An odd mixture of pride fueled by a great run and dismay following a heart-breaking loss, punctuated a new era in University of Wyoming basketball Saturday.
The 11th-seeded Cowboys donned Cinderella slippers during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque.
The team upset sixth-seeded Gonzaga University 73-66 Thursday and nearly knocked off third-seeded University of Arizona Saturday but fell short by a score of 68-60.
"This was a turning point for Wyoming basketball and really forces people to take us seriously and take the Mountain West Conference seriously," Wyoming head coach Steve McLain said. "We went toe-to-toe with the sixth-ranked team in the nation in Gonzaga and beat them, then nearly upset the seventh-ranked team, Arizona. We came a long way and have a lot to be proud of."
Forward Marcus Bailey echoed McLain's sentiments.
"Being from Cheyenne, even if I had just watched this game on TV, I would have been so proud because of the recognition it gave the state of Wyoming," he said. "I am incredibly proud to be a part of a team that put Wyoming on the map. It really is something special for us."
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While Arizona coach Lute Olson's ill will toward The Pit and Lobo fans and NBA prospect Jason Gardner dominated headlines, it was the match-ups in the low post that decided the game.
The Cowboys' senior forward Josh Davis came into the tournament saying he was disappointed with his mediocre performance during the regular season and expected more of himself in the NCAA Tournament. While Davis was a force in Mountain West Conference play and led the Cowboys to the regular season title, the team's early conference tournament exit was fodder for the forward's extraordinary effort against Gonzaga and Arizona.
Against Gonzaga, Davis scored 11 points, but asserted the most significant presence by hauling in 14 rebounds, blocking five shots and picking up two steals. Davis and the rest of the Wyoming big men muscled their way past the NCAA Tournament darling, stealing the national spotlight.
He faced Arizona's Luke Walton and Channing Frye in his toughest match-up of the weeekend, but Davis still came up with 17 points, 11 rebounds and one emphatic block during a key Wyoming run.
"I just wanted to come out strong and leave it all out on the floor," Davis said. "There are no second chances for me, as a senior. I didn't want to walk off the court thinking that I could have done more. We gave it all we had and we played tough, but it just wasn't our night."
Bailey and fellow forward Uche Nsonwu-Amadi also added strong performances that helped propel Cowboy run. Nsonwu-Amadi finished with 14 points, six rebounds and one block against Gonzaga.
During the same game, Bailey scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and rejected two shots.
The duo scored 10 and 11, respectively, against Arizona and combined for 11 rebounds. Reserve forward Ronnell Mingo bolstered the Wyoming brawn.
"It was a tough loss, but we are definitely proud of the way we played and represented our state," Nsonwu-Amadi said. "A lot of people didn't know where Wyoming was, and I consider us basketball ambassadors of Wyoming basketball. In that sense, we did a good job, but losing still hurts."
McLain said it was a mentally tough Arizona team led by equally potent posts that broke his team's momentum.
"What set Luke Walton apart was not really that he scored too many points but that he made baskets every time we cut to four and really came up with big plays that put them over the top," McLain said.
While the Cowboys don't like to hang their hats on moral victories, they couldn't hold back a few smiles through the tears over their unlikely, bittersweet run.
