Trailing by just one point at halftime Wyoming was keeping pace with Missouri Valley power Northern Iowa. That was as close as the Cowboys would get as the Panthers went on a tear in the second half to win 72-54. UNI improves to 9-1 and have won 8 in a row while Wyoming drops back to .500 at 6-6.
With this loss the Mountain West drops the MWC/MVC challenge with four wins to five for the Missouri Valley.
Northern Iowa got a huge night out of 7 footer Jordan Ergslader who put up game highs of 28 points and 9 rebounds. Ali Farokhmanesh added 15 - all three pointers.
Afam Muojeke led the way for Wyoming with 20 points. Desmar Jackson came off the bench and added 13. Adam Waddell put up 6/7.
Wyoming shot a better FG % than Northern Iowa .457 to .450 but took 14 less shots. The Pokes were 2 of 15 from behind the arc while the Panthers sunk 9 of 22. Wyoming managed only 3 assists and had 17 turnovers.
This loss is eerily similar to one last week against Tennessee where the Pokes were down by just a point at half time and then had no answer in the second half. Opposing teams are obviously making adjustments at halftime and having great success against the Pokes.
The Cowboys finish off the 2009 portion of their schedule next Wednesday when they host the 8-3 Akron Zips.