Cowboy gets back on the winning track

Muojeke who? Without their leading scorer for the rest of the season the Wyoming Cowboys defended their home turf in a 75-69 victory over the Utah Utes. The Cowboys (9-11, 2-4) snapped their three game losing streak with huge games from Adam Waddell and Desmar Jackson. Waddell was a monster on the boards grabbing 22 rebounds as well as 13 points. Desmar Jackson came off the bench to score 21 points in 20 minutes to lead the Pokes offensively.

Wyoming led 35-32 at halftime then built a 12 point lead early in the second. Utah made a 9-0 run led by Carlon Butler who scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half. The Utes led 67-66 with 2:27 remaining but the Cowboys hit seven free throws in the final 46 seconds to seal the victory.

Wyoming scored 22 points off 19 Ute turnovers. The Pokes made the game much closer than it needed to be by hitting only 23 of their 44 free throw attempts. Besides Waddell and Jackson two other Cowboys reached double digit scoring: Djibril Thiam added 16 and A.J. Davis chipped in 10. The Pokes had 11 assists to only 10 turnovers for the game.

Carlon Brown was the main weapon for the Utes tonight, his 31 points were more than the Utes next highest scorers Marshall Henderson (13) and Jay Watkins (12) combined. With the loss Utah (10-10, 3-3) continued their up and down season with another surprising loss. Last week the Utes knocked off the UNLV Rebels on in Las Vegas.

The game wasn't televised so only the 4,000 in attendance were able to watch the game live. Utah leads the series 92-75 while the Pokes hold a 49-32 home court advantage. These two teams will face off in Salt Lake City on February 27th.

AWARDS

Cowboy Joe: This one is tough so I'll have to give it to both Adam Waddell and Desmar Jackson. When the Pokes needed it most these two youngsters served notice that they want to take a leadership role on this team.

Cowboy Low: Ryan Dermody had an opportunity to step up with Muojeke out but managed only 3 points in 18 minutes. He'll need to be more aggressive if he expects to make the most of his Senior season.

Cowboy Foe: Carlon Brown was on fire connecting for 31 points.