Cold Shooting Cowboys Lose to Ohio State

Junior forward Larry Nance Jr. posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and the University of Wyoming men’s basketball team was within one point of No. 7/6 Ohio State with 10 minutes left on Saturday, but the Buckeyes finished the game on a 17-3 run for a hard-fought 65-50 win. The victory was OSU’s 71^st-consecutive win over an unranked opponent at Value City Arena.

The Pokes (4-2) trailed by just four at halftime, 38-34, and started the second half with a 9-1 run to go up by four, as Nance squarely gave Wyoming momentum with a monster jam in the spurt. The Buckeyes (5-0) and Pokes were tied twice over the next four minutes, before OSU etched out a slim 48-47 lead at the 10-minute mark. It would be all Ohio State from there, though, as the Buckeyes held Wyoming to just three made free throws over the final 10 minutes.

Playing in his home state, Nance collected his second double-double this season and fifth of his career, as he went 6-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 at the charity stripe and added two blocks. He has scored in double figures in five of UW’s six games this season and has two double-figure rebounding efforts. His 17 points and 12 rebounds were both season highs. Junior forward Derek Cooke Jr. added eight points and six rebounds, while junior guard Riley Grabau had eight points as well.

Wyoming shot a season-low 36 percent (19-of-53) from the floor and managed to make just two of its 14 three-point attempts (14 percent). The Cowboys committed just eight turnovers, but allowed the Buckeyes to shoot 41 percent (23-of-56) and 34 percent (8-of-23), respectively, and earn a 42-29 advantage on the boards.

The Buckeyes took an early lead, but Wyoming hung tough and took a 15-14 lead at the 12-minute mark on a layup by redshirt junior guard Charles Hankerson Jr. OSU responded with an 11-0, though, to go up 25-15 with eight minutes left in the half. The Cowboys would hang around thanks to several big dunks from Nance, but couldn’t get closer than two and went into halftime down 38-34. It was the first time this season UW trailed at half.

Nance paced Wyoming with 11 points in the first half, while Cooke added six. Both had three rebounds and a block. The Cowboys shot well from the field at 56 percent (15-of-27), but made just one three out of six attempts. The Buckeyes shot 46 percent from the field (14-of-30) and from deep (6-of-13), while earning an 18-11 advantage on the boards. Both teams had five turnovers.

Wyoming concludes the month of November by hosting Montana State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.