Rookies Lead The Way For Cowboys in First-Round Ouster

LAS VEGAS, Nev., -- There were the typical freshman moments.

There were also injuries and illnesses, forcing the rookies to become helpless courtside observers for extended stints.

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Wednesday, though, when Sundance Wicks needed them most, Gavin Gores and Naz Meyer stepped up to the plate in a win-or-go-home situation. That flight, unfortunately for the Cowboys, will land in windy Wyoming at some point today after a heart-wrenching 73-70 ouster against UNLV in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.

But that outcome has little to do with the two potential longstanding faces of the franchise.

"These guys are going to carry the flag for Wyoming here for the next couple of years," the second-year head coach said from behind the podium.

Gores, a 6-foot-10, 224-pound forward who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Josh Davis, put in some of his best work late in the season, netting a career-high 20 points in the regular-season finale at San Jose State before connecting on 6-of-11 shots from the floor for a team-best 15-point outing against the Rebels.

Two of those came courtesy of a rim-rocking put-back dunk off a Meyer miss with 1:19 remaining, knotting this one up at 68-68. He also made an aggressive move to the rack and laid it up and in with 37 ticks to go, giving the Cowboys a brief two-point lead.

Gores, who was the sixth man off the bench in Las Vegas, added five rebounds in 29 minutes of work. He's been battling a left-hand injury and a broken nose that sidelined him for five games.

"(I got to) watch a young man come in here in the middle of the summer, like Gavin, and have a breakdown four weeks into the summer because he's such a high achiever, that he's like, 'This is hard.' As a coach, you get to watch him go through that moment," Wicks said. "Then you get to see him go out there with 1:45 and I get to call a play for Gavin to go score and put us up two. I got to watch that in the summer. I got to see that. I got a front seat to that entire process."

Meyer, who five times this season was named the conference's freshman of the year, capped his day with 14 points, seven of which came at the free-throw line.

That means he spent the afternoon inside the tough areas inside the Thomas and Mack Center. The 6-foot-7 guard from Los Angeles also reeled in seven boards, four of which came on the offensive glass.

Meyer, who averaged nearly 13 points per game, reached double figures in all but nine outings while shooting better than 47% from the field. A simultaneous bout with the flu and strep throat, along with a lingering concussion, forced him out of the lineup for two games. He also dropped 17 pounds off his already slender frame in the process.

"I get a front seat to Naz Meyer coming in every day, win or lose, every practice, whether it was good or bad, watching film for an hour and kicking him out of my office because he cares so much about his development and the growth and learning," Wicks said. "Then, watching his other teammates on film and watching how he can make us better, which in turn, makes him better. I got a front seat to that development."

Leland Walker, the team's top scorer and unquestioned leader, echoed his coach's sentiments about the youngsters.

"Gavin Gores is a freshman, and he's playing like he's been in college for a long time, just like Naz Meyer," said Walker, who finished his day with eight points, the same number of rebounds, six assists and just one turnover. "They're great guys. They show up every day and watch film. I love these guys."

This youthful Wyoming program won 18 games for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign. That year, the Graham Ike-led Cowboys punched their ticket to the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

With the return of Gores and Meyer, along with other major contributors like Damarion Dennis, Khaden Bennett, Uriyah Rojas and others, Wicks said his plan all along for Year 3 on the bench was to make this team a contender.

That, of course, is easier said than done, despite his wishful thinking in Wednesday's opening statement. The bargaining is now set to begin, though Wicks is confident a postseason berth is still in the cards.

More hoping? We'll see.

Always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, the emotional Wicks, no doubt, wants the foundation of this team to be built upon the opening act of his top-two freshmen.

"I'm going to be pissed off if coaches come in here and take these guys that we spent a lot of time on," he said. "I'm never going to be able to sit there and say we didn't give everything we possibly could to these guys to become the best version of themselves."