LARAMIE, Wy. – The Regis University men's basketball team traveled to the University of Wyoming to take on the Division I Cowboys in a preseason exhibition game before they open the season one week from today. Regis eventually lost to the home squad 75-65, but they made a good showing against a solid Mountain West Conference (MWC) opponent.
 
How It Happened: The Rangers opened the game with a three-pointer from redshirt-senior Troy Anderson II for the first points of the game. Senior Dexter Sienko got into the action scoring the next three points for RU, but by that time the home team Cowboys had jumped out to a 17-6 lead.
 
A jumper from senior Ty McGee at the 9:00 minute mark put Regis only one point behind UW 18-19. Another huge run saw the Cowboys go ahead 31-18 before the next Ranger bucket. Sienko nailed a shot as the clock wound down in the first half and RU found themselves down 40-24 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
The second half was a different story for Regis as they came out looking to prove that they can matchup with anyone given the chance. Junior Avonte Nelms hit a shot from deep and Anderson II connected with a layup for five quick points. The next two minutes was full of many missed shots from the field as well as the free-throw line before the Cowboys extended their lead to as many as 19 points at 54-35 with 13:24 to go in the game. That is when the Rangers started to chip away at the lead.
 
Redshirt-freshman Chandler White knocked down a trifecta, followed by a basket from junior Ryan Beisty and a dunk from McGee. Sophomore Christian Little layed the ball up off the glass and in to bring the visitors within nine points, 61-52 with less than four minutes to go. A couple plays later, as McGee was moving up the floor he stopped for a three-point jumper that he made and while also drawing a foul at the same time. He knocked down the free throw to complete the four-point play and the Blue and Gold trailed by only eight points with 59 seconds on the clock.
 
Although UW made their free throws down the stretch, RU displayed an incredible effort falling only ten points shy of a team that finished 18-14 in the Mountain West Conference of Division I last season. If this game proves anything, it would be that Regis is ready for the season. The team is fired up for what could be a very exciting 2017-18 season.
 
Game Notes: The Rangers shot the ball at a 35.4 percent clip from the field, going 23-of-65 on the night. They hit 4-of-20 shots from beyond the arc, while converting 15-of-25 shots from the foul line. RU was slightly outrebounded by the Cowboys 40-37, but Regis did most of their damage on the offensive glass tracking down 13 offensive rebounds to only four for the home squad. Sienko (6-13 FG, 0-3 3-pt) led the way with 15 points and also had seven boards. McGee followed with 13 points, going 5-of-10 from the field including a perfect 1-1 from three-point land. Little was the only other Ranger to reach double-digits as he recorded 12 points in the game and a game-high eight rebounds.

Up Next for the Rangers: The men's basketball team will open the season with two non-conference games next weekend against St. Mary's University (TX) on Friday, November 10 at 3:30 p.m. followed by a game against Lubbock Christian University the next day at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played in the Regis Fieldhouse.