UW Hall of Fame Class of 2011: 7 Inductees in 7 Days

In honor of the newly inducted members of the University of Wyoming Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, we will provide the seven inductees over a course of seven days.

Day 7: 1986-1987 Men's Basketball Team

Twenty-five seasons ago, a Cowboy basketball team put together one of the greatest runs in Wyoming history, reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

The season before, the Cowboys had reached the NIT finals and with that momentum, finished the '86-'87 season with a 24-10 record, 11-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.

In the final game of the regular season, Wyoming played a game at UTEP with the chance for a share of the WAC title on the line.  UTEP prevailed in a nail-biter 74-72, and Wyoming finished the season tied for third in the conference.

In the WAC tournament, the Pokes went on an incredible run, defeating Utah, UTEP and New Mexico (in the Pit in New Mexico), by scores of 56-54, 77-74 and 64-62, respectively.  The hero for the first two games was Reggie Fox who hit a jumper in the first victory against Utah with three seconds to go and a three-pointer against UTEP with only ten seconds in the game.  In the WAC championship against the Lobos, in Albuquerque, it was Sean Dent who sunk two free throws with 11 seconds to go for the victory.  Though Dent and Fox provided the heroics, it was Eric Leckner who provided the leadership, as he scored 67 points in the three games on the way to his second consecutive WAC Tournament MVP award.

With an automatic tournament bid, Wyoming received a 12 seed and a first round game against Virginia in the West Regional which was played in Salt Lake City.  Many Pokes fans made the trip to Utah, and Wyoming defeated the Cavaliers 64-60 largely thanks to 22 points from Eric Leckner and 16 points, 9 rebounds from Fennis Dembo.

In the second round, Dembo did more than his fair share, scoring an astonishing 41 points including an NCAA Tournament record, 16 of 16 from the charity stripe.  The effort did more than enough, as Wyoming shocked the nation with a 78-68 victory over Reggie Miller and the UCLA Bruins.

In the next round, despite a noble effort, Wyoming lost to the eventual runner-up UNLc 92-78.

For his strong play, Dembo was named first team all conference, first team all-district VII and the WAC Player of the Year.  Eric Leckner also earned first team all conference and first team all-district VII honors.

Through the course of the season, Sean Dent set the Wyoming single season assist record with 183 and Dembo set the single season mark for three pointers with 78.

With five starters and ten letter-winners returning for the next season, the Cowboys earned a #10 ranking in the 1987-1988 preseason polls.  Following the success and his tournament performance, Dembo was also famously featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated college basketball preview issue.

Story Archive:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6