GAME NOTES: Wyoming tries to bounce back from just its second loss of the season, as the Cowboys host the Montana State Bobcats in non-conference play on Sunday.

Since opening the 2014-15 campaign with seven straight wins, the Cowboys have now lost two of their last three outings, with the one win during that stretch coming against tiny Regis (70-35) last weekend. On Wednesday night, Wyoming traveled to face California and came up just short in a defensive battle, 45-42.

As for the Bobcats, it wasn't that long ago that they were a mere 1-5, the lone victory coming against Texas-Arlington (104-81). But the team has been inching back towards .500 thanks to a pair of wins over South Dakota Mines (79-41) and Utah Valley (68-60), the latter coming eight days ago at home. Going against the team this weekend is the fact that it has yet to win on the road this season (0-4).

With respect to the all-time series, one that began 90 years ago, Wyoming leads by a 41-11 margin. The Pokes won last year's clash by a score of 79-54, while MSU took a 79-72 victory in the previous encounter back in 2007.

In a game that featured four ties and six lead changes, Marcus Colbert scored 20 points for the Bobcats, leading four players in double figures while also clearing seven rebounds and handing out six assists. Eric Norman chipped in 15 points, Michael Dison 11 points, seven boards and four steals, and Danny Robison 10 points for a squad that held the visitors to only 2-of-12 shooting behind the 3-point line.

Dison, who had led the Bobcats in scoring in three straight outings leading up to the Utah Valley clash, paces the program with his 14.8 ppg as he shoots almost as well from 3-point range (.421) as he does the field (.440) overall. Stephan Holm accounts for 11.0 ppg and Colbert another 10.8 ppg, although the latter is much more than a scoring threat since he has handed out 46 of the unit's 100 assists.

Considering the Cowboys shot a woeful 29.2 percent from the floor in the first half, including 2-of-10 beyond the arc, the team was lucky to be in contention at the break. Surprisingly, the Pokes were actually ahead by a point after 20 minutes, 16-15, in a game that opened up slightly in the second half. When the smoke finally cleared at Haas Pavilion, the only double-digit scorer for Wyoming was Larry Nance Jr. who not only tallied 13 points, he also pulled down a game-high 11 boards in the setback.

Nance leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with his 12.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing, the only player on the roster who is posting double figures in points. Then again, the Pokes generally don't need excessive scoring from players due to the fact that their hallmark is their defense again this season. The squad is allowing a mind-blowing 49.8 ppg, limiting foes to just 38.9 percent shooting from the field and forcing them into 30 more turnovers than assists to this point.

Montana State already has trouble producing on offense, so when you pair that with a lock-down defense the chances of the visitors coming out on top in this meeting is diminished greatly.