LARAMIE – Sundance Wicks broke out the super villain voice while describing how the Cowboys want to play at home.
 
"We were molded by altitude up here," Wicks said in his best "Bane" imitation. "We were born in the altitude."
 
Wyoming defeated Tennessee State 81-66 on Sunday in front of an appreciative crowd of 3,399 at the Arena-Auditorium to improve to 2-0 under Wicks.
 
The Tigers (1-2) – who pushed Colorado State into overtime before losing Friday night in Fort Collins – trailed by 20 points when Obi Agbim blocked a perimeter shot on one and scored on the other to make the score 52-32 with 17:33 remaining.
 
Tennessee State still had some oxygen left in the tank.
 
The Tigers, who were relentless on the offensive glass, clawed to within 58-52 after a 3-pointer by Aaron Nkrumah, who made a lunging 3 to force overtime and temporarily silence Moby Arena.
 
"They had their run; they punched us in the gut really good," said Agbim, who led UW with 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting. "We've been working really hard all year on responses, and I feel this team responded really well."
 
Part of UW's defensive scout was to keep Justus Jackson off the 3-point line. The smooth junior guard was 1-for-5 shooting behind the arc, but his driving layup made the score 69-62 with 4:24 to play.
 
On the next possession, Jordan Nesbitt sensed it was time to see if the visitors could keep climbing at 7,220 feet.
 
The senior guard aggressively drove the ball at the rim and completed a three-point play. Nesbitt added another layup, Kobe Newton buried a transition 3 and Cole Henry added a bucket to complete the decisive 10-0 run to give the Pokes a 17-point lead with 2:28 remaining.
 
"Our main game plan was to make them die at altitude," said Newton, who scored 11 points and was 3-for-4 on 3s. "We know they had just played a pretty tough game in Fort Collins. It went into overtime, so we knew their legs were going to be feeling it a little bit. That was one of our main focuses to make them feel that, make them feel that throughout the whole game, make them feel that for 40 minutes. I feel like they did.
 
"They were tired and that's why they missed some shots. A lot of their shots were short, they didn't have legs, and we kept the pace on them and executed our game plan to perfection and got the win."
 
Wicks understands there are key areas the Cowboys must improve on before Mountain West play begins.
 
UW allowed Tennessee State to score 15 second chance points off 25 offensive rebounds. The Pokes were also whistled for 19 fouls, including five on Scottie Ebube in eight minutes and a couple on 3-point shooters.
 
However, the intensity and execution of the initial defense was on point most possessions. The Tigers were 2-for-16 (12.5%) on 3s.
 
"Our first shot defense was impeccable today but it's that second shot, getting that possession, getting that rebound," Newton said. "Instead of scoring 66 we probably could have held them somewhere in the 50s if we got some of those rebounds. That's an area to improve."
 
The Cowboys held Tennessee State to 30% shooting in the first half and led 43-28 at the intermission.
 
Agbim had 12 points, including a couple of dunks, to lead the way at the break. Newton knocked down back-to-back 3s to give UW its largest lead, 38-22, with 2:49 remaining.
 
Nesbitt, who did not have a rebound in the first half, finished with 15 points and seven rebounds after grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds in the opener against Concordia-St. Paul.
 
"Defend and rebound," Agbim said when asked about how Nesbitt sparked the team down the stretch. "I feel like his approach in the second half versus the first half really dictated how we played in the second half. He really attacked the glass hard in the second half and we fell in behind him."
 
The Wyoming wall is being rebuilt brick by brick. Sunday the Tigers ran square into it.
 
"We've got to use that to our advantage. When people come up here, they're not used to running up here, we are," Wicks said. "That's where the magic happens. You've always got to look for that sweet spot if it's a close game, a three-, four-, five-, seven-point game, and we can blow it open because we can get stops and we can run. That's our Bane moment. Just know that's our Bane moment right there."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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