Manyawu Lands Second Double-Double, Leads Wyoming to 80-66 win

* University of Wyoming press release

LARAMIE -- The Wyoming Cowboys led from start to finish in an 80-66 win over Cal Poly on Saturday evening in the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.

Wyoming shot 52 percent from the field on the night and are shooting 57.5 percent from the field so far on the season. True Freshman Cam Manyawu recorded his second double-double of the season leading the Pokes with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

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“I thought we started out really well and we played with good rhythm, and we were good defensively,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “We knew Cal Poly would play some zone and we haven’t done a ton attacking zones, but it was important for us to feel that. We did what we needed to do.

"It will be a good one for us to go back and look at the film and let our guys see when teams are changing defenses and have our players learn to control the game. But it was good for us to feel that, and our guys will get better. Going into Myrtle Beach with a good feel is what we needed.”

Manyawu is the first player in the Mountain West era of Cowboy basketball to record a double-double in the first two games of his career. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in the contest. Guard Akuel Kot added 16 points and four assists. Guard Sam Griffin added 14 points and hit his 250th career three pointer. Guards Kobe Newton and Brendan Wenzel added nine points. Forward Oleg Kojenets added nine points as well and recorded five blocks for the most in a game since Alan Herndon had six against Oregon State on Nov. 13, 2017.

Wyoming held the Mustangs 41 percent from the field on the night and 33 percent from behind the arc on only 4-of-12 from the three-point line. Wyoming held a 38-29 advantage on the glass. Wyoming had 15 helpers on the night and have 37 in two games this season

The Cowboys took the ball to the basket in the opening minute plus of play to take an early 4-0 advantage. Griffin would score five-straight and give the Pokes a 9-1 lead nearly two and a half minutes into the contest. Wyoming pushed the lead to 10 points, but the Mustangs battled to make it a 13-8 contest with 14:59 left in the first half.

Newton hit a three-pointer to give Wyoming a 22-13 lead halfway through the first half. It was the first three pointer of the game for either team. Wenzel later added a triple and gave Wyoming a 28-15 lead with under nine minutes left in the half.

Manyawu would add a fast break slam and Newton added a triple, as it capped a 14-2 Wyoming run, as Wyoming built a 33-15 advantage with 7:18 left in the opening frame. The Cowboys would struggle over the next two minutes with turnovers, as Cal Poly made it an 11 points game with a 7-0 run.

Cal Poly would use five quick points to make it a 38-31 for the Pokes with under two minutes left in the first half. Wyoming would take a 41-31 lead into the half, as Wyoming shot 54 percent from the field.

Kot hit his first triple of the game at the 17:21 mark of the second half to five Wyoming a 48-34 lead. Manyawu added a layup off a nice dish from Kot, as Wyoming built a lead of 16 points at 52-36 with 14:39 left in the game.

Wyoming held Cal Poly scoreless for over three minutes and built the lead to as high as 18 point and Griffin made it a 19-point contest at 57-38 with a three-pointer, the 250th of his career with 11:24 left in the game. The Pokes would push the lead to 20 points at 60-40 nearly halfway through the second frame. Newton added a triple for a 23-point advantage with 9:58 remaining.

Cal Poly responded with a 7-0 run fueled by free throws for a 63-47 lead for Wyoming with under nine minutes left on the clock. The Cowboy bigs would use the free throw line to build the lead back to 19 points at 70-51 with five minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys would hold on to the advantage throughout the final five minutes and walked away with the 80-66 win to move to 2-0 on the young season.

The Mustangs were led by Jarred Hyder, as he scored 25 points in the contest going 9-of018 from the field.

The Pokes hit the road and head to the Myrtle Beach Invitational and face Saint Louis in the opening round on Nov. 16 in a contest starting at Noon MT on ESPN2.