LARAMIE, Wyo. — What goes around comes around. After the Pokes went into UNLV territory and won on the road just a few weeks ago, the Rebels did the very same today in the Dome of Doom in Laramie, Wyoming. Cowboy star Obi Agbim led the way once again with 14 points.
Despite the disparate final box score of 68–57, the first half was neck and neck. The Cowboys, despite losing the jump ball, would put up the first points of the night courtesy of Abou Magassa off a Cole Henry assist. UNLV’s Jeremiah Cherry would respond with an identical play.
The rest of the first half would look much the same. Another Magassa bucket would turn into a UNLV score. A UNLV alley-oop would lead to a Henry layup.
That Henry play would also be the first time Agbim was involved in scoring — four minutes into regulation. Finally waking up, Agbim would then grab two rebounds in the span of a minute and would later score his first points with a jump shot with 13:52 left in the half. By then, however, he was already 1–3 shooting.
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Wyoming would regain a lead about nine minutes into the game with a Henry hookshot. Henry was the second highest scorer of the night for the Cowboys with 10 points and a career-tying six assists.
UNLV would start showing signs of being the better team with about three minutes left in the half, when it went on a 5–0 run to take a 28–22 lead. The Cowboys would grab just 1 more point before halftime, but the Rebels would get an easy layup with just five seconds left.
Almost immediately into the second half — more specifically a 3-point pull-up jump shot by UNLV’s Julian Rishwain to take an 8-point lead — the Rebels would begin their steady ascent into dominance.
The Rebels would get away with 4 more points before Magassa would come back with another layup. The freshman Frenchman who won the Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Week award a few weeks ago was a perfect 4–4 from the field tonight.
Wyoming’s next points would be Magassa’s last. His 2-point hook shot would close the UNLV lead to 10. At this point, Wyoming’s mission was to at least stay within that range. The closest they would get for the rest of the game to catching up with the rebels was 7 points.
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Wyoming and UNLV would trade buckets for the rest of the game until the Rebels would eventually take the win 68–57. The Rebels held the Cowboys to a season-low four 3-pointers made out of 21 total attempts. The Pokes were 42.37% from the rest of the field.
Behind Agbim and Henry, Magassa would be the third-highest scorer with 9 points. Most of the Cowboys’ bench would make at least 2 points besides three players: Dontaie Allen, Oleg Kojenets and A.J. Wills. They played 17 minutes, four minutes and 16 minutes, respectively. Allen scored 10 points against the Utah State Aggies just four days ago.
The Pokes’ home stint is up, and they are going to hit the road first to New Mexico, where they’ll face the conference-leader Lobos on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Mountain Time.
Matija Belic against the UNLV Rebels, Feb. 8, 2025 (Garrett Grochowski, Oil City News)Jordan Nesbitt against the UNLV Rebels, Feb. 8, 2025 (Garrett Grochowski, Oil City News)Obi Agbim brings the ball downcourt against the UNLV Rebels, Feb. 8, 2025 (Garrett Grochowski, Oil City News)Obi Agbim against the UNLV Rebels, Feb. 8, 2025 (Garrett Grochowski, Oil City News).Obi Agbim brings the ball downcourt against the UNLV Rebels, Feb. 8, 2025 (Garrett Grochowski, Oil City News)
CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council voted Tuesday to approve on first reading a zoning change for a vacant 2.4-acre parcel located at 1530 SE Wyoming Boulevard, transitioning the property from residential to commercial use.
The ordinance reclassifies Lot 4 of the Methodist Church Addition from Residential Estate to General Business. Located between East 15th and East 18th streets, the irregular-shaped property has remained undeveloped since it was first platted in 1984.
While original plans for the subdivision envisioned a church and an associated preschool, Community Development Director Liz Becher reported those projects never materialized.
According to Becher, the applicant sought the rezoning to facilitate the potential installation of a cell tower or an off-premises sign. Under the new C-2 designation, a cell tower up to 130 feet in height is considered a permitted use by right, though any off-premises sign would still require a conditional use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant also owns the adjacent lot to the north, which the city rezoned to general business in 2021.
Becher said the change aligns with the “Employment Mixed Use” classification in the Generation Casper comprehensive land use plan. This designation typically supports civic, institutional and employment spaces.
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Despite the new zoning, the property remains subject to a subdivision agreement that limits traffic access. Entry and exit are restricted to right turns onto or from East 15th Street, and no access is permitted from East 18th Street.
The council will vote on two more readings of the ordinance before it is officially ratified.
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two men were detained in Wyoming in connection with a fatal shooting at a downtown Salt Lake hotel that killed one man.
Carlos Chee, 23, and Chino Aguilar, 21, were both wanted for first-degree felony murder after the victim, identified as Christian Lee, 32, was found dead in a room at the Springhill Suites near 600 South and 300 West.
According to warrants issued for their arrest, Chee and Aguilar met with Lee and another woman at the hotel to sell marijuana. During the alleged drug deal, Aguilar allegedly shot and killed Lee after he tried to grab at his gun.
MORE | Shootings
Investigators said they found Lee dead in the room upon arrival, as well as a single shell casing on the floor and a small amount of marijuana on the television stand.
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The woman told investigators she had met Chee on a dating app and that he agreed to come to the hotel to sell her marijuana. She had been hanging out with him in the room, which Lee rented for her to use, when Lee asked them to leave. Lee was then shot and killed following a brief confrontation.
Chee and Aguilar allegedly fled the scene in a 2013 Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate that was later found outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming just a few hours later.
The two men were taken into custody and detained at the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.
Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.
Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.
MORE | Officer-Involved Shooting
During the encounter, a deputy discharged their weapon and struck the individual.
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Emergency medical personnel rendered aid, and the individual was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation.
The deputy who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.
