FORT COLLINS — Colorado State closed the game on a decisive surge Saturday afternoon to defeat Wyoming 79-68 at Moby Arena, while Boise State capped a late rally to slip past the Cowgirls 56-54 in Laramie.
In Fort Collins, the Cowboys went scoreless for more than four minutes in the final 10 minutes as Colorado State pulled away to earn a season split in the annual Border War.
“31 minutes of really good basketball and trusting your teammates and nine minutes to go we got soft and selfish,” Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks said. “CSU stuck with the gameplan down the stretch and we didn’t. We need to look for each other when times get tough. We took care of the basketball, and the shot selection late was not great.”
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Colorado State shot 62 percent from the field and finished 25 of 30 from the free-throw line. Wyoming shot 41 percent overall, including nine 3-pointers, but was held to 32 percent shooting in the second half. The Rams also edged the Cowboys 30-27 on the glass.
Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 21 points, tying a career high and marking his second straight 20-point performance. Khaden Bennett added 13 points for his fourth consecutive game in double figures and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Nasir (Naz) Meyer scored 12 points and Leland Walker added 11.
The teams traded runs throughout. Wyoming carried a 40-37 lead into halftime after both squads shot better than 50 percent in the opening half. The Cowboys extended their lead to 64-58 with eight minutes remaining after a Dennis fast-break basket tied his career high.
But the Rams chipped away at the free-throw line, tying the game at the 5:19 mark before taking the lead seconds later. Colorado State pushed the advantage to 68-64 as Wyoming endured its late scoring drought and never drew closer than two points down the stretch.
The Rams were led by Jase Butler with 18 points and Jevin Muniz with 15.
Wyoming returns home Tuesday to host Fresno State at 6:30 p.m. on the MW Network.
Earlier Saturday in Laramie, Boise State scored the final five points, including a go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining, to defeat the Cowgirls 56-54 in a back-and-forth contest.
The game featured 40 minutes of tight play and multiple lead changes. After Wyoming built a 54-51 lead with 2:52 remaining following a Malene Pedersen putback layup, Boise State responded with its third 3-pointer to tie the game before reclaiming the lead with another basket with 13.7 seconds left. Wyoming missed a final attempt to force overtime.
Henna Sandvik recorded her first career double-double, leading the Cowgirls with 13 points and 10 rebounds while adding a team-high four assists. Pedersen finished with 12 points. Logann Alvar and Jane Rumpf added nine points apiece.
Wyoming shot 35 percent (20 of 57) from the field and went 7 of 25 from 3-point range. Boise State shot 33.3 percent (21 of 63) and made 3 of 17 from beyond the arc but held advantages in second-chance points (12-5) and points in the paint (26-20). The Broncos also went 11 of 16 at the free-throw line, while Wyoming finished 7 of 9.
The Cowgirls are off until Saturday, Feb. 21, when Colorado State visits Laramie for the final Border War matchup of the season.
