LARAMIE – Sundance Wicks celebrated his first victory as Wyoming's head coach with style points.
 
The Cowboys had six players score in double figures, set an Arena-Auditorium record with 45 made field goals and scored 78 points on 72% shooting in the paint during an overpowering 108-85 victory over Concordia-St. Paul on Monday night.
 
The crowd of 4,281 was buzzing as Scottie Ebube single-handily brought back the "Dunk City" vibe to the Dome of Doom.
 
Wicks, a Gillette native, was doused with water in the postgame locker room but will not rest until UW is back on the national stage.
 
"I'd be lying if I didn't say it was special. It is. But that's just one part of this," Wicks said. "The way I want it to be, I want it to be special for everybody, right? Like, I want it to be special for the entire state not just for me on a Monday night. I want it to be where these guys get to feel what it's like to have the whole state just gravitate towards you like it was in 21-22."

Wicks was an assistant on the Pokes' NCAA Tournament team three years ago. He understands this collection of talented individual pieces also has the potential to make a surprising run at the postseason.
 
But there is still so much work ahead for UW with 10 new players signed late in the recruiting cycle scrambling to develop championship chemistry.
 
That's why the Cowboys were conducting a tense practice just hours before Wicks' official debut as head coach.
 
Several Pokes who were in the starting lineup for the exhibition game began Monday's tilt on the bench based on their performances during the 10 days between the 80-63 win over the College of Idaho and the regular-season opener.
 
"He got on our ass like something I've never seen before," Jordan Nesbitt said when asked what Wicks' message was at halftime against Concordia-St. Paul when UW led the Division II foe 51-45. "You should have seen the College of Idaho. He's a goon, man. He's the real deal."
 
Nesbitt responded to Wicks' fiery button pushing by contributing 11 of UW's 68 bench points and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive glass. The relentless effort earned the versatile senior guard a hard hat to wear at the postgame press conference.
 
"I'm just trying to play hard for my team and my coaches," Nesbitt said. "That's the main thing because they changed my life. It's making sure I try to do that every single game and every day."
 
Point guard Obi Agbim, who was also a spectator to start the game after a sloppy performance in the exhibition, led the team with 25 points.
 
The Fort Lewis College transfer was an efficient 9-for-16 from the field, 3-for-5 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 at the free throw line with six assists, two steals and two turnovers in 25 minutes.
 
"You've got to play with a chip on your shoulder," Agbim said of making the jump from Division II to the Mountain West as his former teammate Akuel Kot did last season at UW. "It's not just me. Coach says it starts with us, the guards, and I feel like tonight we started it off right and our guys backed us up."
 
Cole Henry remained a constant in the post with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and five rebounds at center. Improving 7-footer Oleg Kojenets added three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
 
Forwards Abou Magassa (seven points, five rebounds) and Touko Tainamo (10 points, three rebounds) also made their presence felt.
 
Then Ebube stole the show with 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting, including six dunks, over a spectacular eight-minute span in the second half.
 
"Scottie is one of a kind," Agbim said. "You see him go in the game for a small amount of time and he changes the game easily. I don't think there's a single guy that can stop him when he's locked in. I think Scottie has been putting in the work and he just has a little bit left to get himself to the next level. Scottie is an animal."
 
The demanding head coach agrees the 6-foot-10 Ebube is an unstoppable force on the court. Almost.
 
"The thing that stops Scottie is Scottie," Wicks said. "Part of our culture is: challenge everything. Challenge your beliefs, challenge your identity and challenge what you tell yourself so that you can become a better version of yourself. And that's not comfortable by any means.
 
"With Scottie, it's kind of like, well, Coach is going to be this way all the time. But I challenge because I care."
 
The coaching staff will continue to hold this developing team accountable during practices ahead of Sunday's home game against Tennessee State.
 
Despite their impressive performances against Concordia-St. Paul, Nesbitt, Agbim and Ebube will be held to the same standard during every drill this week. Wicks will blow the whistle and demand mistakes are corrected, knowing the tedious process feels as painful as a toothache.
 
"It's mind numbing because I'm going to stop it every time because it's got to be better and it's got to be right," Wicks said. "But that's the discipline you have to have and that's the fight you've got to have if you want to have a culture and if you want to have people respect you and if you want your players to respect you and if you want to get respect as a player.
 
"You have to accept the challenge and know that it ain't going to relent and it's not going to stop but it's going to see results if you keep going at it."
 
Winning is hard. And wins like Monday night will be celebrated by these Cowboys.
 
"I think too many coaches are too stiff. I don't know, a win might never come again so what did we do just waste a time to get a good water shower?" Wicks said. "I haven't showered in three days so that felt pretty good tonight."
 
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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