Cowboys look for road breakthrough at BYU

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer has been around enough to borrow a few sports clichés when he needs them.

One, of course, is taking it one-game-at-a-time. The other has to do with the emotional aspect of the game.

“I’ve learned a long time go and I tell my guys, ‘You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low,'" Schroyer said earlier this week.

The Cowboys, 3-3 in the Mountain West, 14-6 overall, have been on both ends of the spectrum this season and chances are that will continue as Wyoming travels to Provo on Saturday to take on BYU, beginning at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center. On Tuesday, the Cowboys face New Mexico in the Pit in Albuquerque.

Hence, the little two-game win streak for Wyoming is good for their morale, but means very little in the Mountain West Conference these days.

“Every game in this league is a war, every game in this league is a bloodbath and battle; this is going to be no different,“ Schroyer said. “Any time you have a chance to get a road win, it is an absolute plus. You try to take care of home the best that you can. That is what this league has become, it is so good.

“I don’t put in any more stock in one game or an other. I’ve talked to the guys and I’ve said this before, there are two keys for us: Can we get a little bit better each day? Are we ready to play and can we play to the best of our ability for 40 minutes? If you do those things, and those are your goals, the winning and the losing usually takes care of itself.”

If there is a time for the Cowboys to go to the Marriott Center and steal a win, it might be now. The Cougars are just 3-3 in league play and not only had their 53-game home win streak snapped by Wake Forest earlier in the season, but they fell to UNLV at home last week.

With that said, Schroyer isn’t buying into the notion that the Cougars are down this season.

“We’re going to have to have really good games from a lot of people, complete games from a lot of people, to go there and compete with them,” Schroyer said. “They are a very good team. The biggest thing that worries me is I am taking so many guys to play for the first time at BYU. You can talk about it, but when you go through it, there are 17-19,000 people, an unbelievable student section that is on your butt from the warmups. Just being able to withstand that and focus on a game plan is probably the biggest thing that I worry about with all of our young kids.”

BYU, 15-5, is also coming off a tough 94-88 overtime loss to rival Utah on Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

That probably doesn’t bode well for the Cowboys or any other team coming into Provo, as Schroyer said that notoriously, the Cougars have always come off of losses -- especially coming back home -- and got after it.

BYU’s big three scoring threat includes senior forward Lee Cummard (17.3 ppg), junior forward Jonathan Tavernari (17.2 ppg) and sophomore guard Jimmer Fredette (14.2 ppg).

“They have four guys on the perimeter that could go for 20 on any given night -- Jackson Emery, Jimmer Fredette, Lee Cummard and Jonathan Tavernari,” Schroyer said. “They are all very talented offensive players. They play together, they are unselfish, they are very good. Don’t read into their record, they have had some tough losses themselves. They are really special at their place.”

Emery, who is averaging 8.1 points a game, however, is a game-time decision because of a shoulder injury. If he doesn’t go, Lamont Morgan Jr. (4.8 ppg) will start. Junior center Chris Myles (7.1 ppg) fills out the BYU starting lineup.

The Cowboys counter BYU’s offensive prowess with four players scoring in double figures led by s senior guard Brandon Ewing (18.4 ppg), senior forward Tyson Johnson (15.7 ppg), freshman forward Afam Muojeke (15.5 ppg) and senior guard Sean Ogirri (15.0 ppg).

For the Cowboys, it has all been about improving on the road this season. Wyoming opened with a lop-sided loss at Utah, played well at times in the loss at UNLV and just missed a road win at TCU, losing on a late 3-pointer in overtime.

“Obviously at TCU, we had a chance and we didn’t, but we are better,” Schroyer said. “Every time our young guys have been able to go on the road, they have gotten better. We’re going to get as good of a shot as anybody has all year."
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Wyoming Cowboys (14-6 overall, 3-3 in MWC)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG/BPG
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. 15.5 4.4 1.6
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 15.7 8.4 2.1
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 5.5 3.8 0.9*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 15.0 2.4 2.7
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 18.4 3.4 5.3
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 #13 Mikhail Linskens 7-0 260 So. Bredene, Belgium 3.2 3.9 0.8*
F #25 Djibril Thiam 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal 5.0 6.5 1.1*
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 1.5 2.0 0.5*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.0 2.4 0.8
*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: 61-71 (.462), Fifth year
Record at Wyoming: 26-24 (.520), Second year
Assistant Coaches: Fred Langley (Fresno State ‘87), Shaun Vandiver (Colorado ‘02)
and Anthony Stewart (Mount Union ‘93)
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BYU Cougars (15-5 overall, 3-3 in MWC)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #30 Lee Cummard 6-7 190 Sr. Mesa, Ariz. 17.3 6.2 3.4
F #45 Jonathan Tavernari 6-6 215 Jr. Sao Bernardo, Brazil 17.3 7.1 2.1
C #54 Chris Miles 6-11 235 Jr. Provo, Utah 7.1 3.8 1.4
G # 4 Jackson Emery 6-3 185 So. Alpine, Utah 8.1 4.2 3.2
G #32 Jimmer Fredette 6-2 195 So. Glens Falls, N.Y. 14.9 2.8 4.6
Reserves
G/F # 1 Charles Abouo 6-5 210 Fr. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire 3.5 2.0 0.6
G # 2 Lamont Morgan, Jr. 5-10 170 Jr. Pomona, Calif. 4.8 1.7 1.7
G # 5 Archie Rose 6-5 210 Sr. Nassau, Bahamas 3.1 2.5 0.3
G #10 Michael Loyd, Jr. 6-1 170 So. Las Vegas, Nev. Redshirting
F/C #15 James Anderson 6-10 230 Fr. Page, Ariz. 1.9 1.3 0.2
G #20 Matt Pinegar 6-0 190 Fr. Provo, Utah 0.2 0.2 0.1
F #34 Noah Hartsock 6-8 215 Fr. Bartlesville, Okla. 1.6 1.6 0.2
F #35 Michael Boswell 6-9 215 Fr. Aloha, Ore. Redshirting
F/C #53 Gavin MacGregor 6-10 240 Sr. Ridgecrest, Calif. 2.8 2.4 0.1
Head Coach: Dace Rose (Houston ’83)
Overall Record: 87-31 (.737), Fourth Season
Record at BYU: Same
Assistant Coaches: Dave Rice, John Wardenburg and Terry Nashif