Cowboys Close Out With Tough Loss at UNLV

In a prelude to a rematch next Thursday in the first round of the Mountain West Championships, the Wyoming Cowboys fell short against the UNLV Runnin' Rebels 74-63 Saturday night in Las Vegas. The Rebels pulled away down the stretch for their 25th win of the season.

Two Rebels Seniors keyed UNLV in their home finale. Brice Massamba scored a career-high 15 points and Kendall Wallace added as season-high 14. Mike Moser ended up with his 14th double-double this season. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Anthony Marshall chipped in 12 points.

Wyoming was led by Francisco Cruz with 16 points. Luke Martinez contributed 15.

UNLV (25-7, 9-5) went on an early 14-5 run that put the Runnin' Rebels ahead 19-10, but Wyoming fought back with a 13-7 spurt and closed within two points, at 28-26, with 4:24 left in the first half. The Cowboys found themselves down by only four points, 36-32, at halftime, despite 10 first half turnovers.

UW (20-10, 6-8) kept hanging around in the second half until Kendall Wallace hit two key 3-pointers, which included a 4-point play on a foul, that put UNLV up 57-47 with 10:47 left. Wyoming closed within five points on a Luke Martinez 3, 60-55, at the 6:05 mark.

The Rebels responded with a key 14-4 run in the final four minutes, as they pulled away for the 11-point victory. UNLV finished 17-0 in home games.

Wyoming shot 44 percent from the field (19-43) and were 7-18 (39 percent) on 3's. They were 18-25 (72 percent) at the foul line.

UNLV shot 49 percent (23-47) and were also 7-18 from beyond the arc. The Rebels went 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Cowboys will rematch with UNLV in the first round of the Mountain West Men's Basketball Championships next Thursday. Game time is 9:30 pm, Mountain Time, from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Radio coverage on KCGY (FM 95.1) will begin at 9 pm. Kari Eakins will host a very late edition of Cowboy Talk following the game broadcast.