Road doesn't get any easier
DAYTON, Ohio - Whether the University of Wyoming's road losing streak ended Saturday night is up for debate.
The Cowboys had (or have) lost 14 consecutive games on the road dating back to the end of the 2002-03 season, and that figure doesn't include neutral-site games, like the one they won Saturday night in Billings, Mont.
The Cowboys withstood a fierce rally from Montana State and needed a 16-foot jump shot by senior center Alex Dunn to eke out a 71-70 win in front an evenly split crowd of 5,207 at the MetraPark Arena.
With the Cowboys in their road browns and the game using Big Sky Conference officials, UW coach Steve McClain chalked it up as a road win, if for no other reason than to boost the psyche of his young team.
"To me, any time you've got to get on a plane and you're not playing at the Arena-Auditorium, it's a road game," he said. "You had Big Sky officials, you're on the road and you've got to deal with that. I thought our guys did that (Saturday)."
The Cowboys (4-1) did indeed take on a very game Montana State (1-4) squad missing two starters. They squandered a 16-point lead in the second half but received the big play from Dunn, a play that squelched the Bobcats' rally. The two starters - injured guards Steve Leven and Dion Sherrell - left the Cowboys without their leading scorer and a bona fide outside threat, though junior James Ebert was among those who stepped in and provided a spark. He said the Cowboys now know what they have to do to win - both on the road and at home.
"We've got to play the entire game," said Ebert, who played a season-high 30 minutes on Saturday. "This is their home court and they're going to get the calls, and we can't expect that we're going to walk off the court with a win. It was a gut-check at the end."
UW's road doesn't get any easier with today's game at the University of Dayton, home of University Arena. The 5 p.m. MST tipoff takes place in one of the toughest road arenas in the nation, a place where the Flyers (1-3) are 376-158 in the 34 seasons of the arena's existence.
This might be a rare down year for the Flyers, who lost 61-59 last season in Laramie on a last-second basket by David Adams. The Flyers are led in scoring by Monty Scott with 12.0 points per game. After that, three players average around seven points per game as the Flyers have scored more than 60 points just once this season.
Unlike UW, Dayton will have played four of its first five games at home to open the season. Fortunately, McClain said Saturday's win was a good road lesson for his team to learn.
"When you're on the road it gives them the feeling you can do it, you can stay with them long enough," he said. "And it kind of shows them you can be on the road with a big lead and the other team's going to come back, but you've got to keep fighting and doing what you're good at."
The Cowboys now are more than halfway through a five-game trip away from Laramie. Today's matchup is the third game in that stint, and Saturday the Cowboys at least return to the state of Wyoming for a game in Casper against Kansas State. Nonetheless, McClain is looking forward to the end of the trip.
"This hasn't been an easy week. I didn't know where I was half the week," he said. "We get back Wednesday, I went to Denver Thursday and spoke (at a luncheon), and we left Friday to come (to Billings)."
The injured list
Today marks the return of Sherrell, who broke his hand in the exhibition win over Colorado-Colorado Springs. It comes not a moment too soon as Leven will miss the next two to four weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament. The Cowboys were working with a skeleton crew of guards just as senior Jay Straight was rounding into more of a traditional point guard role, leading the team and the Mountain West Conference at six assists a game.
With the return of Sherrell, Straight can concentrate on distributing the ball once again, though his game-high 24 points Saturday prove he hasn't lost his scoring touch.
McClain said the Cowboys showed their potential despite having a shorter-than-desirable bench. Imagine then what will happen when UW has a full roster.
"We're playing without two starters right now, and I told the kids if we ever get our whole team together we could be a pretty good basketball team," McClain said.
Look for Ebert, who averaged 15 points per game in his final season at Kirkwood (Iowa) Junior College to take on a more prominent role with Leven out. He said while the team will miss Leven and his 20.8 points per game, the Cowboys can count on Ebert to pick up his game in the coming weeks.
"I haven't been playing well at all, and I know I have to keep stepping up," he said. "With Steve out for a little while I know that's more opportunities for me to do some things. I haven't been doing them yet, but I know I will."
DAYTON, Ohio - Whether the University of Wyoming's road losing streak ended Saturday night is up for debate.
The Cowboys had (or have) lost 14 consecutive games on the road dating back to the end of the 2002-03 season, and that figure doesn't include neutral-site games, like the one they won Saturday night in Billings, Mont.
The Cowboys withstood a fierce rally from Montana State and needed a 16-foot jump shot by senior center Alex Dunn to eke out a 71-70 win in front an evenly split crowd of 5,207 at the MetraPark Arena.
With the Cowboys in their road browns and the game using Big Sky Conference officials, UW coach Steve McClain chalked it up as a road win, if for no other reason than to boost the psyche of his young team.
"To me, any time you've got to get on a plane and you're not playing at the Arena-Auditorium, it's a road game," he said. "You had Big Sky officials, you're on the road and you've got to deal with that. I thought our guys did that (Saturday)."
The Cowboys (4-1) did indeed take on a very game Montana State (1-4) squad missing two starters. They squandered a 16-point lead in the second half but received the big play from Dunn, a play that squelched the Bobcats' rally. The two starters - injured guards Steve Leven and Dion Sherrell - left the Cowboys without their leading scorer and a bona fide outside threat, though junior James Ebert was among those who stepped in and provided a spark. He said the Cowboys now know what they have to do to win - both on the road and at home.
"We've got to play the entire game," said Ebert, who played a season-high 30 minutes on Saturday. "This is their home court and they're going to get the calls, and we can't expect that we're going to walk off the court with a win. It was a gut-check at the end."
UW's road doesn't get any easier with today's game at the University of Dayton, home of University Arena. The 5 p.m. MST tipoff takes place in one of the toughest road arenas in the nation, a place where the Flyers (1-3) are 376-158 in the 34 seasons of the arena's existence.
This might be a rare down year for the Flyers, who lost 61-59 last season in Laramie on a last-second basket by David Adams. The Flyers are led in scoring by Monty Scott with 12.0 points per game. After that, three players average around seven points per game as the Flyers have scored more than 60 points just once this season.
Unlike UW, Dayton will have played four of its first five games at home to open the season. Fortunately, McClain said Saturday's win was a good road lesson for his team to learn.
"When you're on the road it gives them the feeling you can do it, you can stay with them long enough," he said. "And it kind of shows them you can be on the road with a big lead and the other team's going to come back, but you've got to keep fighting and doing what you're good at."
The Cowboys now are more than halfway through a five-game trip away from Laramie. Today's matchup is the third game in that stint, and Saturday the Cowboys at least return to the state of Wyoming for a game in Casper against Kansas State. Nonetheless, McClain is looking forward to the end of the trip.
"This hasn't been an easy week. I didn't know where I was half the week," he said. "We get back Wednesday, I went to Denver Thursday and spoke (at a luncheon), and we left Friday to come (to Billings)."
The injured list
Today marks the return of Sherrell, who broke his hand in the exhibition win over Colorado-Colorado Springs. It comes not a moment too soon as Leven will miss the next two to four weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament. The Cowboys were working with a skeleton crew of guards just as senior Jay Straight was rounding into more of a traditional point guard role, leading the team and the Mountain West Conference at six assists a game.
With the return of Sherrell, Straight can concentrate on distributing the ball once again, though his game-high 24 points Saturday prove he hasn't lost his scoring touch.
McClain said the Cowboys showed their potential despite having a shorter-than-desirable bench. Imagine then what will happen when UW has a full roster.
"We're playing without two starters right now, and I told the kids if we ever get our whole team together we could be a pretty good basketball team," McClain said.
Look for Ebert, who averaged 15 points per game in his final season at Kirkwood (Iowa) Junior College to take on a more prominent role with Leven out. He said while the team will miss Leven and his 20.8 points per game, the Cowboys can count on Ebert to pick up his game in the coming weeks.
"I haven't been playing well at all, and I know I have to keep stepping up," he said. "With Steve out for a little while I know that's more opportunities for me to do some things. I haven't been doing them yet, but I know I will."
