LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboys opened the 2025-26 season in dominant fashion Monday night, shooting 55 percent from the field and scoring 62 points in the paint to defeat Northern State 99-75 at the Arena-Auditorium.

Head coach Sundance Wicks earned the win against his alma mater as Wyoming improved to 20 wins in its last 22 season openers.

“1-0 and back to 0-0 and that has been our motto,” Wicks said. “I wrote one word on the board afterwards and it was urgency and with a young team with guys playing new roles it’s a race to maturity. So the level of urgency we have from our older guys has to set the tone for everyone else. There were some good things that happened tonight, give credit to Northern State and this was a great first test for us. We were playing at a fast pace and we will take the lopsided rebounds. Good to get the win, but not happy with the process of getting the win.”

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Freshman guard Nasir “Naz” Meyer led the Cowboys with 19 points and six rebounds. His performance marked the most points by a Wyoming freshman in a season opener since Marcus Williams scored 20 against Mississippi Valley State in 2020.

Wyoming had five players score in double figures. Khaden Bennett finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, Adam Harakow added 12 points, Damarion Dennis chipped in 11, and Matija Belic scored 10. Forward Abou Magassa pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points.

The Cowboys controlled the game statistically, outrebounding the Wolves 47-29 and grabbing 17 offensive boards. Wyoming also recorded 14 assists and 48 bench points. Northern State, which shot 40 percent from the field, hit 12 three-pointers in the loss.

The first half featured early back-and-forth play before Wyoming went on a 17-3 run midway through the period to take control. The Cowboys led 50-40 at halftime after Harakow buried a late three-pointer.

Northern State briefly cut the deficit to seven early in the second half before back-to-back threes from Bennett and Meyer pushed the margin to double digits. The Cowboys then erupted with eight straight made field goals to build an 83-65 advantage and never looked back.

Marshawn Smith led Northern State with 15 points and four three-pointers, while James Glenn added 14 points, also hitting four shots from beyond the arc.

Wyoming returns to action Saturday, hosting Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.