LARAMIE, Wyo. ? For the second consecutive season, the snow on the ground outside Wyoming's Arena-Auditorium wasn't as cold as the CSUB shooters inside as the Roadrunners fell to Mountain West Conference member the University of Wyoming 84-58 Friday night in the season-opener for both teams.

Last season, the 'Runners shot a season-low 27 percent in a loss at Wyoming. Friday night, they needed a couple of late baskets to get to 30.3 percent by the final horn. That, combined with an early 18-3 free throw deficit, put CSUB in a deep hole after leading by as many as six points early.

The 'Runners held their last lead at 15-13 six minutes into the game. But by that time Wyoming was already in the bonus and their early parade to the free throw line began a surge that saw the Cowboys expand their lead to 21 points, 46-21, by halftime.

Leading the march was freshman forward Afam Muojeke, who went on a personal 13-0 run (including six free throws) that turned a 16-15 Wyoming lead into a 29-15 mountain the ?Runners were never able to climb. Muojeke finished with 31 points, including a 15-of-16 night from the line, in his first collegiate game.

For their part, the ?Runners played hard through their off-shooting night. Junior forward Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County College) led CSUB with 13 points and eight boards in his first game since injuring his shoulder last December. He finished 4-of-15 from the field, although in his defense he was mauled in the post throughout game and could have added another half dozen trips to the free throw line to the five he did make.

Junior forward Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) finished with 10 points and six rebounds while sophomore guard Donovan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS) chipped in a game-high six assists.

In addition to Muojeke, Brandon Ewing led three other Cowboys in double figures with 14 points while matching Bragg's six assists.

CSUB will conclude its trip to the Rocky Mountains Sunday when it plays another Mountain West Conference member, Air Force for the first time. The 'Runners return to Rabobank Arena for their home opener against Cal State Northridge Nov. 21.

Wyoming 84, CSU Bakersfield 58

CSU BAKERSFIELD (0-1) -- Latunde 4-15 5-9 13; Blakley 4-12 1-2 10; Johns 3-6 1-2 7; C. Brown 1-3 4-6 6; Bragg 2-3 1-2 5; Lee 2-4
1-2 5; Machado 1-2 2-2 4; Emanuel 1-6 0-0 3; Carlson 1-4 0-0 2; R. Brown 1-1 0-0 2; Lara 0-4 1-2 1; Dennis 0-3 0-0 0; Johnson 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-66 16-27 58.

WYOMING (1-0) -- Moujeke 7-17 15-16 31; Ewing 5-8 2-4 14; Johnson 5-11 2-3 12; Ogirri 4-8 0-0 11; Davis 3-7 0-3 7; Waddel 0-2 5-8 5; Linskens 1-3 0-0 2; Diakite 1-2 0-2 2; Thaxton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 24-36 84.

3-point goals--CSUB 2-17 (Emanuel 1-4; Blakley 1-5; Machado 0-1; Carlson 0-2; Dennis 0-2; Johnson 0-2; Johns 0-1), UW 8-16 (Ogirri 3-6; Muojeke 2-5; Ewing 2-2; Davis 1-3). Fouled out--CSUB-None, UW-Linskens; Waddell. Rebounds--CSUB 44 (Latunde 8), UW 45
(Johnson 7). Assists--CSUB 13 (Bragg 6), UW 18 (Ewing 6). Total fouls--CSUB 27, UW 22. Technical fouls--None. A-4650