The Wyoming Cowboys came out firing in the first half shooting 63 percent with eight first half triples in a dominant 98-66 win over UNLV in the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie on Tuesday evening. It was the largest win in a conference game for the Pokes since beating San Diego State by 35 points by a score of 101-66 on February 3, 2001.

UW moves to 9-1 at home this season and are 11-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

“I will say this, the response of this team is impressive,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “We have to be scrappy, we have to be tougher and we have to fight. Everyone in this league has a heavy hand and today and we delivered a punch. I like the desperate energy and the communication we had in the huddles and proud of the effort tonight.”

The Pokes finished the game shooting 55 percent and held the Runnin’ Rebels to 38 percent. Wyoming added nine threes on the night shooting 43 percent from behind the arc. The Pokes dominated the glass in the contest 43-29 and outscored the Runnin’ Rebels 46-26 in the paint.

Wyoming was led by Leland Walker tying a season-high with 28 points for his third game with 20 or more points this season. He was 9-of-15 from the field in the contest. Guard Damarion Dennis added 12 points for his sixth game in double figures this season. Guard Khaden Bennett added 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, as he was +34 on the night. Nasir (Naz) Meyer would get to double-figures with 10 points marking the tenth time this season he has scored 10 or more points. He also led the team with eight rebounds.

Wyoming got off to a 10-2 lead early with Walker adding five points during the early scoring spurt with UNLV hitting only one bucket in the first five-plus minutes. Dennis hit a corner three-pointer and Walker added an acrobatic layup for a 15-4 game with 14 minutes left in the first half.

The Pokes would make five-straight buckets with another triple from Dennis and bucket from Abou Magassa for a 20-5 lead. Adam Harakow added his first triple and Meyer added a bakst for a 25-8 lead halfway through the half.

Walker got to double-figures with a three-pointer as part of an 8-0 run for a 33-12 lead with under eight minutes left in the half. The Runnin’ Rebels responded with an 8-0 run themselves for a 33-20 game.

The Pokes would go on a 5-0 run and take a 38-20 advantage with under five minutes in the half, as Meyer led the charge. An 8-0 run, fueled by a pair of threes that was a part of a 13-2 run made it a 46-22 contest late in the first half. Wyoming would then take a 48-26 lead into the half shooting 63 percent for the best in a first half this season.

A three-pointer by Walker moved the lead to 53-28 in the second half and would still hold a 21-point lead five minutes into the frame at 57-38 after a 5-0 run by the Runnin’ Rebels. But Gores and Harakow added buckets to make it a 61-38 game with 14 minutes left. Bennett and Gores pushed the lead to 67-43 with UW making 5 of their last six attempts.

Bennett helped the Pokes push the lead to 30 points halfway through the second half. The Pokes would continue the pressure as Dennis would get to double-figures for an 85-54 lead with seven minutes left.

The Pokes would get to 91 points on a sweet scoop layup from Walker for a 91-59 game with five minutes left. Wyoming would then walk away with the 98-66 for the largest win over the Runnin’ Rebels since 1967.

The Runnin’ Rebels were led by Kimani Hamilton with 19 points and Tyrin Jones added 16 points along with eight rebounds.

The Pokes hit the road this weekend with a trip to Nevada for an 8 p.m. MT start on the Mountain West Network.