(TSM Photo)

Courtney Clements was a 1-woman wrecking crew Tuesday night in the Arena-Auditorium. She matched her season-high with 25 points and helped San Diego State clinch at least a share of the Mountain West regular-season title with the win over the Wyoming Cowgirls 68-55. It was the Aztecs first win in Laramie since 1997.

Clements scored 10 straight points during a stretch in the second half to keep the Aztecs in the lead. Her last basket put San Diego State ahead 51-46 with 7:48 left. Wyoming closed within two points on three different occasions, but couldn’t get over the top. The Aztecs knocked down 11-of-12 free throws in the last 6:15 to preserve the victory.

Wyoming failed to score in the final 3:17 of their home finale.

The first half was back-and-forth. The teams traded the lead 14 times, and there were two ties. Each team recorded a 7-0 run, but neither team led by more than five points. The Aztecs led at half, 30-29.

San Diego State (21-5, 11-1) opened the second half on a 9-4 spurt for a 39-33 lead with 13:07 remaining, but Wyoming hung tough. They answered with their own 9-4 run and closed within one point on a Kayla Woodward 3-point play, 42-43, at the 10:14 mark. Every time the Aztecs tried to get separation, Wyoming responded. They were within two points, at 55-57, on a pair of Chaundra Sewell free throws before the offense struggled down the stretch.

UW (11-14, 7-5) was led by Alison Gorrell with a career-high 16 points and 5 rebounds. Ashley Sickles added 11 points. Wyoming shot 38.5 percent (20-52) from the field, but was just 2-of-11 from 3.

Clements finished 8-of-15 on field goals, was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line. She also added 6 boards, 2 steals and committed zero turnovers in 35 minutes of action. Malia Nahinu was the only other Aztec in double figures with 12 points. San Diego State shot 44 percent (23-52) from the field, which included 4-0f-7 from 3. They went 18-0f-21 (86%) from the charity stripe. They out-rebounded the Cowgirls 38-to-27.

The Cowgirls will finish out the regular season on the road before heading to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Championships. They play at Boise State this Saturday, Feb. 25th. Tip is set for 2 p.m., coverage will start at 1:30 p.m. on KOWB.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

The offense simply disappeared. The Wyoming Cowboys blew a 7-point halftime lead at Colorado State and lost 54-46 to the Rams Saturday night in Fort Collins. The Pokes shot just 24 percent from the field in the second half and managed only two field goals over the last 14 minutes of the game.

Colorado State (16-9, 5-5) used an 11-3 run over a seven minute span of the second half to gain control of the game. Greg Smith’s 3-pointer from the top of the key gave them their first lead of the game, and the Rams held UW to six points the rest of the way. CSU hit all seven of their free throw attempts in the last five minutes to preserve the victory.

The Cowboys got a three from Luke Martinez and a Francisco Cruz lay-in as their only field goals in the last 14 minutes. The only other points came on four free throws, two apiece from Cruz  and Leonard Washington.

UW used an early 9-2 run and gained control in the first half for a 15-7 lead. Colorado State cut the Cowboy lead to four points twice, but the Pokes answered with an Adam Waddell dunk, Martinez 3-pointer and JayDee Luster’s jumper at the buzzer for a 28-21 lead at halftime.

Martinez and Luster combined for three 3-pointers early in the second half, as the Cowboys maintained a 37-30 advantage. That’s when the Rams came through with the key run, and the Pokes couldn’t buy a bucket. They missed 13 of their last 15 shots in the game.

Wyoming (18-8, 4-6) was led by Martinez with 15 points and Cruz with 10. They shot 38.6 percent from the field, which included 35 percent (7-20) from deep. The Pokes only went to the free throw line 8 times. They made five.

The Rams shot 51.4 percent (19-37) from the field, were only 2-6 (33 percent) from 3, but went 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) at the charity stripe.

The Cowboys return to action on the road Wednesday night at San Diego State. Game time is set for 8:30 pm, Mountain Time. Wyoming basketball can be heard on KCGY (FM 95.1) starting at 8 pm Wednesday night, with Cowboy Talk following the game broadcast.

(TSM Photo)

The second edition of the Border War in women’s basketball lived up to its nickname. In a battle to the end, the Wyoming Cowgirls-Colorado State Rams 66-62 in overtime. The game featured 13 lead changes and 15 ties. The Cowgirls rallied from a six-point deficit twice.

With 18.2 seconds to go, Chaundra Sewell missed a shot in the paint that would have tied the game at 52. Instead, the Rams would rebound the ball and make one of two free throws, giving them a three-point lead, 53-50. With the clock winding down, Chaundra Sewell hit a three-point field goal to tie it up at 53 all and force overtime.

The beginning of overtime was a back and forth battle until Ashley Sickles banked in a 3 with the shot clock running out and gave the Cowgirls a 62-59 lead with 1:29 left. Wyoming sealed the win by hitting 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute.

If you can stay close sometimes you need to have some magic happen and I was happy for Chaundra Sewell. We ran a set play for her and unfortunately she couldn’t come up with it. I told her that we would come back to her and she kept her head up and hit that huge three to send it into the overtime. We did a nice job in the extra period staying aggressive and attacking the basket.
-Head Coach Joe Legerski

Sewell led the way for the Wyoming (11-13, 7-4) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Cowgirls scored in double figures including Woodward with 20 points, Sickles with 14 and Mileto with 10. UW shot just 35.3 percent (18-51) from the field, but found 21 second chance points from 14 offensive boards. They shot 40 percent (6-15) from 3-point range, and 77.4 percent (24-31) from the free throw line.

CSU (12-14, 8-3) was led by Kelly Hartig with 17 points and 6 boards and Sam Martin with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Their leading scorer, Kim Mestdagh was held to 4 points and she committed 4 turnovers before fouling out with 27 seconds left in regulation. CSU hit 42.3 percent (22-52) of their shots from the field, 23.1 percent (3-13) from beyond the arc, and 88.2 percent (15-17) from the foul line.

To have four players in double-figures led by Chaundra and Kayla that’s a big night. The defensive job that Kaitlyn Mileto did on Kim Mestdagh was tremendous. We made some adjustments from the first game we played. She did a nice job especially playing 39 minutes.
-Head Coach Joe Legerski

The Cowgirls will host league-leading San Diego State on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the Arena Auditorium. Coverage will start on KOWB-AM at 5:30 p.m.

Comstock

The Mountain West Basketball Tournament in Fabulous Las Vegas, NV is just a little less than a month away now. If you are a fan of Cowboy or Cowgirl basketball, or just love going to Vegas, then we have a treat for you! We are giving away two trips (Trips are for two people each) to Las Vegas to see the basketball tournament on March 7th through the 10th. The trip includes roundtrip airfare to Las Vegas, a 5 night hotel stay and tickets to every basketball session, mens & womens, in the Thomas & Mack Center. This is a contest you won’t want to miss!

As mentioned we have two trips up for grabs, and two ways to win, in store and online. There are entry boxes located at certain businesses around town (See list below). Simply visit a location and register to win by dropping an entry form in the box. On the morning of March 1st, all entries from the boxes in stores will be collected and one winner will be drawn.

At the same time, we will also pick a second winner from our online contest in the Mighty 1290 Club. However, the online contest is hidden online until you enter a code word that can only be found by visiting one of the entry locations in stores. The code word you need to enter online is easilly identified in red on the entry boxes, along with instructions located in participating stores (See list below). Once you have seen the code word on an entry box, come back here and enter it for access to the online contest! You will get 5,000 points when you enter the code word and can use your points in the Mighty 1290 Club to enter as many times as you would like.

Participating Local Businesses:

ACPE Federal Credit Union – Map

J’s Prairie Rose – Map

Laramie Lanes – Map

Laramie GM – Map

NAPA Auto Parts – Map

Shively Hardware of Saratoga – Map

Tommy Jacks – Map

True Value of Rawlins – Map

UniWyo Federal Credit Union – Map

Wyoming State Bank – Map

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

Behind 24 points from Michael Lyons and a strong second half, the Air Force Falcons knocked off the Wyoming Cowboys 58-53 Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium. Lyons hit six 3′s, the Falcons shot 50 percent in the second half and held the Cowboys to 26 percent shooting.

Air Force snapped a seven-game losing streak and gave Interim Head Coach Dave Pilipovich his first win. It was also the Falcons’ first win in Laramie since 2008 and the first time Wyoming has lost back-to-back games this season.

Air Force began the second half on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 38. Wyoming pushed back out by five, at 45-40, but the Falcons continued their strong second half. A 12-0 spurt by Air Force produced their first lead of the game and put them ahead 52-45. It included two big 3′s from deep by Lyons.

The Cowboys jumped to an early 12-2 lead, as all five starters scored. They pushed the advantage to 24-10 on Washington’s lay-up off a feed from Derrious Gilmore with 9:10 to play. The Falcons answered with a 10-0 run keyed by back-to-back 3′s from Lyons. UW went just over four minutes without a point. Waddell responded with five quick points to push the lead back to 29-20, and the Pokes eventually held a 36-28 edge at halftime.

Wyoming (18-7, 4-5) was led by Waddell with 15 points and JayDee Luster with 11 points and 4 assists. The Cowboys shot 39.2 percent (20-51) from the field, 19.0 percent (4-21) from 3-point range and 90.0 percent (9-10) from the free throw line. UW committed 13 turnovers while forcing 12 from Air Force and out-rebounded the Falcons 31-23.

The Falcons (12-11, 2-7) shot 48.9 percent (22-45) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc and 100 percent (6-6) from the foul line. Taylor Broekhuis was the only other Air Force player beside Lyons to score in double-figures with 12 points.

UW will soldier on in Mountain West play on Saturday against Colorado State in Ft. Collins. Tip is set for 7 p.m., coverage will begin on KCGY-FM (95.1) at 6:30 p.m.

cowgirlbasketball.com

University of Wyoming freshman Kayla Woodward has earned Mountain West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors twice this season. The last Cowgirl to accomplish that was Aubrey Vandiver, who went on to earn Player of the Year honors her senior season.

For the season, Woodward is averaging 12 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. But Woodward has stepped things up since Mountain West play began and through eight games is third in the conference in scoring with 17.8 points per game and is tied for sixth on the boards with 6.6 rebounds a game.

At the beginning of the year I was just getting used to college basketball and being a freshman and I didn’t have much confidence, which I should have. I think my confidence has raised quite a bit and I’m not thinking as much on the court, I’m just playing basketball.
-Kayla Woodward

In an interview with Sportsline Live, Woodward was quick to give the credit to her teammates, who kept working hard through a tough non-conference schedule in which the Cowgirls went just 4-9. Once Mountain West play began, things started to come together for the young UW team and they now find themselves in a three-way tie for third in the conference with a 5-3 record. Woodward also praised the philosophy given to the team by Head Coach Joe Legerski, that they simply must improve at every practice and during every game.

Kayla Woodward on Sportsline Live:

The Cowgirls continue conference play on Saturday against New Mexico. The game is set to tip at 2:00 p.m. from the Arena-Auditorium. Coverage will begin on KOWB at 1:30 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game. In conjunction with the game, the University of Wyoming Athletics Department is sponsoring the Eighth Annual Walk for Women. Along with the walk, a Silent Auction will be held with all proceeds from the event directly benefiting the Wyoming Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The walk will be held in the Arena Auditorium Concourse with registration set to begin at 10:30 a.m. The cost is $30 per person or $15 for youth (6th Grade and under) and $15 for UW Students. All participants will receive a t-shirt and lunch along with free admission to the Wyoming vs. New Mexico WBB game at 2:00 p.m. Registration can be completed at www.wyomingathletics.com, the University of Wyoming Athletics Department or the Brown and Gold Outlet.

Shane Onufer takes down Oklahoma wrestler (courtesy Wyoming Athletics Media Relations)

Five University of Wyoming wrestlers will take part in the last home dual of their careers on Wednesday as the Cowboys host conference foe Northern Colorado. We visited with All-American Shane Onufer on Sportsline Live one day ahead of his final showing in Laramie.

Onufer has a record of 128-23 which places him fifth in UW history in total wins. He is also a one-time All-America honoree.

Shane Onufer on Sportsline Live:

It’s been a great experience for me wrestling in the UniWyo and the Double A over these past few years. Tomorrow night I have a tough, top-ranked opponent. So I’m going out there and I’m going to wrestle as good as I can and show the fans a good show and go out on a high note.

It’ s been pretty cool this group of guys. We’ve stuck with it, we’ve seen a lot of coaches come and go, different teammates come and go and we stuck it out and it’s been great. It’s been awesome to wrestle next to these guys and it’ll be something I’ll always remember.

I’ve gotten to watch Coach Branch turn this program around. I’ve seen what a guy like him can do to change a program that wasn’t so well known or respected very well and it’s been great. I can’t say a bad thing about him. He’s an upstanding guy and a great coach. I don’t see him staying here for a long time.
-Shane Onufer

Prior to the 7 p.m. dual in the UniWyo Sports Complex, seniors Dallas Hintz, Joe LeBlanc, Michael Martinez, Shane Onufer and Chase Smith will be honored in a ceremony to thank them for their years of dedication. Each of the five seniors have eclipsed the 50-win mark for their careers, and three (Martinez, LeBlanc and Onufer) have 100 or more victories.

“This is a dual that has a lot of meaning for a special group of guys who have really put their stamp on the history of this program,” Wyoming coach Mark Branch said. “We want to send them out right. They’ve definitely had a huge impact on our wrestling program and my coaching stint at Wyoming.”

UW is currently undefeated in Western Wrestling Conference duals at 3-0 and have a 6-2 overall record. In the individual rankings, five Cowboy wrestlers are ranked in the latest InterMat poll. They include Martinez (18th, 125 pounds), redshirt freshman Zach Zehner (17th, 133), Onufer (third, 165), LeBlanc (first, 184) and junior Alfonso Hernandez (eighth, 197). UNC has one ranked wrestler in senior Gabe Burak, who is rated 11th in the nation at 165 pounds.

(twitter.com)

University of Wyoming head football coach Dave Christensen confirmed on Friday what the social media world had already revealed, that freshman quarterback Brett Smith did undergo surgery on Thursday of this week.

“Brett had surgery Thursday,” said Christensen. “The surgery went well, and we expect Brett to be back during spring ball.”

Wyoming does not discuss details of injuries or surgeries. Through the Twitter account that Smith keeps (@bsmithwyo16), it seems as though surgery on his throwing hand took place in his hometown of Salem, Ore. following an evaluation in mid-January.

Late in the season, Smith began wearing gloves during games. On Jan 18th, he indicated on Twitter that it may have been due to pain when he threw the ball.

Later that same day, Smith took to Twitter again, this time making mention of an MRI.

While the exact surgery remains unknown, it seems pretty clear from a discussion on Twitter with teammate Dominic Rufran (@DomRufran) that Smith’s hand was operated on.

Smith was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2011. He started all 13 games his true freshman season, throwing for 2,622 yards and accounting for 3,332 yards of total offense. He ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West and No. 33 in the nation in total offense.

Spring practice for the Pokes will begin on Monday, March 19 and will run through the spring game on Saturday, April 21.

(TSM Photo)

A superb second half effort from Chaundra Sewell and Kayla Woodward gave the University of Wyoming Cowgirls a 64-54 win over TCU in the Arena Auditorium on Wednesday night.

The first half was a back and forth affair with seven lead changes. Neither team would lead by more than six points, and the difference at halftime was just one point with the Cowgirls down 30-29 after committing 10 turnovers.

Wyoming took a 31-30 lead with a Woodward basket to start the second half scoring and did not look back. TCU began the second half 0-for-10 from the field as Sewell and Woodward combined to score the first 19 points for the Cowgirls in the second frame, building a 48-38 lead with 9:25 left to play. A Kaitlyn Mileto trey with 8:08 remaining would be both the first points scored by another Cowgirl in the second half and the last field goal for UW in the game. Wyoming stepped up and sealed it at the foul line, hitting 13-of-17 free throws in the final five minutes to seal the win on their home court, 64-54.

UW (8-12, 4-3) was led by Sewell with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Woodward with 21 points and 7 boards. The Cowgirls shot 38 percents (19-50) from the field, 33 percent (4-12) from 3-point range, and 78 percent (22-28) from the free throw line. Wyoming grabbed 50 rebounds to TCU’s 35.

Tonight’s basketball game was about rebounding, defending and stepping up to the free throw line when we had that chance. It was good to see the rebounding battle and that we came out on top, plus when they fouled us in the last several minutes we were 10 of 12 from the line. More importantly our defense played very well. Kayla Woodward’s game tonight to have 21 points, seven rebounds but she also guarded the leading scorer for TCU. I don’t like the same player to be counted on to not only score and defend but the match-ups were difficult for us tonight. Chaundra Sewell also really stepped it up. They backed off from her, let her take the shots and she responded. I’m just very pleased overall with this victory.
-Head Coach Joe Legerski

TCU (11-11, 4-3) was led by freshman Natalie Ventress with 18 points. The Horned Frogs were held to 28 percent (19-67) shooting from the field, 27 percent (7-26) from beyond the arc, and 75 percent (9-12) from the charity stripe.

Mountain West play will continue for Wyoming on Saturday at UNLV on Saturday as the Cowgirls enter the second round of conference play. The game will tip at 5 p.m. from Las Vegas, coverage will begin on KOWB-AM at 4:30 p.m.

Ethan Miller (Getty Images)

Despite 21 points and 6 rebounds from Leonard Washington, the Wyoming Cowboys couldn’t come up with the key baskets, and they lost at TCU against the Horned Frogs, 58-52, Wednesday night at Daniel Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.  Wyoming endured a five minute scoring drought in the second half and turned the ball over 14 times in defeat.

A 14-2 second half run by the Horned Frogs was too much to overcome. The Cowboys rallied back within two points, at 49-47, but TCU responded with 6 quick points for a 55-47 lead with 4:18 left. Wyoming closed within five at the 2:05 mark, but got no closer.

Adam Waddell scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, while Pako Cruz added 10 points for UW.

TCU (13-8, 3-3) was led by Craig Williams with 13 points, Hank Thorns added 12 and Amric Fields 10.

Wyoming (17-5, 3-3) scored the first six points of the game, but TCU answered with an 11-2 spurt and for an 11-8 lead at the 11:42 mark of the first half. The Pokes came right back with a 7-0 burst and a 15-11 advantage. After the teams traded 3-pointers, a Hank Thorns 3, plus five free throws (8-0 run) by the Horned Frogs put them back in front 24-20. The teams played even after that, and TCU held a 35-30 lead at halftime.

The Cowboys started the second period again on a 6-0 spurt and regained the lead at 36-35. Then they went cold. Wyoming went almost eight minutes with only one basket. That allowed TCU to go on their key run of 14-2. Trailing 49-38, the Pokes responded with a 9-0 spurt and pulled within 49-47, but couldn’t get over the hump.

UW shot 41.7 percent (20-48) from the field, but only 30.4 percent in the second half.  They were held to 5-of-19 from beyond the arc (26 percent).

The Horned Frogs shot nearly 46 percent (21-46) on field goals, which included 6-16 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range. Their bench out-scored Wyoming’s 20-0, and they out-rebounded the Pokes 30-29.

The Cowboys return to action on Saturday afternoon. They wrap up the first half of Mountain West Conference play by hosting the No. 11 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at the Arena-Auditorium. Game time is at 2 pm, Mountain Time.  Radio coverage will begin at 1:30 pm on KCGY (FM 95.1), with another edition of Cowboy Talk to follow the game broadcast.

Otto Kitsinger III, Getty Images

University of Wyoming head football coach Dave Christensen announced the 2012 recruiting class on Wednesday. Christensen’s fourth recruiting class at Wyoming contains 23 signees with 12 recruits on offense, 10 on defense and one special teams performer. Many of the recruits will come to Wyoming from the west coast, with six signees from California and five from Washington.

“We’re very pleased with the class that we’ve put together,” said Christensen. “I really like the athleticism and the depth in this class. We always try to balance out each class, signing players at positions across the board — offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, secondary and skill positions offensively. I think we’ve added quality players in all of those areas. We also signed a punter. After losing a four-year starter, we needed someone who had the ability to step in there right away and punt for us.”

Signees

Chase Appleby, DT, 6-0, 270, Frisco, Texas (Centennial HS), named First Team All-State Class 4A in Texas by Rivals.com. Appleby also was named District 9-4A Defensive Player of the year as a defensive lineman his senior season at Centennial High School in Frisco, Texas.

Sam Awrabi, DE, 6-3, 240, Clovis, Calif. (Clovis East HS), ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 66 overall recruit at all positions in the talent-rich state of California. Awrabi, who played outside linebacker at Clovis East High School in Clovis, Calif., is projected as a defensive end at Wyoming.

Justin Bernthaler, DE, 6-2, 245, Stuttgart, Germany (Fullerton College), ranked by JCGridiron.Rivals.com as the No. 2 best junior college weakside defensive end recruit in the nation in 2011.  He was also ranked as the No. 58 best California junior college recruit at all positions by 247Sports.com., and SuperPrep Magazine’s Jan. 15, 2012, issue ranked him as the No. 69 junior college recruit in the nation at all positions.

Nico Brown, WR, 6-2, 190, Leander, Texas (Leander HS), earned First Team All-District 16-5A honors as a senior at Leander High School in Leander, Texas.  Class 5A is the largest classification in the state of Texas.  As a team captain, he helped lead Leander High to an 8-4 overall record and a 6-0 conference record as it advanced to the State Playoffs.

Jacob English, OL, 6-6, 240, Beloit, Kan. (Beloit HS), honored as a First Team Class 3A All-State selection by both the Kansas Football Coaches Association and the Wichita Eagle.

Tim Gleeson, P, 6-3, 190, Melbourne, Australia, trained by Nathan Chapman, a former Australian Football League player who also punted briefly for the Green Bay Packers.  Gleeson originally had dreams of playing Australian rules football professionally, before deciding to pursue American football and an education in the United States.

Damian Greene, CB, 5-9, 175, Sammamish, Wash. (Skyline HS), led his Skyline High team in Sammamish, Wash., to the 2011 and 2009 Class 4A State Championships — the largest classification in the state of Washington.

Siaosi Hala’api’api, LB, 6-2, 220, Honolulu, Hawaii (Kaimuki HS), earned Honorable Mention All-State honors from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser his senior season.  He was also named the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) White Conference Defensive Player of the Year his senior season, and was named a First Team OIA linebacker and utility player and a Second Team OIA running back .

Sam Hardy, DL, 6-3, 270, West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade HS), was a First Team All-Mission League selection at Chaminade College Prep as a senior.  He helped lead the Eagles to the Semifinals of the 2011 CIF-Southern Section Western Division Playoffs.

Nathan Leddige, OL, 6-6, 285, Beaverton, Ore. (Southridge HS), named to the 2011 Oregonian Class 6A All-State team as an Honorable Mention selection.  Class 6A is the largest classification in the state of Oregon.  Leddige also earned First Team All-Metro honors at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., as both a junior and senior.

Walker Madden, OL, 6-9, 260, Yucca Valley, Calif. (College of the Desert), rated as the No. 34 best California junior college recruit at all positions by 247Sports.com.  Madden earned Second Team All-Central East Conference honors in 2011 at College of the Desert where he helped lead his team to a No. 21 ranking in the final California Community College Football Coaches Association Poll.

D.J. May, RB, 5-11, 190, Federal Way Wash. (Federal Way HS), earned First Team Associated Press All-State Class 4A honors as a senior. He joins his high school teammate Uso Olive in this year’s Wyoming recruiting class.

Dylan Muscat, DB, 6-0, 175, Santa Monica, Calif. (Santa Monica), named First Team All-CIF and First Team All-Ocean League as a senior at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, Calif.  He helped lead his high school team to an 11-2 record, the Ocean League Championship and the Semifinals of the CIF Playoffs his senior year.

Eric Nzeocha, WR, 6-1, 200, Neusitz, Germany (FOS Ansbach), brother of current Wyoming Cowboy linebacker/safety Mark Nzeocha.  Eric Nzeocha played for the Franken Knights Youth Team, a club team in Neusitz, Germany.  He also was selected to play on the Junior National Team by the Bavarian Football Association.

Uso Olive, DT, 6-1, 293, Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS), ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 12 recruit in its breakdown of the top recruits in the state of Washington. Superprep Magazine ranked him as the No. 20 top recruit in the state of Washington. Olive also was a 2011 Associated Press First Team Class 4A All-State selection. He is joined by his high school teammate D.J. May in this year’s Wyoming recruiting class.

Connor Rains, OT, 6-7, 305, Placerville, Calif. (American River CC), ranked as the No. 17 best junior college offensive tackle in the nation by JCGridiron.Rivals.com in 2011.  Rains earned 2011 California Community College All-America honors from the JC Athletic Bureau.

Chase Roullier, OL, 6-4, 290, Burnsville, Minn. (Burnsville HS), rated as the No. 15 recruit at all positions in the state of Minnesota by ESPN.com. Roullier earned First Team Associated Press All-State honors as a senior.

Trent Sewell, WR, 6-2, 205, Bothell, Wash. (Bothell HS), ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 8 best recruit in the state of Washington at all positions. ESPN.com rated him as the No. 11 recruit in the state of Washington. Both Rivals and ESPN ranked Sewell as the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in Washington.

Jason Thompson, QB, 6-3, 195, Renton, Wash. (Kennedy Catholic HS), rated by SuperPrep Magazine as its No. 19 recruit on its list of top players in the state of Washington. Thompson was also selected by the Seattle Times as a First Team All-State selection.

Tommy Thornton, QB, 6-1, 210, Tempe, Ariz. (Macros De Niza HS), named by the Arizona Coaches Association as a First Team Division II All-State quarterback at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Ariz.

Austin Tixier, DL, 6-3, 242, Arlington Heights, Ill. (Prospect HS), earned All-Area and All-Mid-Suburban East Conference honors as a senior in 2011 at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Ill.  If that high school sounds familiar to Wyoming Cowboy fans, it is because it is the same high school as current Cowboy offensive lineman Nick Carlson.

Lucas Wacha, LB, 6-2, 200, Texarkana, Texas (Pleasant Grove HS), earned First Team All-Northeast Texas and First Team All-District 15-3A honors as a linebacker.  His senior season, he recorded 97 tackles, 4.0 sacks and intercepted one pass.

Shawn Wick, RB/DB, 5-11, 190, Ventura, Calif. (St. Bonaventure HS), named to the All-CIF Southern Section North Division team at the conclusion of his senior season.  Cal-Hi Sports selected him as a Fourth Team All-State Multi-Purpose performer as both a running back and defensive back.  He also earned First Team All-Ventura County in voting by area coaches and was named First Team All-County by the Ventura County Star.

*Grayshirt recruit, will go on scholarship in January 2013

Wyoming’s (17-4, 3-2) fifth win on the road this season is the most in a single season since 2002-03. The last time the Cowboys won four straight away from home was during the 1990-91 season.

Luke Martinez scored 17 points, Pako Cruz had 16 and Leonard Washington finished with 10 to lead Wyoming. Adam Waddell scored 9, while Freshmen Larry Nance, Jr. and Riley Grabau contributed 8 points apiece.

Three Broncos scored in double figures, as well, led by Joe Hanstad with 13 off the bench. Ryan Watkins scored 12 and Tre Nichols had 11.

The Cowboys led from start to finish. Three early 3-pointers by Martinez, Cruz and Washington helped UW to an early 12-4 advantage. The Pokes went on a 17-6 run that was keyed by Waddell. He had a dunk, hit a jumper and drew two offensive fouls during the spurt. The run was capped by another Martinez 3 that put Wyoming ahead 29-14 with 2:45 left in the first half. They were up 33-20 at the break.

Early 3-point plays by Washington and JayDee Luster in the second half built the lead to 40-22. Washington’s second 3-point play of the second half at the 10:57 mark gave the Cowboys their biggest lead at 53-31. Back-to-back 3′s from Grabau kept UW up by 20 with around 9 minutes to play.

That’s when Boise State rallied. The Broncos converted three Wyoming turnovers into easy baskets and cut the Cowboy lead to 61-49 with 5:10 left. Boise State pulled within 11 points on four different occasions, but UW held off the charge and posted their second road win in conference action, 75-64.

The Pokes were 25-38 from the field for 65.8 percent, which included 8-14 (57 percent) from beyond the arc. They hit 17-19 from the foul line (89.5 percent) and out-rebounded the Broncos 24-16.

Boise State (10-10,0-5) shot nearly 47 percent (22-47) from the field, but were held to 29 percent (7-24) from long range. They were 13-16 (81.5 percent) from the charity stripe.

Wyoming returns to action Wednesday night with their second straight road game at TCU. Game time is at 6 pm, Mountain Time. Coverage begins at 5:30 pm on KCGY (FM 95.1), with another edition of Cowboy Talk to follow the broadcast.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

A big double-double from Leonard Washington combined with solid team defense gave the Wyoming Cowboys a 70-51 win over rival Colorado State on Saturday in front of the largest men’s basketball crowd Laramie has seen in six years.

Three’s from JayDee Luster and Leonard Washington got the scoring going early for Wyoming and they would never surrender the lead. CSU’s leading scorer, Wes Eikmeier, made his only bucket of the day with 10:34 in the first half, to make it a 16-10 game. UW’s defense buckled down for the next four minutes, holding Colorado State scoreless while going on an 8-0 run to build up a 14 point lead. The Rams would try to chip away, but the final four points of the half went to Wyoming on two free throws and a transition layup by Luke Martinez to put the halftime score at 32-19.

While CSU scored 19 points in the first half as a team, Washington would score 19 points for Wyoming on his own in the second, starting with a put-back dunk just after halftime. The Rams hit their final field goal of the day with 8:03 still left in the game, settling for free throws the rest of the way. Washington hit two trey’s in the final minutes as the shot clock expired, sending Wyoming fans into a near frenzy.

After the game, Washington claimed he didn’t realize it was his night until it was over. He simply credited his teammates, said he was just focused on hitting the boards and playing his heart out. Teammate Luster was quick to boast on Washington’s behalf, “I don’t know how he didn’t notice, but I was out there telling Coach, ‘Keep Leonard in the game and get Leonard the ball. Second half, I felt like he carried us.”

Washington powered Wyoming (16-3, 2-1) with a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds. Luke Martinez scored in double figures for the sixth straight game with 12 points while JayDee Luster contributed 9 points and 5 assists without committing any turnovers. The Pokes shot 43.4 percent (23-53) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc and 80.0 percent (16-20) from the foul line. UW had 15 assists to 9 turnovers and outrebounded CSU 35-24.

“I really liked our edge the whole game,” commented head coach Larry Shyatt after the game. “Whether it’s been after a couple good wins or after a couple tough losses, our team has kept their focus all year and stayed the course. This team knows who it is and who it isn’t.”

The Rams (13-5, 2-1) entered Saturday’s contest leading the Mountain West in three-point percentage at 49.7 percent. Colorado State started the game going 0-for-4 from deep the Cowboys held them to 29.4 percent (5-17) for the game. CSU’s 51 points were a season low for the Rams and the loss put an end to an eight-game winning streak. They were led by Greg Smith with 18 points and 6 rebounds.

Saturday’s attendance was a season-high at 7,901. It was the largest crowd for the Cowboys since 9,314 against UNLV on Feb. 19, 2005.

“I can’t thank the crowd enough,” was the praise from Coach Shyatt. “I want to reach out to our students and our fans who maybe haven’t been to a game in awhile or who haven’t experienced what the Double A atmosphere can be like with a big crowd. We have a very good San Diego State team coming to town on Tuesday night, and I hope our fans will come out and make the atmosphere as undisciplined and exciting as possible on Tuesday, just like they did today.”

Wyoming will continue MW play on Tuesday when they host San Diego State University in the Arena-Auditorium. Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m. with coverage beginning on KCGY-FM (95.1) at 6:00 p.m.

Despite losing five straight heading into the break, the Cowboys dismantled the University of Colorado-Denver squad in back to back nights in Laramie, 15-1 and 16-4.

Fourteen different Pokes recorded points in the two game sweep, but leading the way was the trio of Noah Crank, Ethan Crockett and Mitch Nelson who combined for 14 goals and 11 assists.

With the pair of victories, UW now sits at 5-11 on the season and will travel to North Dakota to play a pair at Williston State College (6-11).

Cowboy players huddle

A 13-0 run late in the game propelled the Wyoming Cowboys to their first win in Mountain West conference play 64-to-53 at Air Force Wednesday night. Four Cowboys scored in double figures led by Junior Luke Martinez and Senior Pako Cruz with 15 points apiece.

Wyoming (15-3, 1-1) hit 11 straight free throws in the final 1:32 to pull away for the victory. The win snaps a 16-game conference road losing streak. Ironically, the last conference road victory for the Cowboys was at Clune Arena in 2009 over the Falcons.

Leonard Washington scored 13 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, had a block and 3 steals for UW, while Adam Waddell contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

Air Force (11-5, 1-1) was led by Mike Fitzgerald with 13 points and Justin Hammonds with 10.

The game was a grind it out, possession-by-possession, defensive slug-fest from the start. Wyoming led 11-7 at the 11:11 mark before the Falcons went on a 14-2 run and pulled ahead 21-13 with 4:44 left in the first half. After the teams traded free throws, UW responded with a 7-0 spurt to end the half and trailed 23-22 at intermission.

In the second half, there were two lead changes and four ties before Air Force surged ahead 46-42 on a lay-up by Shawn Hempsey and a dunk by Michael Lyons. That’s when UW came alive. Martinez hit a three and a jumper for five quick points that ignited the decisive run over a four minute span. The 55-46 advantage was too much for the Falcons to overcome.

The Cowboys shot 50 percent (20-40) from the field, including 63 percent in the second half. They were 6-of-16 from beyond the arc for 37.5 percent. Wyoming finished 18-of-26 (70 percent) at the line, but knocked down 11-of-their-last-12. They also forced 16 Falcon turnovers.

Air Force hit 20-of-41 (49 percent) field goals, but were only 4-of-13 (31 percent) from 3-point range. They went 9-18 at the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Pokes 26-to-23.

Wyoming returns home Saturday for the first edition of the “Border War” in basketball. Colorado State visits Laramie at 4 pm Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium.  Coverage will start at 3:30 pm on KCGY (FM 95.1), with Cowboy Talk to follow.

(courtesy Wyoming Athletics Media Relations)

Cowgirl soccer fans didn’t have to wait too long to find out who the new head coach would be. University of Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman announced on Tuesday that Peter Cuadrado has been hired to lead the Cowgirl soccer program.

Cuadrado was the head coach at North Dakota State University for nine seasons where he transitioned the Lady Bison from an NCAA Division II team to an NCAA Division I team. Under his leadership, NDSU won the Summit League Tournament Championship and the first round of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament and earned three regular-season Summit League Championships in 2007, 2009 and 2011. Cuadrado compiled a record of 93-58-17 at NDSU and was named the Independent Coach of the Year in 2005.

“We are very excited to have Pete lead our soccer program,” Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman said. “He is a highly-successful Division I head coach who brings a lot of experience and excitement to our program. He is a proven winner, who has taken North Dakota State to the NCAA Tournament.”

As the fourth coach in Cowgirl soccer history, Cuadrado takes over a program coming off its most successful season ever. In 2011, UW posted 12 wins (the most in a single-season in school history), went on a nine-match unbeaten streak (the best in school history), and advanced to the MW Championship match (after earning their first postseason wins in-you guessed it-school history). Individually, redshirt freshman Sarah Paul earned MW Freshman of the Year and First Team All-MW-honors. Two seniors, Allison Masumiya and Kayla Davis, earned First and Second Team All-MW honors, respectively.

I was very impressed with the players that are in the program already, and I am ready to get to work with them. I think the great thing about joining Wyoming soccer at this time is the program is well established, and I want to continue that. My goal here is to win conference championships and make the NCAA Tournament.
-Peter Cuadrado

In college, Cuadrado played soccer at TCU where they achieved at No. 8 national ranking during the 1998 season. He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from TCU in 2000 and his master’s in athletic administration from Valparaiso in 2002.

Former Wyoming Cowgirl head soccer coach Danny Sanchez resigned from his position in December to fill the same position at the University of Colorado. Sanchez had just finished his fourth season with the Cowgirls and earned Mountain West Coach of the Year honors in 2011.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

A seven minute scoring drought in the second half proved to be too much for the Wyoming Cowboys to overcome and they dropped their Mountain West opener, 72-62, to a hot-shooting New Mexico Lobos.

The game got going on a steal and dunk by Francisco Cruz, but the Lobos responded right away with a three from Jamal Fenton. It would be just the first of five lead changes in the first half to go along with four ties as both teams battled for control. With 12:56 left in the half, Drew Gordon picked up his second foul while guarding Larry Nance, Jr. and the preseason MW player of the year got sent to the bench. Unfortunately, UNM had other players ready to step up. By halftime, nine different Lobos found points while Wyoming found themselves down 34-30 following a late three from Cruz.

Wyoming kept pace with New Mexico through the opening minutes of the second half and tied the game at 44-44 on a three from Luke Martinez with 14:40 on the clock. Gordon hit a jumper 23 seconds later to give the lead back to the Lobos and then neither team would score for the next four minutes. Unfortunately, it was New Mexico who found their rhythm, going on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 53-44. UW would miss six shots, including two layups and a dunk, while committing four turnovers before a jumper from Cruz brought an end to the drought with 7:16 left to play. But UNM would hit a couple of three’s and grab a layup after a steal to build up a 61-46 lead with 5:06 remaining. The Pokes showed some fight and drew with 7 points three times in the last minute and a half of play, but New Mexico hit their free throws to hand Wyoming their first loss in the AA, 72-62.

Cruz led Wyoming (14-3, 0-1)  with a game high 22 points, followed by Leonard Washington with 15 points and 7 rebounds, and Luke Martinez with 11. The Cowboys shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-19) from three-point range, and 92.3 percent (12-13) from the foul line. UW had 7 blocks, with Adam Waddell blocking 4.

The three-point shooting ability of the Lobos (15-2, 1-0) was a concern of Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt, and New Mexico showed just how good they are from beyond the arc on Saturday, hitting 8-of-14 to shoot 57.1 percent from deep. From the field, UNM shot 52.3 percent (23-44) and hit 81.8 percent (18-22) of their free throws. The Lobos were lead by Kendall Williams with 14 points and Jamal Fenton with 13 points, while three other Lobos scored 8 points. UNm out-rebounded Wyoming 29-22.

UW will continue conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 18th, against the Air Force Falcons. Tip off is set for 6:00 p.m. at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. Coverage will begin on KCGY-FM (95.1) at 5:30 p.m.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images

For just the second time in the history of the University of Wyoming football program, a player is leaving early to pursue a career in the NFL. Head Coach Dave Christensen announced on Friday that junior running back Alvester Alexander will forego his senior senior and declare for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Alexander concluded his Wyoming career ranked No. 9 on the UW career rushing list, with 2,127 yards.  He also ranks No. 3 in school history in career rushing touchdowns, with 27. In 2011, Alexander rushed for 695 yards, ranking second on the Cowboy team to freshman quarterback Brett Smith, who rushed for a net 710 yards. He rushed for 640 yards as a freshman in 2009 and 792 yards as a sophomore in 2010.

“Alvester (Alexander) has decided that he wants to make himself eligible for the NFL Draft at this time,” said Christensen.  “He feels that this decision is best for he and his family.  It is his decision to make, and we can only wish him the best of luck as he pursues this next step in his career.  We thank Alvester for his contributions over the past three seasons, including helping us to earn two bowl appearances.”

On Twitter, Alexander reached out to the UW community, “My time at the University of Wyoming has been great and I appreciate all who have supported!! Will truly miss the best fans ever.”

Alexander shared the running back duties in 2011 with fellow junior Ghaali Muhammad (379 rushing yards), sophomore Brandon Miller (364 yards) and freshman Kody Sutton (146 yards).  Muhammad, Miller and Sutton are all returning for the 2012 season.

Larry Shyatt (University of Wyoming)

The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team will open up Mountain West play in Laramie on Saturday against New Mexico. The pokes are 3-2 in MW openers against the Lobos. With four of those five games being decided by seven points or less, two games being settled in overtime, and both teams coming into the game with a 14-2 record, the stage seems to be set for a tight game.

In fact, Paul Bessire from predictionmachine.com has New Mexico winning just 53 percent of the time after simulating the game 50,000 times. When the Lobos came to Laramie last year, Wyoming escaped with a 67-66 win on a bucket by Pako Cruz with two seconds remaining. Bessire says to expect a similar result this year, he has the Lobos winning by a predicted score of 60-59.

Led by MW preseason player of the year, Drew Gordon, New Mexico comes into Saturday on a 12 game winning streak.  During an interview on Sportsline Live, Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt pointed out three areas from the Lobos play that concern him in 3-point shooting, offensive rebounding and field goal percentage defense.

Larry Shyatt on Sportsline Live:

Wyoming currently has four players averaging double figures in Luke Martinez, Pako Cruz, Leonard Washington and Adam Waddell. The Cowboys are leading the MW in scoring defense, allowing an average of 52.1 points per game and are second in field goal percentage defense (36.9%) to New Mexico (36.5%).

Saturday’s game is set to tip at 1:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium. Coverage will begin on KCGY-FM (95.1) at 1:00 p.m. with Dave Walsh and Kevin McKinney. The game will be followed by this season’s first edition of Cowboy Talk with Kari Eakins.

Pistol Pete (Ethan Miller via Getty Images)

Freshman Kayla Woodward scored a career-high 21 points, but the Wyoming Cowgirls lost the Mountain West Conference opener to the UNLV Lady Rebels 54-51 Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium. UW rallied from a 10-point second half deficit, but managed only three free throws over the final 2:52 and fell just short.

Three missed three free throws in the final 28 seconds by UNLV could have sealed it. Yet, Wyoming failed to capitalize, as they turned it over once and missed two 3-pointers in the last eight seconds. A half-court heave by Kaitlyn Mileto at the buzzer that was just off the mark.

We’re growing as a group. We just have to learn to finish. We talked about defending home court. That’s something that becomes very important in conference play, and we had some chances tonight.

–Cowgirl Coach Joe Legerski

UNLV (13-4, 1-0) was led by Mia Bell with 12 points. Lenita Sanford and Markiell Styles added 10 each. This was the Lady Rebels first win in Laramie since 2009.

Chaundra Sewell was the only other Cowgirl in double figures. She scored 10 points before fouling out with 5:52 left. Mileto contributed eight.

A 15-6 second half run by Wyoming got them back in the game with 6:44 remaining. It cut the Lady Rebels lead to one, at 47-46. UNLV had pushed their advantage to 41-31 at the 12:46 mark.

The game started with a defensive struggle, as the Cowgirls held a 12-9 lead midway through the first half. The Lady Rebels took control thanks to a 10-0 spurt that put them ahead 19-12 at the 6:41 mark. It was a lead they would never relinquish. Two straight baskets by Woodward pulled the Cowgirls back within 19-16. Then, UNLV pushed the lead back to eight points, at 26-18, and eventually led 30-23 at half.

Wyoming (4-10, 0-1) shot 35 percent (19-54) from the field, which included 21 percent (4-19) from beyond the arc. They were 9-13 for 69 percent at the free throw line. The Cowgirls did hang tough on the glass. They were out-rebounded by UNLV 39-38, but the Lady Rebels came in plus-7 in rebounding margin.

UNLV went 22-56 from the field for 39 percent, but were only 2-of-10 from 3-point range. The Lady Rebels were only 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe. They also had seven blocked shots.

The Cowgirls return to action Saturday with their first road game in Mountain West Conference action at New Mexico. Game time is at 2 pm, Mountain time from the Pit in Albuquerque. Coverage begins at 1:30 pm on KOWB (AM 1290).