Saturday, November 14
Denver, CO
1 p.m.
University of Wyoming
3-1,0-0Mountain West
76
at
53
University of Denver
0-3,0-0WCC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 36 | 40 | 76 |
| Denver | 24 | 29 | 53 |
Photo by: Jimmy Devine
11/14/2026 2:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Gavin Gores finishes with 15 points to lead Wyoming
DENVER – The Cowboys played with the same intensity they brought to Chapel Hill and picked up their first road win of the season on Saturday at Hamilton Gymnasium.
Wyoming finished with a dominant 48-28 rebounding advantage and had four players score in double figures during the 76-53 victory over Denver.
The Cowboys (3-1), who opened the trip with a 76-63 loss at North Carolina, had 17 assists on 28 made baskets and finished with 10 made 3-pointers.
"Where we've grown is we've dialed in defensively," UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. "I've seen a lot of box scores of Mountain West teams scoring in high percentages, but we're defending and rebounding as good as anybody right now in the country. That's hard to do but that's the stuff later on in the season that pays dividends. ...
"I don't care what the percentage is. If you hit 10 (3s) those are back-breakers right there," Wicks said. "I was proud of the complete defensive effort outside of the fouling and just a little bit lackadaisical with the passing."
Gavin Gores finished 7-for-8 from the field with 15 points and Nasir (Naz) Meyer had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead UW. Khaden Bennett had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Parker Gerrits added 13 points and six rebounds.
Defensively, the Pokes limited Carson Johnson, who was averaging 19.0 points per game, to four points on 1-for-9 shooting.
"That's a good player and we took away his midrange pull-up, forced him into shooting outside shots," Wicks said. "I thought (Bennett) did an outstanding job on him. It was just a great team defense on that side of it."
On the first possession of the second half, Gores threw down a lob dunk on a set play to give the Pokes a 38-24 lead.
The Pioneers (0-3) answered with a 6-0 spurt, but Gerrits scored five points, and Mike Mora added a transition dunk to give UW a 13-point cushion.
Meyer made a tough shot in the paint, and Madden Smiley grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup to make the score 50-35 with 11:35 remaining.
Uriyah Rojas buried a rhythm 3 to extend the lead to 21 points. Gores threw down three more dunks to make the score 71-45 with 4:00 remaining.
The Cowboys led 36-24 at the intermission despite some early foul trouble in the post for Gores and Linus Ruf.
Gores hit a 3 to get UW on the scoreboard but picked up two fouls and was limited to five minutes. Ruf was whistled twice in two minutes of action.
Renars Sondors broke an 18-18 tie with his second 3 and Bennett splashed a shot from behind the arc to make the score 24-18.
The Pioneers were within 26-24 before the Pokes ended the first half with a 10-0 run that started with a 3 by Mora and finished with a layup by Gerrits at the buzzer.
Bennett had 11 points at the break, and UW had a commanding 25-12 rebounding advantage. The Cowboys had eight turnovers and shot 39.2% from the field but held DU to 29.6% shooting and only one assist on eight made baskets.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series 109-52, including a 42-36 edge in Denver.
UW will host Sam Houston next Tuesday in the Arena-Auditorium (6:30 p.m., MW+).
Wyoming finished with a dominant 48-28 rebounding advantage and had four players score in double figures during the 76-53 victory over Denver.
The Cowboys (3-1), who opened the trip with a 76-63 loss at North Carolina, had 17 assists on 28 made baskets and finished with 10 made 3-pointers.
"Where we've grown is we've dialed in defensively," UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. "I've seen a lot of box scores of Mountain West teams scoring in high percentages, but we're defending and rebounding as good as anybody right now in the country. That's hard to do but that's the stuff later on in the season that pays dividends. ...
"I don't care what the percentage is. If you hit 10 (3s) those are back-breakers right there," Wicks said. "I was proud of the complete defensive effort outside of the fouling and just a little bit lackadaisical with the passing."
Gavin Gores finished 7-for-8 from the field with 15 points and Nasir (Naz) Meyer had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead UW. Khaden Bennett had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Parker Gerrits added 13 points and six rebounds.
Defensively, the Pokes limited Carson Johnson, who was averaging 19.0 points per game, to four points on 1-for-9 shooting.
"That's a good player and we took away his midrange pull-up, forced him into shooting outside shots," Wicks said. "I thought (Bennett) did an outstanding job on him. It was just a great team defense on that side of it."
On the first possession of the second half, Gores threw down a lob dunk on a set play to give the Pokes a 38-24 lead.
The Pioneers (0-3) answered with a 6-0 spurt, but Gerrits scored five points, and Mike Mora added a transition dunk to give UW a 13-point cushion.
Meyer made a tough shot in the paint, and Madden Smiley grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup to make the score 50-35 with 11:35 remaining.
Uriyah Rojas buried a rhythm 3 to extend the lead to 21 points. Gores threw down three more dunks to make the score 71-45 with 4:00 remaining.
The Cowboys led 36-24 at the intermission despite some early foul trouble in the post for Gores and Linus Ruf.
Gores hit a 3 to get UW on the scoreboard but picked up two fouls and was limited to five minutes. Ruf was whistled twice in two minutes of action.
Renars Sondors broke an 18-18 tie with his second 3 and Bennett splashed a shot from behind the arc to make the score 24-18.
The Pioneers were within 26-24 before the Pokes ended the first half with a 10-0 run that started with a 3 by Mora and finished with a layup by Gerrits at the buzzer.
Bennett had 11 points at the break, and UW had a commanding 25-12 rebounding advantage. The Cowboys had eight turnovers and shot 39.2% from the field but held DU to 29.6% shooting and only one assist on eight made baskets.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series 109-52, including a 42-36 edge in Denver.
UW will host Sam Houston next Tuesday in the Arena-Auditorium (6:30 p.m., MW+).
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
UW
Denver
FG%
.459
.321
3FG%
.303
.185
FT%
.714
.667
RB
48
28
TO
13
8
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
6
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