A balanced scoring effort that saw four Cowboys score in double-figures lifted the Pokes past Regis, 75-65, on Friday evening at the Arena-Auditorium in Wyoming's only exhibition contest this season. The crowd of 6,058 was treated to the beauty of the renovated Home of Wyoming basketball and saw the Cowboys offense shoot 47 percent from the field.

"At the end of the day, not having J.J.(Justin James) out on the floor, and not having Lou  (Louis Adams) out on the floor and only playing (Alan) Herndon and (Hayden) Dalton 16 minutes each allowed me the opportunity to give some other guys some looks before everything starts to count next week," UW head coach Allen Edwards said.
 
Senior guard Alexander Aka Gorski led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-13 scoring, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Andrew Moemeka pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while redshirt junior guard Nyaires Redding led the Pokes with five assists and shot a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, as he added 14 points. Senior forward Hayden Dalton added 10 points with freshman Hunter Maldonado pouring in 12 points.

"Tonight, I thought there were good spurts where we played well," Edwards said. "Then there were some other times when I thought we were probably still working on getting the rust out.  We turned the ball over too much at times, and I addressed that at halftime and after the game."
 
Senior forward Dexter Sienko led the Rangers with 15 points and sophomore guard Christian Little grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Redshirt senior guard Troy Anderson II led all players with four steals.

The Pokes held the Rangers to 35 percent from the field and 20 percent from behind the arc. The Cowboys held the advantage on the boards 40-37. Wyoming was solid from the free throw line going 19-of-23 for 83 percent.

The Pokes got off to a slow start offensively until an 8-0 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Aka Gorski gave UW a 15-5 lead with under 14 minutes remaining in the first half. A steal from Maldonado led to a fast break bucket from sophomore guard Cody Kelley to open the scoring attack.

The Rangers responded with a quick 10-0 run to make it a 19-18 game halfway through the opening frame. The Rangers went 6-of-7 from the field to put themselves back in the contest. Regis caused four UW turnovers during the run.

Wyoming added a 12-0 run shortly after to build a 31-18 lead with under eight minutes left in the half. Redding and sophomore guard Sam Averbuck got onto the stat sheet for the Pokes. Aka Gorski added four points during the scoring surge for the Pokes, as he added 15 in the first half to lead all scorers.

The Pokes would close the half on a 21-6 run to make it a 40-24 game at the break. The Cowboys shot 54 percent from the field in the half and held the Rangers to 35 percent shooting.

Regis opened the second stanza on a 5-0 run to make it a 40-29 game. The run was halted by Dalton, as he scored four-straight points to expand the UW lead to 44-31 with 16:32 remaining in the game.

Wyoming later grew the lead to a game-high 19 points on a three-pointer from Maldonado making it a 54-35 contest. It put Maldonado into double-figures in his debut in the Brown and Gold. Regis trimmed the Pokes' lead to 10 points at 59-49 with 5:56 remaining in the game.

Regis held the Pokes scoreless for over five minutes until Redding knocked in a pair of free throws to make it a 61-49 game with 5:36 remaining. The lead was cut to nine with under four minutes remaining, as the Pokes went over seven minutes without a field goal.

The Pokes, led by redshirt freshman Austin Mueller, expanded the lead back to double-digits with four-straight points. Late turnovers by the Pokes cut the margin to eight points with 33 seconds remaining making it a 69-61 game, but the Pokes held on for the 75-65 win.

Wyoming will open the regular season next Friday, Nov. 10, at home against Chattanooga. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. MT. in the Arena-Auditorium.