U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Neither side won the "race to 70 points" synonymous with the style of play inside Clune Arena.
Sundance Wicks left the venue with mixed feelings after Wyoming's 68-56 victory over Air Force on Tuesday afternoon.
The head coach needs his team's New Year's resolution to be focusing more on the preparation for each Mountain West game after the Cowboys (10-3, 1-1) came away with the road triumph despite finishing with 20 turnovers and shooting 35.4% from the field against the Falcons (3-10, 0-2).
"Our guys better wake up," Wicks warned. "I told them you've got to be at your best when your best is needed. The beauty of our team is we have depth, but I don't want to be like Oprah Winfrey and you get a turnover and you get a turnover and you get a turnover and everybody gets a turnover."
Air Force turned those miscues into 18 points. However, UW did not allow a single backdoor layup defending the methodical Princeton-style offense and limited the Falcons to 1-for-12 (8.3%) on 3-pointers.
Assistant coach
Nick Whitmore's defensive scout was executed at a high level, which allowed the Pokes to enjoy the bus ride back to Laramie with winning smiles.
"We saw that we have to come every game prepared and execute," forward
Adam Harakow said after finishing with 13 points off the bench. "You can't take anybody lightly. We need to have that dog mentality the entire game. We struggled with that at the beginning with having that flow and continuity, so we need to go into every game more prepared."
Harakow was among the Cowboys that spent the holiday break in Laramie, along with forward
Matija Belic,
Uriyah Rojas and
Nasir (Naz) Meyer. The foursome and
Jared Harris pulled this game out of the fire for UW.
After a sloppy start, Harakow knocked down a rhythm 3, Harris completed a four-point play and Rojas added a tough basket in the paint to give the visitors a 28-14 lead.
The Falcons made a push before the half, but a 3 by Meyer just before the buzzer gave UW a 36-26 cushion at the intermission.
When bruising Falcons forward Caleb Walker, who finished with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, tied the score 41-41 with 9:44 remaining, Meyer stopped the bleeding with two free throws and Rojas hit a timely 3 to give the Pokes a five-point lead.
Rojas buried two more shots behind the arc, including the dagger to make the score 60-50 with 1:53 left.
"I feel like we could have done a better job of seeing the things we talked about like short corners and skips and driving gaps better," Rojas said after finishing with 11 points. "I'm happy with the win but we've got a lot of stuff to work on."
Belic grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes but was held out down the stretch after turning an ankle. Harris added five rebounds as the Cowboys finished with a 36-25 edge on the glass. Meyer led the team with 14 points.
Harakow was 6-for-6 at the free throw line and
Khaden Bennett was 8-for-8 as UW shot 88.9% (24-for-27) at the stripe. Air Force missed nine free throws.
"If you give anyone any type of life they're going to beat you," Harakow said of the conference grind. "So, this is another good life lesson like the (Grand Canyon) game just to see what it takes to actually be successful."
Life on the road won't get any easier when UW plays New Mexico on Saturday in The Pit (6 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
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.
Don't just watch the game — change it. The most powerful way to support University of Wyoming student-athletes is by joining the
Cowboy Joe Club. Your membership fuels scholarships, provides essential resources, and helps Cowboys and Cowgirls succeed both in the classroom and in competition. Your gift is not just support —
it's access. As a member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits that bring you closer to the action than ever before.
Be a champion. Join our team. Visit
CowboyJoeClub.com or call
307-766-6242.
