

Muojeke scored 31 points to lead Wyoming to an 84-58 win over Cal State Bakersfield Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

Schroyer said he was happy for Muojeke, who will see some added court time early in the season with junior Ryan Dermody out of the lineup with an elbow injury.

“Fans are going to watch him play and you are going to see a kid who oozes with potential,” Schroyer said. “You are going to see a kid who at times, like tonight, is farther along in the process. Then you are going to see that he is just a freshman and he is going to make some freshman mistakes.”

The Cowboys (1-0) overcame a slow start, but scored 18 straight points midway through the first half to take control. Muojeke was 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the first half and had 19 points in the first half, including 13 straight. He finished 7 of 17 from the field, including 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. He nailed a desperation 30-footer in the second half to cap off the night.“It just went in,” Muojeke said with a wide smile. “Coach has been working in the off-season with me and I have been working hard. I’m just glad that it went in.”

Muojeke said senior guard Brandon Ewing has been a comforting influence for him, not only Friday night but in general.

“Brandon talked me through it like he does every game,“ Muojeke said. “He keeps my head level.”

Ewing, who finished with 14 points, said he tries to pump up Muojeke’s confidence as much as he can.

“I tell him that he can be one of the best freshmen, not only in the conference, but in the whole country,” Ewing said.

Muojeke also credited the return of Johnson, who sat out last week’s exhibition because of a suspension.

“Tyson Johnson brings a lot of pressure on other teams,“ Muojeke said. “And playing with these seniors, Brandon and Sean just open things up for me. I love playing with these guys."

After the slow start, Wyoming shot 44 percent from the field, but hit 8 of 16 3-pointers.

Santwon Latunde led Cal State Bakersfield (0-1) with 13 points, with Trent Blakley scoring 10.

Cal State Bakersfield, in the midst of a five-year transition period as they moved from Division II to Division I, led early as Wyoming missed its first six shots from the field. The Roadrunners, however, scored just three points in an 11-minute time span, as Wyoming took control, leading 46-25 at halftime.

Cal State Bakersfield coach Keith Brown said the Cowboys made some adjustments and had more energy as his team was stuck on 18. The Roadrunners shot just 30 percent from the field and hit just 2 of 17 3-pointers.

“Some of it is nerves, some of it is length,” Brown said. “There is no substitute for it when you get to the next level and you are playing against length in multiple positions and you think you’ve got space and you don’t.”

Sans Dermody, Cowboys look to pick it up against Cal State Bakersfield

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming sophomore post Mikhail Linskens looks for the rebound last week against Colorado School of Mines. At bottom, Wyoming junior Ryan Dermody is out indefinitely with a dislocated elbow.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

One player in, one player out for the Wyoming Cowboys Friday as they open the regular season.

The Cowboys have lost junior wing Ryan Dermody indefinitely, as he dislocated his left elbow Wednesday in practice. Wyoming, however, will get back senior forward Tyson Johnson, who had to sit out two events (the scrimmage at Washington and last week’s exhibition opener) from a suspension.

The Cowboys will host Cal State Bakersfield Friday at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

The loss of Dermody is a tough one for the Cowboys, Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer said, because they lose an “IQ player who understands exactly what we are trying to do.” Schroyer added that the ball moves around well through the 6-foot-9 junior.

“It hurts us a little bit in that we have three guys who are going to suit up who weren’t in a uniform last year,” Schroyer said. “We’re going to suit up eight scholarship guys now. It hurts depth-wise, it hurts us with experience.”

Dermody, who averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game last season, will have a MRI next week to get a little "truer outcome," and Schroyer said he won’t be playing in the foreseeable future.

Redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke will start in Dermody’s place, with freshman A.J. Davis also expected to get a few more minutes of court time.

“It will be a great opportunity for Afam and A.J. to get quality minutes, and we do have Tyson back now. We’ll be OK. But in the immediate right here and right now, it obviously hurts," Schroyer said. "We have good players in the program and some of our young guys are just going to have to step up and grow up pretty fast.”

Schroyer said that trhey are obviously disappointed because Dermody had been playing well in practice and had been developing into a leader for the younger players.

“Unfortunately, it’s like we talked about yesterday as a group; injuries are part of sports,” Schroyer said. “We have good players in the program and we have three good seniors. Now it is time for us to go out and play and that is what it is.”

Johnson, who averaged 12 points a game in the final half of the MWC season last year, is expected to pick up some of the scoring slack to go along with senior guards Brandon Ewing and Sean Ogirri. Schroyer is also looking for good things from transfer forward Mahamoud Diakite.

“Tyson has done a great job and he has been statistically one of the best guys in practice," he said. “Mahamoud has done fabulous and I think Mahamoud is a guy who will play a lot of minutes and he is a guy who can play the four and the five and can defend a lot of different positions and really rebound the basketball.”

Cal State Bakersfield will be traveling to UW for the second time in as many years. In the first ever meeting between these two schools, Wyoming came away with a 78-53 win over the Roadrunners on Feb. 6 in Laramie. In that game, the Cowboys were paced by then freshman Mikhail Linskens, who scored a career-high 23 points.

CSUB is in the midst of a five-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. They began the process in 2005-06 and will compete as a full Division I member for the first time in 2010-11. They are currently considered a Division I independent.

“They have a lot of new faces,” Schroyer said. “Terrence Johns is back and Trent Blakley returns. Both are quality guys who can put the ball into the basket. They are very athletic, a little bit undersized in some positions, but very quick. Terrence Johns was the junior college player of the year in the state of California two years ago. They have good players. We’re obviously going to have to play well. But I think our guys are looking forward to tipping it off for real.”

Last Saturday, the Cowboys struggled at times, but stopped Colorado School of Mines 72-60 in their lone exhibition game.

Along with Muojeke and Johnson in the starting lineup, the Cowboys will again go with Ewing and Ogirri at guard and redshirt freshman Adam Waddell at the post.

“I know I am excited and I think our guys are excited to tip it off for real,” Schroyer said.

Hoop notes: UW will honor former Cowboy All-American Kenny Sailors by unveiling a banner in the Arena-Auditorium prior to Friday’s game. One of the greatest players in Cowboy basketball history, Sailors was a two-time All-American and a two-time national player of the year. Sailors helped lead the Cowboys to the 1943 NCAA National Championship. He was an All-American in 1943 and again in 1946, after serving his country during World War II. He received the Chuck Taylor award in 1943, which was presented to the most outstanding college player in the nation. He was then named the Helms Foundation player of the year in college competition in 1946. Sailors is also credited with inventing the modern day jump shot … In a special promotion, a ticket for this season opener will gain the holder free admission to Wyoming’s wrestling dual with Stanford, prior to the basketball game, at 5 p.m. On the other hand, a ticket to the wrestling dual will earn fans $5 off an upper level basketball ticket … Following this season opener, the Cowboys will return to the floor on Wednesday when they host Prairie View A&M, tipping off at 7 p.m.

Cowboys sign pair of players

“We are really excited about adding these two outstanding young men to the Cowboy basketball family. I believe that they will fit well with our nine current freshmen and sophomores. When I look at the team that we are starting to assemble, I feel that the future of Cowboy basketball is very bright.” -- UW men's basketball coach Heath Schroyer

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University of Wyoming men's basketball head coach Heath Schroyer announced the signing of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period.
Michael Dietz, of Casper and Thomas Manzano, of Brooklyn, N.Y., will both join the Cowboys for the 2009-10 basketball season.

“We are really excited about adding these two outstanding young men to the Cowboy basketball family,” said Schroyer. “I believe that they will fit well with our nine current freshmen and sophomores. When I look at the team that we are starting to assemble, I feel that the future of Cowboy basketball is very bright.”

Dietz , a 6-foot-7 guard, is currently a senior at Natrona County High School, originally gave a verbal commitment to Wyoming going into his junior season. As a sophomore, Dietz helped lead Natrona to the Wyoming Class 4A state basketball championship. That year, he averaged 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds a game.

Last season as a junior, Dietz was named All-State for the second consecutive season after averaging 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.2 blocks and 2.0 steals per game. His blocked shot average was tops in Wyoming class 4A. Natrona was the top ranked team in class 4A and had lost just one game entering the 4A state tournament. However, they were upset by Rock Springs in the semi-finals.

“We are really excited about Michael Dietz,” said Schroyer. “He is a quality kid who has his best basketball ahead of him. He is a multi-dimensional player and I love his versatility. He will develop his game, get better every year and have a very good college career. He has been the best player in our region over the past few years, and we are very excited about his future with the Cowboys.”

Manzano, a 6-4 guard, comes to Wyoming from Garden City Community College, where he is currently a freshman. He will join the Cowboys prior to the 2009-10 season and will have three remaining years of eligibility.

Prior to enrolling at Garden City, Manzano played with current Cowboy Afam Muojeke at Genesis One, a prep school in Mendenhall, Miss. He then spent the fall of 2006 at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., where he played with Michael Beasley, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Following prep school, Manzano initially went to Iowa Western but transferred to Garden City where he sat out and used his redshirt year.

Through three games at Garden City this season, Manzano is averaging 17 points and six rebounds a game. Garden City is currently 2-1.

“Thomas is a very good acquisition for our program and we are thrilled that he is going to be a Cowboy,” said Schroyer. “He brings college experience to the table, but will also be able to be a three-year player for the Cowboys. With losing two guards like Brandon (Ewing) and Sean (Ogirri), we knew we needed to add a punch to our perimeter and Thomas is that punch. He is a talented guard who can score in a variety of ways.”

Trials and tribulations: Cowboys struggle but stop Mines in exhibition

Richard Anderson photos
Wyoming redshirt forward Afam Muojeke looks to make a move on a Colorado School of Mines player Saturday. At left, UW head coach Heath Schroyer looks to relax Muojeke early in the exhibition.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer took redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke aside during an early media time out for a little one-on-one chat.

Schroyer told Muojeke to just relax.

“I said, ‘You know, you’re trying hard and just let it come to you.' He was just a ball of energy,” said Schroyer after the Cowboys’ 72-60 exhibition win over Colorado School of Mines Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium.

The new Cowboys, fresh off of an impressive closed scrimmage in Seattle against Washington, struggled at times, especially early, against the Division II Orediggers.

A classic case of opening jitters, evidently.

“I sensed that they were excited, but they had a lot of nervous energy,” Schroyer said. “They looked like a lot of young pups running around. A lot of them had the old cotton mouth and were out of breath the first couple of minutes. In the first half, I thought we settled down and had a pretty good lead going into halftime. Then we hit a lull and didn’t execute.”

The Cowboys trailed by as much as five in the first half before leading by 17 at halftime. Mines slowly chipped away and trailed by only five points with three minutes to play, before Wyoming closed strong in the waning minutes.

Muojeke said he did feel the jitters at first.

“The seniors took me through it, to finish the game up,” Muojeke said.

The lanky forward finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, with much of his success coming in the second half. He said it basically took him the first half to settle down.

“It felt great to be home and come out and play hard,” Muojeke. “It was a good feeling.”

There were glimpses of potential and youth and inexperience for many of the younger Cowboys. Redshirt freshman post Adam Waddell had 12 points and four rebounds, but fouled out in the second half. Mahamoud Diakite had a couple of big offensive rebounds off of missed free throws, grabbing five boards in 20 minutes. He, too, fouled out. Freshman guard A.J. Davis showed hustle in his 10 minutes as well.

“Like I have said about Afam, A.J. and Adam and even (Djabril Thiam), there are going to be a lot of nights when we go, ‘Wow! Afam Muojeke is a freshman?’ Then you are going to look and go, Afam is a freshman.’ They are going to have really good games and they are going to have tough games -- ups and downs. All four of those guys. (Associate head coach) Fred Langely, who sits beside me every night, said they are going to have to fight through it; this is why we play an exhibition. That’s what we did.”

Senior guard Brandon Ewing, always the stabilizer, said they need to be patient and just improve as they go.

“All we have to do is keep getting better in practice day-by-day and each game,” Ewing said. “You can’t win a championship in an exhibition game or the first game of the year. We have a lot of young guys. Even though Sean (Ogirri) is a senior, this is really his first year with us and we just have to keep getting better day by day.”

Ewing finished with a team high 19 points, with Ogirri adding 15, including 12 in the second half. Kyle Pape led the Orediggers with 21 points, followed by Dale Minschwaner with 12.

“It was an exhibition. We saw a lot and obviously it was a great experience for our guys to play with the lights on,” Schroyer said. “As a coach, the frustrating part is that we went to Washington for a scrimmage and played really, really well. I don’t think we played very well tonight. I think we made a lot of mental errors … missed 14 free throws, had 16 turnovers and only had 11 assists.”

The Cowboys will open the regular season Friday when they host Cal State Bakersfield.

“On a positive note, I thought it was really good for us to get this one under our belt and have Afam, Adam and Sean get their first game under the lights, playing in the A-A,” Schroyer said. “We’ll take a look a the film, break it down and get ready to go for Friday.”

Cowboys to host only exhibition game

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming coaches Fred Langley and Heath Schroyer talk things over with the Cowboys during a recent practice.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Last week, the Wyoming Cowboys informally kicked off the basketball season with a closed scrimmage in Seattle against the University of Washington.

The Cowboys will officially kick off their exhibition season Saturday by hosting the Colorado School of Mines, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium. Wyoming opens the regular season on Nov. 14 at home against Cal State Bakersfield.

Under NCAA rules, a team can scrimmage another program in a closed situation in place of an exhibition. That is exactly what the Cowboys did last week, hence just one exhibition on the schedule.
Although the coaches can’t talk about specifics, such as statistics, Schroyer did say the scrimmage, which was also closed to the media, was extremely beneficial for his young team.

Schroyer said they were able to treat the weekend like an actual road trip.

“Being able to go on the road, getting on a plane, getting on a bus and traveling, knowing how we eat on the road, how we act, I think was a huge advantage for us,” Schroyer said. “It is something I am going to do every year, and it might get to the point next year where we actually have two closed scrimmages and no exhibitions. I think that much of it. I think we gained so much from it. I know there is a good argument of turning the lights on and going through that at well, but we’ll definitely do that every year.”

Unofficial word is the Cowboys more than held their own against the Pac 10 Huskies.

“Washington was picked to finish in the middle of the Pac 10, and to go up there and actually play them in their gym, it was great,” Schroyer said. “We gained a lot from it.”

At the same time, Schroyer said his players are anxious to play in front of their home fans against the Colorado School of Mines.

“This will actually be the first time that a lot of our guys have played in front of a real crowd, so it will be great,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of them will have some butterflies to get through, but it will be a great experience, and hopefully they will play well and the fans come out and will get a sneak peek at the new guys.”

While senior guards Brandon Ewing and (transfer) Sean Ogirri, along with senior forward Tyson Johnson, junior wing Ryan Dermody are proven players, the Wyoming coaches are anxious to get added looks at sophomore post Mikhail Linskens and several newcomers, including redshirt freshmen Adam Waddell and Afam Muojeke, freshman A.J. Davis, junior Mahamoud Diakite and sophomore transfer Djbril Thiam, who will be eligible in December.

Schroyer said he is anxious to see how his young team handles certain situations. Like any game, Schroyer said their first goal is to win the game. Secondly, he said they want to get better that day. He said there is also knocking down free throws, playing defense and understanding the substitution patterns.

“All of those things that go into a game, in front of people, will be new to a lot of our guys,” he said. “It will be a great experience before we get started for real the following week.”

As of Thursday, Schroyer said he hadn’t decided on the starting rotation. Throughout the year, though, he said he plans to play nine or even 10 players to take advantage of what he sees has stronger depth.

“We’re young, but we’re talented,” Schroyer said. “I think for this year and getting ready for the stretch run of January and February, and also to continue to look ahead, to get our young guys some quality minutes is a big responsibility for me and for our staff and for our basketball program.”