The women, who enter the tournament as the number five seed, will take on fourth-seeded Texas Christian University while the men, ranked sixth, will take on the third seed, and host team, University of Nevada, Las Vegas for the second time in as many games.

Both teams would have to win the MWC championship in order to advance to the NCAA tournament.

The University of Wyoming men's basketball takes on TCU and the women face off against the University of New Mexico during the opening games of the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament last year at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. (Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos )

The women will play their opening round game this afternoon at 3:35 p.m. TCU and UW are split on the regular season with each team winning on their home courts. The winner will go on to play the winner of top-seeded San Diego State University versus eighth-seeded Air Force Academy on Friday.

On the other half of the women’s bracket, second-seeded UNLV will take on the University of New Mexico while third-seeded Colorado State University will take on sixth-seeded Boise State University. The winners of those two games will meet in the semifinals on Friday. The championship game for the women will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m.

On the men’s side, UNLV was upset by UW in Laramie but revenged the loss by a blowout last Saturday in Las Vegas. They will play the rubber match on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. The winner will move on to the semifinals to take on the winner of second-seeded UNM and seventh-seeded AFA. UNM swept AFA in the regular season.

On the other side of the men’s bracket, top-seeded SDSU will take on eighth-seed BSU. SDSU blew out BSU at home but barely survived with a victory in Boise. Fourth-seed CSU will face fifth-seeded TCU in the opening round. The two teams split the regular season. The winners of these two games will meet in the semifinals on Thursday.

Currently, Joe Lunardi of ESPN has SDSU, UNM, UNLV and CSU all getting bids to the NCAA tournament on the men’s side. All other teams must win the championship to advance to get an automatic bid to the tournament.

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The two teams will now prepare for the Mountain West Conference tournament where they will rematch in the first round on Thursday.

Wyoming was able to keep the game tight for most of the game, going into halftime down just four points. UNLV built up an 11-point lead midway through the second half.

UW made a run to get within five points, but UNLV used a 7–0 run to lift them back to a double-digit lead and finish the Cowboys off with an 11-point victory.

Senior Francsico Cruz led the Cowboys by finishing with 16 points and redshirt junior Luke Martinez who notched 15 points. As a team, UW shot 44 percent (19 for 43) from the field. 11 out of UW’s 19 successful field goals were assisted, but the team was hindered by 18 turnovers.

The Cowboys will now head back to Las Vegas for the MWC tournament where they will face the host team UNLV at 9:30 p.m. The winner will advance to play the winner of the match between the University of New Mexico and the Air Force Academy on Friday. The MWC Championship game will be at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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Coming from Chicago, Ill., Jay was a varsity basketball star as well as an Academic All-Conference honors student. Choosing to come to Wyoming, Jay had turned down Boston College, Iowa State, Marquette, New Mexico State, Notre Dame and St. Louis. Jay was known as being a phenomenal player during his career here in Laramie.

He was one of the top point guards in the nation as well as one of the top players in the Mountain West Conference. Jay also was the 30th player in 100 years of Cowboy Basketball to score 1,000 points during his career. During the last year of his college athletics, he received the honor of being one of the finest players ever to have worn a Wyoming uniform.

Since leaving his legacy at UW, Jay has been playing professionally on teams overseas and also on the NBA Developmental- leagues. While playing the past seven years over in Europe, he’s gotten the chance to play in Israel, Poland, Ukraine, France, Cyprus, Romania, and Germany.

Jay said basketball has played a major role in his life.

“I think the game of basketball itself has taken me to a lot of different places,” Straight said. “It helped me come to the University of Wyoming and get an education for free. It also was a big culture shock coming from Chicago to Laramie, but I think it’s helped me become a better person. Overall, it ended up being some of the most important years of my life and I’m glad I did it.”

After leaving college, there are a lot of things that student athletes miss.

“I really miss going to the games on Saturdays smelling the popcorn and watching everyone getting prepared for the game,” Straight said. “I miss hearing the Cowboy Joe songs and I miss the drunken fans that always came out and supported us.”

There are those times when we all wish we could go back and change things of the past. Though Jay has been quite successful throughout his sports career, he does find there is one thing he wishes he could go back and change.

“If I could, I would change Marcus Bailey getting hurt my sophomore year,” Straight said. “I feel if he didn’t get injured, the team could have gone extremely far and more players would have been scouted for the NBA.”

Straight said he gained alot from his experience as a cowboy.

“Well I definitely feel that I gained a quality education,” Straight said. “The communication department and the faculty at the University were great. I hear stories from buddies who went to other colleges and felt like they couldn’t go in and ask for help. It wasn’t like that at UW, I always felt I could talk to someone and always felt that people wanted to see me succeed.”

Straight reccomended for college students to enjoy thier times on the courts.

“Enjoy it all while you can, especially all UW athletes,” Straight said.  “I know it might be tough waking up and going to practice at six in the morning now but someday, you find yourself really missing it. Right now it might be tough but once it’s over and you’re in the real world, you’ll think about all those great days at UW. So cherish the moment, enjoy being a student athlete, because once it’s over, it’s over.”

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Photo: Edward Timmons. Senior guard JayDee Luster goes for a layup in his in his final regular season home game in the Arena Auditorium last night in the Cowboy's 71-59 win over Texas Christian University.

UW honored seniors Rob Watsabaugh, Adam Waddell, JayDee Luster, Arthur Buedo and Francisco Cruz before the game. Senior manager David Moats, injured player Afam Muojeke and former player Boubacar Sylla, who was lost to a career-ending injury last season, were also recognized before the game.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better performance on a game that could have been emotional,” head coach Larry Shyatt said. “The (seniors) put us on their shoulders this year.”

TCU struck first but was quickly answered by seven straight points from the Cowboys, who started all five active seniors. The two teams both scored four points over the next two minutes before Wyoming went on a 7–2 run in the next three minutes to make the score 18–6 with 12:52 remaining in the half.

The two teams would alternate buckets in the next nine possessions. Both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes until a TCU three-point bucket made the score 29–20 with 6:07 left in the half. UW was able to snap a five-minute field goal drought with a Waddell bucket with 4:45 remaining to push the lead back to 12. TCU would pull two points closer by the end of the half to make the score 39–29.

UW was led Cruz, who scored 15 points in the first stanza. Waddell was the first half’s second leading scorer with nine. The Cowboys put up a 57.1 percent (16 of 28) shooting percentage while holding TCU to 40 percent (12 of 30).

The second half turned into the Washington-Waddell show. Both players came out of the half with highlight reel dunks and combined to score 17 straight UW points in the first ten minutes of the half. TCU was able to pull to within five points, but UW pushed their lead back to double digits.

With 9:09 left in the game, Larry Nance Jr. scored to bring the score to 58–46. The two teams would essentially swap buckets for the remainder of the game and finish with a score of 71–59 in the Cowboys favor.

UW was led by Washington who finished the game with a game high in points and rebounds with 23 points, 17 of which came in the second half, and 12 boards. Cruz finished the game with 19 points, followed by Waddell who had 14 points. Luster finished with a season-high eight assists with no turnovers. As a team, the Cowboys shot 53.8 percent (28 of 52). Eighteen of the Cowboys’ 18 field goals were assisted and only one turnover was committed as a team.

Though Wyoming is having one of their best seasons in recent years, Washington still feels they have a lot left.

“I’m still not satisfied with 20 win,” Washington said.

Saturday, UW will head to Las Vegas, Nev. to face University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the final game of the regular season.

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On Saturday, the University of Wyoming men’s basketball team entered their game against Boise State University on Saturday on a four-game losing skid. BSU entered the game as the conferences worst team, coming into the contest ranked last in the Mountain West Conference with a 3–8 record.

Leonard Washington shoots for two. (Photos : Edward Timmons)

Wyoming was able to hold off Boise State for a 64–54 victory, making the Cowboys conference record 5–7. Redshirt junior Leonard Washington, who finished the game with his third career double-double, said the Cowboys came into the game in desperation mode.

“We were desperately in need of a win,” Washington said, “and we went out and did it.”

The Cowboys began the game by scoring the first five points but were matched by two three-point baskets by BSU. The Cowboys would regain the lead and slowly build on it. BSU was able to get back to within two points but a strong finish put the Cowboys up 32–26 at halftime.

In the second half, the Broncos came out with the energy and were able to get within four of the Cowboys early in the second half. The Cowboys held off the run and pulled away once again. Boise slowly gained on the Cowboys until an 11–3 run gave the Cowboys all the advantage they needed, ending the game 64–54.

“I thought our defense was terrific down the stretch,” head coach Larry Shyatt said in his post-game press conference. “It was the first time in quite a while that we were able to reach all of our defensive goals.”

UW has a goal to hold their opponents under 55 points, under 40 percent shooting from the field and fewer than 30 percent shooting from three. BSU finished the game with 54 points, 32 percent (18/55) shooting, and 25 percent (6/24) shooting from three.

The Cowboys shot 45.1 percent (23/51) from the field and were led by Washington who finished the game with a 15 point 11 rebound double-double. Senior Francisco Cruz and redshirt junior Luke Martinez also finished the game in double figures, scoring 16 points and 10 points respectively.

UW committed just five turnovers on the night while dishing out 14 assists. They were able to force 10 BSU turnovers.

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Wyoming led by as much by nine throughout the second half, but SDSU gained the lead with two minutes left. Redshirt junior guard Luke Martinez hit a three-point shot with 29 seconds left to tie the game at 55-55 forcing the first overtime of the Cowboys season.

Wyoming will host the Boise State on Sat. at 2 p.m. in the Arena Auditorium.

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The University of Wyoming Cowboys are absolutely bipolar. One game you get a fantastic team that upsets 12th ranked UNLV and the next four games you get a team that looks confused and in shambles. Wyoming has lost four straight games since the students stormed the court after their historic upset. One of these losses is to the Air Force Academy, a team that is tied for last in the conference standing.

Wyoming has upset the top team in the conference and lost to the worst team in the conference.  Now with Boise State coming to town Saturday, who is the other team tied for last in the conference, I have no idea if we should expect a blow out or a disappointing, unanswerable loss.

Wyoming could be a sleeper team in the conference tournament, but they will have to find an answer on offense. Yes, they are one of the best teams in the conference on defense, but it does not matter if you cannot put enough points on the board to beat the other team. It seems too often they have to throw up a shot at the end of the shot clock. The adage goes that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. However, this is assuming that there is still offense with your defense. There has been signs, and if they can get it together for the tournament they will be dangerous.

The Cowgirls on the other hand are slowly creeping up the standings. They have won six of their last eight conference games and suddenly find themselves right in the middle of the pack. They have defeated the number two, three and four teams in the conference and just came off a game where they nearly beat the top ranked San Diego State University.

The conference tournament for both the men and women will truly be “March Madness.” Stay tuned because we are in for some excitement.

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Each starter chipped in for the first 10 Cowboys points as they jumped out to a quick 15–7 lead. The Rams battled back to within two but the Cowboys pulled away again to take a 28–21 lead into half.

The first half for the Pokes was led by Luke Martinez and Francisco Cruz who each had six points. The Cowboys shot 52 percent from the floor but was nearly matched by CSU who shot 47 percent.

In the second half, CSU put together an 11–2 run early to grab the lead from the UW. Their next 18–6 run finished the game.

UW’s shooting percentage for the game dropped down to 38 (17 of 44) while CSU raised their percentage to 51 (19 of 37). Martinez was the game high scorer with 15 points, all coming from behind the arc.

“I thought we played with the heart of a champion (Saturday),” UW head coach Larry Shyatt said. “We couldn’t get enough shots to fall in the last few minutes to salvage a win, but I told our guys afterward that they played with the heart of a champion.

The Cowboys will travel to San Diego to take on the San Diego State University Aztecs on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m.

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A point guard in basketball is the most important position on the floor. The ball is in his or her hands more than anyone else on the team combined. They are the quarterbacks of basketball, the glue of the team. Directing offenses and getting other people available to score the basketball, rarely looking for shots themselves. On the other end of the floor they have to be the most tenacious defender, and will usually be assigned the toughest person to guard on the other team.

We here at the University of Wyoming are truly blessed to be able to watch JayDee Luster, our starting point guard, in action. Luster is one of, if not the, best true point guards I have ever seen play in person, played with, or played against. Sure, most fans notice the play of Francisco Cruz, Leonard Washington, Adam Waddell, and Luke Martinez because their stats show up on the stat sheet. A true point guard’s biggest contributions rarely show up on a stat sheet, and he doesn’t even have his head on a poster.

A point guard cannot take a play off. Their intensity must be an example for the rest of their team. He must lead them. Luster never takes a play off. His examples of hard work, from diving on the floor to chasing down a fast break–those things do not show up on a stat sheet.  The leadership examples he portrays to will his team to victories will not show up on the post game box score.

To someone who truly enjoys the art of basketball, watching Luster on the defensive end is incredible. If you know any young kids that are aspiring point guards, make them watch Luster play defense. Luster is constantly in a stance, constantly has his head on a swivel, and makes life a living hell for his opponent with ball pressure.

The Indianapolis Colts proved how important a quarterback is this season. The other players on the Cowboy basketball team will get a lot of glory come post season awards, but this team would not be even close to the caliber they are without such a strong glue holding them together at the point guard position.

Being a true, pass first point guard can be a glory less job. It takes a special individual to take the job on. I tip my hat to Luster; he is fun to watch, and I hope everyone can realize just how special a player we are getting to witness.

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“There’s not a lot to be said, except Air Force in my heart and in my core deserved to win this game,” head Coach Larry Shyatt said after the game.  “I didn’t like what I heard, I didn’t like what I saw, and I totally blame myself for the loss.

“It’s the first time I’ve been disappointed in my core.”

The cowboys came out firing during the first five minutes, starting the game with a 14-2 run with all five of the starters contributing at least one bucket to the spurt.  The Cowboys and the Falcons traded off baskets for the next five minutes until the Falcons made a push by going on a 10-0 run of their own to make the score 24-20 with six minutes to go, still in the Cowboys favor.  Senior Adam Waddell scored a bucket to snap the run, which sparked a 10-3 point retaliation to make the score 34-23 with 2:30 to go.  The first half ended with a 36-28 Cowboy lead.

Waddell led UW scoring with 11 first half points and Leonard Washington finished with a team-high 7 rebounds.  The Cowboys free-throw percentage was a perfect 100 percent (5/5), with a shooting percentage of 50 percent (14/28) and they went 33 percent (3/9) from beyond the arc.  The Cowboys out rebounded the Falcons by a margin of 19 to 8 as well as holding them to 30.8 percent (4/13) from three.

To start out the second half, the Falcons went on a 10-2 run in the first six minutes to tie up the score at 38 apiece.  The Cowboys came back to score seven of the next five points to make the score 45-40 in favor of the Cowboys with 10 minutes left in the contest.  The Falcons ended the Cowboys quick streak and began one of their own, again tying the game, this time at 45.  From then they proceeded to take the lead and score seven uncontested points, making the score 52-45 with just shy of seven minutes to play until Senior JayDee Lester made a lay-up to snap the Cowboys five minute drought.  The two teams traded baskets for the next four minutes and Lester finished a fast-break lay-up through a foul and completed a three point play, bringing the game within three points at 56-53 Air Force.  The Cowboys finished with two missed shots, bringing the game to a close with the Falcons on top, 58-53.

Waddell finished the game as the Cowboys’ high scorer with 15, followed by Lester with 11.  As a team, they shot an overall 39 percent (20/51) from the field and 19 percent (4/21) from three.

Air Force was able to shoot 48.9 percent (22/45) from the field and 42.1 percent (8/19) from three, led by Michael Lyons with 24 points and going 6/8 from the three point line.

“Tomorrow we’ll get back to what we’re doing,” redshirt junior Luke Martinez said.  “All losses hurt, but starting tomorrow we’ll get back at it.”

The Cowboys will now travel to Fort Collins for the Border War against Colorado State this Saturday, the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Branding Iron

The Branding Iron is a Student Media project. Student Media gives University of Wyoming students valuable experience in writing, editing, advertising, sales, graphic design, photography and production through its publications with the guidance of professional staff members. If you find a mistake in an article, e-mail us at bi@uwyo.edu. We will make sure to torture the poor soul until it's corrected. Just kidding. We probably won't do anything, since we're busy studying for finals.

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