Colorado State Rams vs Wyoming Cowboys Basketball Recap

Colorado State 73 Wyoming 60

The Wyoming Cowboys built a big lead, saw one of their prime performers have a breakout game, and all they got for their league opener was a loss… not even a lousy T-shirt.

Sharpshooter Adam Nigon scored 21 points to propel the Colorado State Rams to a victory over the Wyoming Cowboys in the first Mountain West Conference game of the season for both squads.  The Rams shook off a horrific defeat to lowly Hampton from the previous week to get conference play off on the right foot.  Head coach Tim Miles' Colorado State squad improved to 11-4 on the season with the victory at Moby Arena in Ft. Collins, Colorado, on Tuesday night.

Yes, college basketball junkies will recall that Hampton used to be a special name in the ranks of college basketball. The Pirates, from the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, earned a place in college basketball lore back in March of 2001, when then-coach Steve Merfeld’s raggedy bunch of upstarts wore a glass slipper as Cinderella and, with their No. 15 seed next to their name in the NCAA Tournament bracket, shocked No. 2 seed Iowa State in the West Region’s first-round game in Boise, Idaho. Yes, there was a time when Hampton caused shockwaves around the college basketball world. However, this year’s Hampton club, with losses to Wake Forest, Delaware, and San Francisco, cannot yet claim the same legitimacy and stature as its 2001 predecessor. As a result, Hampton’s 77-75 win over Colorado State gave the Rams every reason to doubt themselves and slump their shoulders heading into this little rodeo with Wyoming.

Fortunately, the Rams displayed more than a little resilience instead, and they did so in the face of a big night from Wyoming’s meal-ticket scorer.

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Wyoming led the contest by as many as 13 points late in first half before surrendering the final 11 points of the frame to see its lead trimmed to two.  Desmar Jackson scored 16 of Wyoming’s 39 first-half points.  Jackson finished with a season-high 24 on the night. 

It wasn’t enough.

Heath Schroyer, the head coach of the Cowboys, will look at his team's lack of perimeter defense as the reason for the loss.  Colorado State hit an amazing 14 three-pointers on the evening.

The Rams shrugged off their foggy and groggy first half and dominated every statistical category in the second half, as one of the surprise teams in the Mountain West Conference regained its ability to play fluid and effective basketball in key situations.  Colorado State has now won seven of its last eight games, with the ugly memory of the Hampton loss having been banished.  Forward Andy Ogide, always the tough matchup for opponents, had 13 points and 8 rebounds on the evening to power the Rams to a satisfying blue-collar win.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer