LARAMIE, Wyo.—The last thing Wyoming wanted to do was get into a 3-point shooting contest with Western State, a Division II school that takes half of its shots from behind the arc.
As it turned out, the Cowboys won that battle, thumping the Mountaineers 100-73 Tuesday night.
Sean Ogirri scored a career-high 26 points for the Cowboys (8-1), hitting 7-of-12 3-pointers as Wyoming connected on 12-of-24 in the game. Western State (5-4) was 12-of-38 from 3-point range.
“They got 38 (3-point attempts) up and I told the kids that they played Air Force to a six-point game and they shot 35 then,” Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer said. “They send four guys to the perimeter, but I guess we made enough plays to win the game.”
Brandon Ewing added 21 points, Afam Muojeke had 18 and Tyson Johnson finished with 10 for the Cowboys.
Wyoming led 44-35 at the break and extended its lead in the second half as Ogirri went 6-of-9 from 3-point range. The Cowboys took a 20-point lead midway through the second half.
“Coach said, ‘Are you ever going to play?'” Ogirri said. “I guess he got me mad. I just wanted to stay aggressive in the second half.”
Brandon Gentry led the Mountaineers with 17 points. Cameron Burney and Allen McFarland added 16 points apiece. Western State shot just 33 percent from the field compared to 51 percent shooting by Wyoming.
“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well,” Western State coach Mike Moskowitz said. “If we were able to shoot better, it might have been a lot closer.”
