Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys lose 20th consecutive road game at UNLV

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

Wyoming Cowboys lose 20th consecutive road game at UNLV

LARAMIE – Death, taxes and the Pokes going bust in Las Vegas.

Wyoming finished 4-for-25 on 3-pointers and with 14 turnovers that led to 21 points on the other end during a 62-48 defeat to UNLV on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Cowboys (12-10, 5-4 Mountain West) lost for the 20th consecutive time to the Rebels (12-9, 5-4) in regular-season road games dating back to 2003.

UW did beat UNLV in the 2022 MW Tournament in Las Vegas.

“I’m disappointed in the final score,” UW head coach Jeff Linder said. “We came into the game with a lot of confidence knowing that we were playing a really talented UNLV team. I mean, having played against some of the teams in our league thus far, from a size standpoint, length and athleticism, they’re as big as anybody in our league.”

Linder’s team played solid half-court defense but went on a scoring drought of 10 minutes, 32 seconds spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half.

UNLV came out of the halftime locker room and went on an 11-0 run to take a commanding 42-23 lead before Sam Griffin finally scored to stop the bleeding with 12:39 remaining.

UW trailed by as many as 23 points (48-25) before a late push. Mason Walters completed a three-point play to cap a 10-0 run by the Cowboys.

Griffin converted a layup to get UW within 56-44 with 2:55 remaining but freshman Dedan Thomas closed the lid on the coffin with back-to-back 3s for the Rebels.

Cam Manyawu scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench to lead UW. Brendan Wenzel, who was playing with three displaced ribs, added 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

Griffin and Kot combined for 15 points on 6-for-23 shooting.

“For us, we’re one of the top 10 3-point shooting teams in the country and when you go 4-for-25,” Linder said. “A lot of those were pretty open looks. Akuel goes 0-for-8, Sam goes 1-for-6, and if those two guys go 1-for-14 it’s going to be hard for us to win.”

The Cowboys trailed 31-23 at the intermission after shooting 3-for-16 (18.8%) on 3s.

UNLV led 22-13 before Griffin countered with a 3 and Wenzel scored on a sweet spin move in the paint to get the Pokes within four points.

Thomas capped a 9-3 run with a floater to make the score 31-21.

Wenzel, who scored a career-high 25 points during Tuesday’s win at Air Force, led UW with eight points at the break.

UW held Kalib Boone scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting and limited Rob Whaley to eight points, but Thomas and Keylan Boone scored 14 points each for the Rebels.

UNLV finished 8-for-20 on 3s with four turnovers and 14 assists.

“We did a really good job with our game plan of trying to make things really hard for Kalib Boone, who had been playing at a really high level coming, in along with Robert Whaley,” Linder said. “For Boone not to score, for Waylee to have eight points, we did our job there.”

The Cowboys, who are 8-1 at home, will play No. 19 New Mexico on Tuesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.

Follow UW beat writer Ryan Thorburn on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn

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Wyoming

Former director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife lands a job in Wyoming

Published

9 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Former director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife lands a job in Wyoming

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

The former director of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) agency is joining Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department.

9-News reported that Jeff Davis was hired as the department’s deputy director in late December. That’s after Doug Brimeyer retired.

He starts the job in February.

Davis resigned from CPW last year instead of being fired as part of a settlement agreement. The settlement agreement Davis signed did not directly cite a reason for his termination.

Davis joined CPW as the state reintroduced wolves. His resignation came shortly after Washington state said it would not provide wolves to Colorado’s reintroduction program.

Before joining CPW in 2023, Davis had a long career in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. While there, he focused on coordinating conservation initiatives involving interdisciplinary teams and salmon recovery.

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Wyoming

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

Published

21 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

BILLINGS— Activists on both sides praised and criticized the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling of abortion bans as unconstitutional on Tuesday in a 4-1 majority.

The ruling marks the end of a four-year legal battle in Wyoming since the state’s 2022 abortion ban went in place with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights on a federal level.

Watch for the report:

Activists react after Wyoming high court rules abortion ban unconstitutional

The ban was put on hold after Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, led a suit against the state.

“I was holding my breath as I opened it and read it. But soon that turned to being rather elated. We couldn’t be more pleased with the opinion,” said Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s president.

Vanessa Willardson

Julie Burkhart

The decision comes after a years-long fight and setbacks, including an arsonist who set the clinic on fire in May of 2022.

“We were set to open that next month, but unfortunately that arson set us back by 11 months. We weren’t able to open that until 2023. It was quite devastating,” said Burkhart.

“I don’t think it’s moral, ethical, appropriate for anyone to tell another person what they can or cannot do with their own body,” she added.

Screen Shot 2026-01-07 at 6.02.41 PM.png — Wellspring Health Access after 2022 fire

For a Montana advocacy group, it was a different story.

“I was very disappointed,” said Amy Seymour, president of Yellowstone Valley Christians for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group.

“These pre-born children who are unique, complete, living, individual human beings from the moment of their conception, they can be protected if Wyoming decides to have a constitutional amendment to that degree,” she added.

Screen Shot 2026-01-07 at 6.03.56 PM.png — Amy Seymour

Wyoming state Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican, echoed Seymour’s sentiments with a written statement.

“Today’s decision is an abomination. Four unelected justices thwarted the will of the people to establish a ‘right’ to kill an innocent baby. Thanks to these justices, Wyoming has some of the most radical abortion laws in America. I will not stand for that, and will continue fighting for innocent unborn babies,” said Neiman.

Wyoming Supreme Court strikes down abortion bans, keeping procedure legal

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Wyoming

Wyoming man killed in fiery I-25 crash near Glenrock

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming man killed in fiery I-25 crash near Glenrock

GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.

Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.

The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.

This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.

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