LARAMIE — Wyoming relied on timely 3-point shooting and a perfect finish at the free-throw line to secure its first true road victory of the season, beating Air Force 68-56 on Tuesday afternoon at Clune Arena.
The Cowboys made 10 3-pointers and closed the game by converting 18 straight free throws to improve to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West play.
“The result was right, the process was wrong,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “It is hard to win on the road, and it is a race to score 70 against Air Force. We have to be able to handle this league, and they had us bruised, battered and bloody. This is what this league field is like. We did some good things and defended the three-point line well, but we have to be better.”
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Wyoming shot 35 percent from the field, while Air Force finished at 50 percent, but the Cowboys limited the Falcons to 1-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Wyoming held a 36-25 rebounding advantage, including 12 offensive boards, and tied a season high with 26 points off turnovers. The Cowboys went 24-of-27 from the free-throw line for 89 percent.
Nasir (Naz) Meyer led Wyoming with 14 points, adding a career-high six assists and five rebounds. He knocked down 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range. Uriyah Rojas scored 11 points off the bench, Adam Harakow added 13, and the Wyoming bench accounted for 32 points. Matija Belic pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to lead all players.
Wyoming overcame early turnovers to take control in the first half, building a 19-8 lead midway through the period. Jared Harris converted a four-point play to push the advantage to 26-14 before Air Force closed the gap late. Meyer’s corner 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the Cowboys into halftime with a 36-26 lead. The teams combined for 22 turnovers in the opening half, with Wyoming scoring 20 points off those miscues.
Air Force opened the second half with a 6-0 run and later tied the game at 41-41 with under 10 minutes remaining. Wyoming responded by holding the Falcons scoreless for more than three minutes, using a pair of 3-pointers from Rojas and free throws from Khaden Bennett and Kiani Saxon to regain separation.
The Cowboys pushed the lead to double digits late and sealed the win at the line.
Caleb Walker led Air Force with 17 points and five rebounds, shooting 7-of-9 from the field.
Wyoming returns to action Saturday with a road trip to New Mexico for a 6 p.m. matchup at The Pit, televised on CBS Sports Network.
