Cougars Slip Past Cowboys [VIDEO]

With the nation's leading scorer in town, the Wyoming Cowboys put up quite a fight Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.  They fell just short in their upset bid, as the 8th-ranked BYU Cougars escaped Laramie with a 69-62 victory.

Jimmer Fredette scored 26 points to lead the Cougars.  Brandon Davies added 20 points and nine rebounds, while Jackson Emery had 12 points and three steals.

UW was led by Desmar Jackson with 23 points and three steals, but the Pokes dropped their sixth straight.  Paco Cruz scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Djibril Thiam added 12 points.

The game was tight until midway through the second half when BYU (21-2, 7-1) extended to a ten point lead, at 59-49, after 13-4 run.  Wyoming (8-14, 1-7) answered right back with a 9-0 run which pulled the Cowboys within one, at 61-60.  UW had two opportunities to take the lead in the final two minutes of play, but instead turned it over and  missed a baseline jumper.  Two three-point plays by Fredette and Davies in the final minute allowed the Cougars to pull out the seven-point win.

The teams traded big runs in the first half after the Cowboys led 14-to-8 with 11:36 remaining.  BYU went on a 15-0 spurt for a 23-14 lead, as UW went 5:39 without a point.  The Pokes responded with a late 14-5 run that tied the score at 28 at halftime.

Wyoming returns to action Saturday night with this season's second edition of the Border War against CSU.  Game time is set for 6 pm.  You can tune-in to Cowboy basketball on KCGY (FM 95.1) Saturday night with coverage starting at 5:30 pm.