Rebels dominate lifeless Cowboys

John McKnight photo
Wyoming junior Djibril Thiam battles three UNLV players for the rebound Wednesday night.

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Evidently, early signs mean little to the Wyoming Cowboys.

Sophomore A.J. Davis took the opening tip in for a layup, but that was the lone highlight for Wyoming, as UNLV rolled to a 78-50 win Wednesday night in the Arena-Auditorium. It was the worst home loss for the Cowboys since the 1959 season and the worst ever in the A-A since its inception in 1982.

After that opening bucket by Davis, the Rebels (6-2 MWC, 18-4) dominated action the rest of the way, leading by as much as 30 in the second half.

“My hat is off to UNLV, they played very well and are a good basketball team,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “We didn't play very well and that is usually a case for getting your butt kicked, and that's what happened.”

Ryan Dermody led the Cowboys (2-6, 9-13) with 12 points. Desmar Jackson scored 11 points and Amath M'Baye added 10 for the Cowboys, who shot just 28.6 percent from the field (14 of 49), as well as missing 14 free throws.

“You're not going to beat anybody when you shoot 28 percent from the floor and 54 percent from the free-throw line,” Schroyer said. “You're not going to beat anybody in this league, let alone an NCAA Tournament, Top 25 team.”

The lop-sided win surprised UNLV head coach Lon Kruger.

“Wyoming has been protecting its home court really well,” Kruger said. “We came in expecting it to be fight right down the wire.”

It wasn't much of a fight, as UNLV took control early in the game and opened up a double-digit lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Oscar Bellfield and baskets by Justin Hawkins and Chace Stanback. The Rebels led 40-27 at halftime.

Matt Shaw, who went into the game averaging 6.7 points per contest, was 7 of 9 from the field, scoring a game-high 16 points, which tied his career high.

“Darris (Santee) did a lot of good things; Matt came in and did a lot of good things,” Kruger said. “The big guys continue to share that role well. I think Matt got a lot of good rebounds.”

Trailing 52-29, the Cowboys scored eight straight to cut the lead to 15, but could get no closer as UNLV outscored the Wyoming 26-13 the rest of the way.

Tre'Von Willis scored 15 points for the Rebels and Stanback added 12. UNLV shot 53 percent from the field (32 of 60) and dominated in the paint, outscoring Wyoming 32-16.

"We had trouble guarding them off of the dribble," Schroyer said. "This is a tough league, several teams are playing well. We obviously have to play better."

The Cowboys return to action Saturday in Fort Collins against CSU (7 p.m.).