Cowboys return to action

On Monday night, the Cowboy basketball team will open the 2008 Utah State Duel in the Desert against Houston Baptist at 5:30 p.m. in Logan, Utah.

The Cowboys will also play Howard on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and Utah State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Cowboys enter the tournament with a 9-2 overall record. After going 9-1 through their first 10 games of the season, the Cowboys fell on the road to #10/#13 UCLA last Tuesday, 113-62.

Four Cowboys are scoring in double-figures this season. Redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke is leading the way with an average of 17.7 points per game. He is followed by senior Brandon Ewing (16.8 ppg), redshirt senior Sean Ogirri (15.5 ppg) and senior Tyson Johnson (14.7 ppg).

Johnson is currently leading the Mountain West Conference in rebounding with 8.7 per game. Ewing is leading the league in assists with 6.1 per game and Ogirri leads the league in three-pointers per game with 3.8. Muojeke is tied for second in the MWC in scoring.

Monday’s meeting with Houston Baptist will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Huskies, who are their 18th season under the direction of head coach Ron Cottrell, are 0-12 this season.

Tuesday’s game with Howard will be the second meeting between the two schools. The first meeting was a memorable one for the Cowboys, as they beat Howard 78-43 in the opening round of the 1981 NCAA Tournament. This season, Howard is 1-8 overall and 0-1 in the Mid-Eastern Conference. They are coached by Gil Jackson, who is in his fourth season with the Bison.

Wednesday’s game against Utah State will renew a long standing rivalry. In fact, the two teams have met 66 previous times, with the Cowboys leading the series 45-21. However, the two schools have not met since the 1997-98 season. The Pokes won that game 67-61 on Dec. 3, 1997 in Laramie. The Aggies are coached by Stew Merrill, who is in his 23rd year.

Following the Duel in the Desert, the Cowboys will remain on the road to open MWC play on Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. against Utah in Salt Lake City.
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WYOMING COWBOYS (9-2 overall)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG/BPG
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 17.7 4.5 1.9
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 14.7 8.7 1.9
C #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 4.2 4.8 1.2*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 15.5 1.9 2.3
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 16.8 3.1 6.1
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. 0.5 0.3 0.0
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 6.5 4.3 1.0*
F #25 Djibril Thiam 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal 6.5 8.5 1.8*
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 1.7 2.5 0.7*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.1 2.2 1.0
*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: 56-67 (.455), Fifth year
Record at Wyoming: 21-20 (.512), Second year
Assistant Coaches: Fred Langley (Fresno State ‘87), Shaun Vandiver
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HOUSTON BAPTIST HUSKIES (0-12 overall)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #21 Gordon Watt 6-6 225 Sr. Evanston, Ill. 17.2 7.9 1.2
F #44 Emanuel Willis 6-8 235 Sr. Mendenhall, Miss. 10.0 2.5 0.5
C #45 Mario Flaherty 6-9 230 Jr. Millbrae, Calif. 5.1 3.3 0.4
G #12 Baron Sauls 6-2 180 Sr. Houston, Texas 16.5 4.7 3.6
G #23 Andrew Puzyk 6-3 185 Sr. Katy, Texas 9.7 1.6 0.9
Reserves
G # 3 Sean Morris 5-10 180 Sr. Katy, Texas 5.6 1.9 1.4
F # 4 Demetrus Judge 6-6 195 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 2.8 2.9 0.0
G #10 Joe Atang 5-10 190 Sr. Houston, Texas 2.7 0.8 0.1
G #11 Justin Wilson 5-6 170 Sr. Dickinson, Texas 2.8 1.3 2.5
G #13 Fred Hinnenkamp 6-7 185 So. Houston, Texas 1.5 1.9 0.4
G #15 Aaron Hendrix 6-2 190 Fr. Houston, Texas Hasn’t yet played
G #25 Jimmy Sanders 6-4 205 Sr. Katy, Texas 2.6 1.3 0.1
C #32 Jeremy Havard 6-8 225 So. Houston, Texas 4.0 1.3 0.1
F #55 Andy Dillon 6-4 215 Sr. Pearland, Texas 3.4 1.1 0.2
Head Coach: Ron Cottrell (Arkansas)
Overall Record: 374-195 (.657), 18th Year
Record at Houston Baptist: Same
Assistant Coaches: Steven Key (Houston Baptist), Vic Gilmore (Houston Baptist )