Wyoming Cowboys Fall to Wichita State 74-70 in NIT First Round

Naz Meyer's back-to-back 3-pointers gave Wyoming a 51-49 lead deep in the second half Tuesday night at Koch Arena, and for a moment the Cowboys looked like they might pull off an NIT first-round upset. Then Wichita State's Dre Kindell iced it with a pair of clutch free throws in the final seconds, and the Cowboys' season was over, 74-70.

Wyoming finished 18-15, ending the program's first postseason appearance since 2022 in Wichita, Kansas. The difference was not scoring — it was the glass. The Shockers outrebounded the Cowboys 55-34, hauled in 17 offensive rebounds and converted those into 18 second-chance points, a mismatch that Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks acknowledged directly after the final buzzer.

"Hats off to Wichita State," Wicks said. "Their physicality and rebounding was as advertised. That was the difference in the game for us, giving up 17 (offensive) boards for 18 second-chance points. That's their identity. Identity matters in March."

Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding five rebounds. He kept the Cowboys competitive throughout, cutting the deficit to two points with a bucket to open the second half before Wichita State responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead to 35-26. Meyer, who was held scoreless in the first half, then took over: all 16 of his points came after intermission, including the back-to-back 3-pointers that briefly put the Cowboys ahead. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Leland Walker contributed seven points and a team-high six assists.

The first half told a harder story for Wyoming. Wichita State opened on a 10-3 run, and though Uriyah Rojas hit a 3 off a sharp pass from Meyer to give Wyoming a 14-12 lead, the Shockers answered immediately with a 9-0 run over four minutes to go up 21-14. A Gavin Gores dunk and a Dennis 3-pointer pulled the Cowboys back to within four, but Wichita State carried a 28-24 lead into the locker room. Wyoming shot just 28 percent from the field in those first 20 minutes.

The Cowboys clawed back repeatedly in the second half. They held the Shockers without a free throw for over four minutes and trimmed the deficit to 39-36 with 14 minutes left. Meyer's burst gave them the lead at 51-49 with about six minutes remaining. But Wichita State reclaimed the advantage at the 5:45 mark and never gave it back, converting late possessions to close it out.

For the game, Wyoming shot 25-of-65 from the field and went just 10-of-20 from the free-throw line, a margin Wicks said loomed large. "If we just make two or three more free throws, it's a different ball game for us coming down the stretch," he said. "All in all, couldn't ask for a better fight to start the NIT."

TJ Williams led Wichita State with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Kenyon Giles added 15 points for the Shockers, who shot 43 percent from the field and outscored Wyoming 44-30 in the paint.

Wicks framed the loss within the program's broader arc, invoking Wyoming's NIT history as context for where the Cowboys are headed. "The last time Wyoming made it and advanced in the NIT, Fennis Dembo was playing," Wicks said. "The next year, they made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. There's a lot of history, pride and tradition that Wyoming has for this tournament, and these guys are part of that now.