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PROMO
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — When Wyoming rolled into town, I always got a kick out the fact that the Cowboys had a big dude named Hunter Thompson.
This being Las Vegas and all, that name — Hunter Thompson — carried a some juice. You know, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A 1971 classic.
I chatted with a Wyoming team assistant and he mentioned to me that Hunter Thompson has finally left the Wyoming hoops team after six years.
Hunter Thompson was on my mind because, well, how do we put this nicely, the first half of college basketball was not exactly a scintillating exhibition of men’s hoops.
Wyoming led UNLV, 25-24, at halftime as the basketball kept clanging off both hoops during the first 20 minutes.
It didn’t end well for the Runnin’ Rebels.
Wyoming led, 55-45, with four minute to go, and 61-53 with one minute to go before the Cowboys joyously rushed down the hallway to their locker room with a 63-61 win after a Dedan Thomas, Jr. shot that could have tied the game at the buzzer was off the mark.
“Obviously not the result we wanted,” UNLV coach Kevin Kruger said. “Offensively, we were stagnant. Wyoming punched us in the face early.”
That was disappointing for UNLV, coming off a home win against a then No. 22 Utah State Aggies team a week ago and then a wire-to-wire win over an always-tough San Diego State team in Southern California.
Conversely, Wyoming was reeling with three straight league losses to New Mexico, Boise State and Colorado State.
The one thing Wyoming got going is that the university might just have America’s most favored NFL player, a talented run-and-throw quarterback named Josh Allen. A 2017 Wyoming product, the 28-year-old Allen is shouldering the hopes of a nation, with so many NFL fans hoping Allen and his Buffalo Bills can knock out the two-time defending NFL champs, the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback, Flopper Mahomes.
I watched the UNLV game from a two-tier press area that the UNLV Athletics folks carved out of the first bowl. There were a plethora of open seats in the bottom bowl and many more in the upper bowl.
In the second half, I thought I’d roam the main concourse and pop into a few sections to catch the fans.
“Offensively, we can’t do anything good,” a fan told me. “We can’t score any buckets.”
It was Wyoming 49 and UNLV 43 with seven minutes to go after Bear Cherry scored a bucket.
A fan screamed, “All night, Bear.”
But the Runnin’ Rebels could not make a run.
“C’mon Rebels, wake up,” a frustrated fan yelled out.
UNLV made a late run in the final minute, though. Too little and too late.
But after shooting 40 percent, UNLV walked off the Thomas & Mack Court with a defeat. UNLV is now 5-3 in the Mountain West.
UNLV plays New Mexico here Saturday at 12 noon.