What looked like could be a quick exit for the Lobos (14-17) in the Mountain West Tournament instead featured a furious Lobo comeback in the second half to beat Wyoming (8-24), 78-68. It was a game that had its fair share of momentum swings and was an emotional rollercoaster, but left us ready for another day of Lobo basketball. Here are the things that caught my eye during the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament:

• Vance Jackson was incredible for the Lobos, full stop. After struggling to find shots in the first half (1 or 3 FG), Jackson went on one of the best spurts I have seen a Lobo make. Jackson had a 13-0 run by himself and scored 21 second-half points (7 of 12 FG). While, it is unlikely that the Lobos will be able to get a few more of these type of games from Jackson this year, he was able to bring the Lobos back from their season death bed and will give them a chance to beat Utah State tomorrow. We have seen Jackson have a few of these games; this game was very much like the win against Nevada earlier in the year, where Jackson was making his presence known in every part of the game. He came in with as lofty of expectations of anyone on the team, and it’s days like this that show where those expectations came from.
• Slow starts have become a thing to expect this season, and today was no different. The Lobos struggled to find their offense and looked lost on the floor in the opening minutes. During that time, Wyoming took advantage and took a 22-11 lead with 10:05 left in the first half. It looked like the Lobos were going to allow the game to get away from them, as they allowed the Cowboys to take a 16-point lead with a couple of minutes left in the second half, which would have been one of the more demoralizing ways for the season to end. We have seen games against good teams where the Lobos came out hot, so hopefully they can do the same against Utah State. If they don’t, it could be a very long game for the Lobos.
• While the headlines will be about Jackson, Vlad Pinchuk and Drue Drinnon came up huge for the Lobos in their second-half run. Vlad was able to change plenty of Wyoming shots, which allowed the Lobos to build some momentum by getting stops on one end and allowing Jackson to do his thing on the other end. Pinchuk also had a key 3-point play that helped get the crowd into the game. Drinnon was able to run the show for the Lobos and find players in good spots. Drinnon also had a huge defensive play when he came from behind to knock the ball away from Justin James (would have been two points and maybe a 3-point play). Coach Weir wanted every player on his roster to be ready; Pinchuk and Drinnon took that to heart.
• The Lobos have had moments this season where they haven’t been able to take care of the ball, but aside from back-2-back shot clock violations, the Lobos only had 9 turnovers on the day, with no player having more than two. The Lobos did an incredible job of taking care of the ball in the second half, only coughing up 4 turnovers in the last 20 minutes. If the Lobos want to have a chance to make a run in the tournament, they need to value the bal. If they can be around 13 turnovers a game here in Las Vegas, they give themselves a better chance of making a deep run.
• While he didn’t have a great shooting game (1-13 shooting, 1-6 3P), Anthony Mathis did break the single-season 3-pointers made in a season with his 103rd three of the year. I would venture to guess that Mathis will have a much better shooting game against Utah State and add a few three’s to that number. Mathis did have 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers in the game.
• Makuach Maluach struggled with his shot today, but was able to make an impact on the game by attacking the rim in the second half. After a Vance Jackson steal, Maluach was able to get ahead of the defense and throw one down with authority. After a few plays, Maluach was able to take his defender baseline and throw down another dunk to send the Lobo faithful into a frenzy. The Lobos will need to have aggressive Maluach the rest of the Tournament, as his additions to the team will give them a puncher’s chance.
• Keith McGee was able to have a couple of really good moments in the game today, as he was able to get to the basket and finish over the front court of Wyoming. McGee was in foul trouble all game, which meant that he only played 12 minutes, but he did make those a good 12 minutes, scoring 12 points. McGee is able to do special things on the offensive side of the ball and he could be the player that creates matchup problems for Utah State in the next round.
• While it has been a trying year for the Lobos, the Lobo faithful made their presence known during the second half run that lead to the Lobos winning the game by 10-points. While it isn’t the biggest crowd the Lobos have had at the tournament (see 2013 finals against UNLV), the place was still full of cherry and silver. If the Lobos continue making a run in the tournament, expect the fans to grow in number, and in their impact on the game.