LARAMIE – Sundance Wicks wrote the message on the whiteboard in his office last spring while putting together the 2025-26 roster:
 
Specific guys for a specific mission.
 
"The mission is to help bring Wyoming basketball back to a place where we're respected and people want to come out and watch us play and they love the guys in the community, they love the guys on the court, they do a great job in the classroom," Wicks explained.
 
The Cowboys captured the spirit of the mission while executing a 101-59 victory over Denver on Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
After a lackluster performance in the second half against Norfolk State on Sunday, UW's relentless second-year head coach read the team the riot act in the post-game locker room and challenged the Pokes to respect the process.
 
Matija Belic, who scored a season-high 13 points against the Pioneers, said Tuesday's preparation was the best of the season.
 
"We responded the way we should," Belic said. "We played bad on Sunday. Unacceptable. Monday the guys that didn't play a lot, we went to the gym and worked out, had a great prep (Tuesday) and locked in with the mindset that we know who Denver is."
 
DU defeated Colorado State 83-81 last Friday in Fort Collins and scored 45 points in the second half of a loss at No. 2 Arizona on Monday.
 
The Cowboys outscored the Pioneers 64-32 in the second half to improve to 6-1 entering Sunday's game at No. 20 Texas Tech.
 
"I saw a different level of intensity, I saw more pressure on the ball and defense turning to offense," Nasir (Naz) Meyer said after scoring 14 points off the bench, the fourth time the true freshman has scored in double figures. "Then offensively, we weren't making mistakes and weren't making many turnovers in the second half. We were just executing."
 
Leland Walker led the way with 16 points. Khaden Bennett (14 points) and Uriyah Rojas (13 points) also played well in UW's deep backcourt rotation.
 
The 64 points in the second half were the most since scoring 70 in the second half against Peru State on Jan. 2, 2010. UW shot a season-high 56% from the field and the 67% after the intermission is the best percentage in the second half since shooting 69% against Concordia-St. Paul in last season's opener.
 
The Cowboys limited the Pioneers to 3-for-25 (12%) on 3-pointers and 34% overall shooting, a season-low for opponents. UW also had a 44-31 rebounding advantage.
 
"Life is about response," Wicks said. "I was maniacal in our teach tape after the last game because our bench attitude and effort looked very entitled. We challenged them to be the team that we are supposed to be, be the connected team that we thought we recruited that we brought you here to be."
 
Wicks and his wife Courteney will host the UW basketball family for Thanksgiving before preparing for the road trip to Lubbock to face the Red Raiders.
 
"I'm happy because we get camaraderie with our guys," Wicks said. "It's always great to do it after a win, too. Just to be able to have that little calm down moment and come out and break some bread, be thankful for everybody that is in our program and be thankful for everyone helping our young men get to where they need to get to and shine a little light on some of the wives and moms and grandmas and everybody that really cares behind the scenes that nobody really gets to see.
 
"My wife does so much for me. It makes me want to cry, man, because people don't realize the amount of stress that I wear, that she wears because of this job and how much stuff she has to do with the kids because I always try to be as present as I can but you're always thinking about the next. I'm going to try to eat turkey and not be thinking about J.T. Toppin at Texas Tech right now."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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