Cowboys host Western State

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowboys return home Tuesday after three games on the road when they host Western State, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

The 7-1 Cowboys are coming off a 74-65 win over Northern Iowa Saturday in Casper at the Wyoming Shootout. Previously, Wyoming earned split on the road, losing to Boise State on a buzzer-beater before stopping Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

Western State enters Tuesday’s game with a 5-3 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They are led by five senior starters, including their leading scorer Cameron Burney. Burney is currently averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer is glad to get home for a couple of games before the big matchup at UCLA on Dec. 23.

“We’ve been away from the Arena-auditorium for three games, and won two of them,” Schroyer said Saturday after the win over Northern Iowa. “Now hopefully we can get home and keep this going.”

Schroyer said that with a Decision 2 team next up on the schedule, they have to take the Mountaineers seriously or Saturday’s win would mean nothing.

“I told our guys that we have to take it one game at a time,” Schroyer said. “If we don’t take care of business at home, then this win gets washed away.”

Through their first eight games, the Cowboy roster not only features the top scorer in the Mountain West Conference, it also features the league’s top rebounder and top assist man.
Redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke currently leads the MWC in scoring with 18.5 points per game. Senior Tyson Johnson is currently leading the league in rebounding with 9.5 per game and senior Brandon Ewing currently leads the MWC in assists with 5.88 per game.

Game notes
Following Tuesday’s game, the Cowboys will host Sacramento State on Saturday. The game will the first of a scheduled doubleheader with the Cowgirl basketball team. The Cowboys and Hornets will begin at 2 p.m. while the Cowgirls will host St. Louis at 6 p.m. … The Cowboys are in search of their first 8-1 start since the 1990-91 season. That year, the Cowboys finished 20-12 and advanced to the NIT. This season’s 7-1 start is the third of this decade by the Cowboys. They also opened the 2000-01 and 2006-07 seasons with 7-1 records. ...The Cowboys lead the all-time series with Western State 22-2.
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Wyoming Cowboys (7-1 overall)
Probable Starters Ht. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
#11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 18.5 4.0 2.1
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 16.3 9.5 1.5*
C #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 3.8 4.8 0.9*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 13.1 2.1 2.6
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 16.8 3.5 5.9
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. 7.3 5.4 1.3*
F #25 Djibril Thiam# 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal 3.0 7.0 2.0*
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 1.6 3.0 1.0*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.7 2.4 1.1
*Indicates blocked shot average
^Luster and Sylla will have to sit out of competition during the 2008-09
season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.
Head Coach: Heath Schroyer (Armstrong Atlantic State ‘95)
Overall Record: 54-66 (.450), Fifth year
Record at Wyoming: 19-19 (.500), Second year
Assistant Coaches: Fred Langley (Fresno State ‘87), Shaun Vandiver (Colorado ‘02)
and Anthony Stewart (Mount Union ‘93)
Western State Mountaineers (5-3 over, 2-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference)
Probable Starters Ht. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
W #21 Cameron Burney 6-7 Sr. Steamboat Springs, Colo. 17.3 7.5 2.0
W #40 Allen McFarland 6-4 Sr. Las Vegas, Nev. 10.3 4.4 2.9
F #45 Clayton Spencer 6-7 Sr. Pagosa Springs, Colo. 5.0 3.5 0.9
G # 3 Jeremy Brooks 6-0 Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. 12.8 4.8 4.8
G # 5 Justin Avalos 6-3 Sr. El Paso, Texas 11.3 3.7 1.3
Reserves
G # 2 Vince Alvarado 5-8 Jr. Seligman, Ariz. 0.7 0.0 0.5
F #10 Steve Zehnder 6-5 Jr., Westminster, Colo. 0.0 1.0 0.2
W #12 Nathan Kirwan 6-5 Jr. Sydney, Australia 0.3 0.3 0.5
W #14 Alex Hart 6-3 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas 4.8 1.8 0.8
F #23 Daniel Hobin 6-7 So. Sydney, Australia Hasn't yet played
W #25 Brandon Gentry 6-3 Jr. Denver, Colo. 7.5 4.1 0.9
W #32 Martin Graham 6-5 So. Phoenix, Ariz. 3.3 1.8 0.5
F #33 Troy McCoy 6-7 So. Bayfield, Colo. 1.3 0.0 0.0
W #52 Brandon Slabach 6-5 Jr. Denver, Colo. 1.3 1.0 0.3
F #55 Mike Bogar 6-7 Jr. Denver, Colo. 2.0 2.0 0.4
Head Coach: Mike Moskowitz (Adams State College '03)
Overall Record: 15-20 (.429)
Record at Western State: same
Assistant Coaches: Daniel Trujillo, Kelly Meek and John McCarthy