Central Wyoming men's basketball team hosted their first Region IX conference game Thursday night, welcoming Western Wyoming Community College into Rustler Gymnasium. After an extensive non-conference schedule, it was evident the Rustlers were eager to get the ball rolling. It was all CWC the first 15 minutes of the game, jumping out in front by as much as 10 points with five minutes left in the first half. From that point on, WWCC went on a blazing 17-2 run before the break, and held the lead for only the second time all game. 

The second half was played to a much different tune than that of the first. Neither team distanced themselves from the other by more than six points for the entirety of the second half. With less than a minute left on the clock, the Rustlers were down 60-56 and in desperation mode. As the shot clock was expiring on their possession, Jordan Peel sunk a hail mary three pointer with a defender in his face. But a clutch fade-away jumper the next possession by WWCC only left them three seconds left and a three point deficit. It all came down to a last second heave from behind the arc by Mohamed Mahadhi, which was inches away from sending the game to overtime. Western Wyoming squeaked out the 62-59 victory, and handed CWC their first conference loss of the season. 

Casper College was the next Region IX opponent to make their way into town, bringing along the second leading scorer in NJCAA division one, Abdul Bashir. Bashir was averaging 27.5 PPG heading into Saturday's game, and currently holds NCAA division one offers from the likes of Kansas State University, Texas A&M, Arizona State University, Seton Hall and University of Nebraska. 

Central Wyoming kept Bashir under wraps for a good portion of the first half, and even sprung out to a 18-2 lead. After that impressive run from the Rustlers, their opponent started to slowly chip away at the point differential. Casper was able to swing the momentum in their direction, with Bashir sinking a three pointer to even the score at 25 apiece. And after several more back and forth scoring exchanges, the Thunderbirds sunk their talons into a 48-36 halftime lead. As the second half began, it eventually grew to a 25 point differential, but there was no quit in CWC. Julian Ormond was the star of the show for Central Wyoming, and his career-high 32 points on 76.4% field goal percentage didn't let the game get out of arm's reach. They fought tooth and nail to the end, but Bashir couldn't miss in the second half and dropped 37 points. Casper served the Rustlers their second straight conference loss, 95-82.