Cowboys to face Rebels in Vegas

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

To achieve a bit of consistency in the Mountain West Conference, teams have to find a way to win on the road.

Fresh off of a big home win (83-79) over San Diego State on Wednesday night, the Wyoming Cowboys will try their hand in Las Vegas with a chance to beat a good, but struggling UNLV team on Saturday.

The game, which will be televised by The Mtn., will begin at 8 p.m. (Mountain Time) in UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center.

“I think that any time that you are rebuilding a program, you really have to try to establish a home court; that is the first step. Getting a win against a really good team is the step in the first direction,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “We have four of our first five games in this league on the road. That’s tough. We’re going to have to fill up the gas take, so to speak and be ready to play a very good team that is obviously going to be hungry.”

Schroyer has maintained this season that while they prepare for their opponent, they are more concerned about their own progress. That isn't changing despite the beginning of conference play.

“With such a young and inexperienced team, we need to spend as much time watching film on ourselves than we do on an opponent,” Schroyer said. “I think the last week we really got into that and we’re obviously going to continue that.”

The Cowboys, 12-4 overall and 10-1 in the MWC, are led by senior Brandon Ewing , who has scored 20 or more points in five straight games as well as eight of UW’s last nine games. He is currently leading the MWC in scoring (19.4 points per game) and assists (5.38 assists a contest).

Through 16 games, the Wyoming roster features four of the MWC’s top-10 scorers. In addition to Ewing, senior Tyson Johnson ranks sixth (15.3 ppg), redshirt freshman Afam Muojeke ranks seventh (15.2 ppg) and redshirt senior Sean Ogirri ranks ninth (14.7 ppg).

Johnson, who recorded his fourth double-double of the season against San Diego State, is ranked second in the MWC in rebounding with 8.4 per game. Ogirri is currently leading the league and ranks 15th in the nation in made three-point field goals per game with 3.25.

The Cowboys are looking for their first win over UNLV in Las Vegas since the 2002-03 season. UNLV leads the all-time series 23-13 and has won the past three meetings between the two schools.

UNLV, who is 13-4 overall and 1-2 in the MWC, has lost their last two games. After opening MWC play with a home win over New Mexico, the Runnin’ Rebels have dropped back-to-back road games at TCU and Colorado State.

UNLV is led by senior Wink Adams, who is averaging 12.9 points and 3.25 assists per game. Senior Rene Rougeau is scoring 11.1 points a game while pulling down 7.5 rebounds a game and blocking 2.2 shots a game. Sophomore Tre’Von Willis is adding 10.9 points a game.

“They are very good and they are very, very good at home,” Schroyer said. “The big stat is that we can’t turn the ball over. In their wins, they score 28 points a game off of turnovers. We just can’t do that, especially in that building.”
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Wyoming Cowboys (12-4 overall, 1-1 in MWC)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG/BPG
F #11 Afam Muojeke 6-7 210 R-Fr. Jamaica, N.Y. 15.2 3.9 1.6
F #21 Tyson Johnson 6-7 245 Sr. Long Island, N.Y. 15.3 8.4 2.3
C #15 Adam Waddell 6-10 235 R-Fr. Cody, Wyo. 6.0 4.2 1.0*
G # 0 Sean Ogirri 6-3 200 R-Sr. Denver, Colo. 14.7 2.0 2.8
G #23 Brandon Ewing 6-2 190 Sr. Chicago, Ill. 19.4 3.3 5.4
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 3.8 4.5 0.9*
F #25 Djibril Thiam 6-10 205 So. Dakar, Senegal 5.6 7.6 1.2*
F #32 Mahamoud Diakite 6-7 225 Jr. Paris, France 1.5 2.1 0.6*
C #33 Boubacar Sylla^ 7-2 275 So. Paris, France Redshirting
G #51 A.J. Davis 6-6 195 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 3.3 2.6 0.9
*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: 59-69 (.461), Fifth year
Record at Wyoming: 24-22 (.522), Second year
Assistant Coaches: Fred Langley (Fresno State ‘87), Shaun Vandiver (Colorado ‘02)
and Anthony Stewart (Mount Union ‘93)
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UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (13-4 overall, 1-2 MWC)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APG
F #44 Darris Santee 6-8 225 Jr. Houston, Texas 7.1 3.5 0.7*
F #45 Joe Darger 6-7 225 Sr. Riverton, Utah 9.5 4.2 1.1
G # 1 Wink Adams 6-0 200 Sr. Houston, Texas 12.9 4.2 3.3
G #24 René Rougeau 6-6 210 Sr. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 11.1 7.5 2.2*
G #33 Tre’Von Willis 6-4 195 So. Fresno, Calif. 10.9 3.5 2.7
Reserves
G # 0 Oscar Bellfield 6-2 175 Fr. Los Angeles, Calif. 6.8 2.5 3.5
G # 2 Kendall Wallace 6-4 190 So. Mesa, Ariz. 4.6 1.6 1.0
G # 3 Mareceo Rutledge 6-3 225 Sr. Sacramento, Calif. 3.7 2.1 0.4
G #10 Scott Hoffman 6-3 180 Jr. Hays, Kan. 0.3 0.3 0.1
F/C #12 Brice Massamba 6-10 255 Fr. Sodertalje, Sweden 2.7 1.4 0.3
F #13 Rob Ketchum 6-5 205 Sr. Sacramento, Calif. 2.0 0.0 0.0
G #14 Todd Hanni 6-4 205 So. Danville, Ind. Hasn’t yet played
F #15 DeShawn Mitchell 6-5 205 Fr. Newark, N.J. 2.2 0.8 0.2*
*Indicates blocked shot average
Head Coach: Lon Kruger (Kansas State ’75)
Overall Record: 422-279 (.602), 18th Season
Record at UNLV: 104-46 (.693), 10th Season
Assistant Coaches: Greg Grensing, Steve Henson and Lew Hill