Three Pointers Carry Bulldogs Past The Cowboys, 75-62 [VIDEOS]
Fresno State made nine 3-pointers in the second half and pulled away from the Wyoming Cowboys for a 75-62 win in Laramie Wednesday night.
New Williams scored a game-high 24 points and went 6-8 from deep to lead the Bulldogs to their second straight victory in Laramie. He made 5-of-6 three-pointers in the second half.
Wyoming (5-16, 1-7) scored the first four points of the second half. Then, they got down by five points, at 39-44, before they battled back and tied the game on a Trace Young dunk. With 8:51 left, it was 51-51.
Fresno State (15-5, 6-2) responded with a 20-4 run. Williams knocked down three triples on three consecutive trips down the floor in just over a minute. Noah Blackwell hit a three-pointer after a Cowboys’ timeout followed by a Nate Grimes basket. That made it 65-53 with 5:41 remaining. A three by Grimes and Williams’ fourth triple capped the outburst and made it 71-55 at the 3:56 mark.
In that same span, UW had seven empty trips down the floor with either missed shots, turnovers or missed free throws. A pair of Jordan Naughton free throws finally ended a scoring drought of nearly four minutes. The Pokes pulled within 10 on a Justin James three with just under two minutes left, but it’s as close as they got.
James led Wyoming with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Naughton added 10 points off the bench, while A.J. Banks chipped in seven points, seven rebounds, and three assists. The Cowboys shot 48 percent for the game. They were 6-19 from deep, 32 percent, but only 1-8 (13%) after halftime. UW did out-rebound the Bulldogs 31-29.
Fresno State also got 16 points from Nate Grimes. They shot 47 percent from the field and finished 12-25, 48 percent, from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs scored 22 points off Wyoming’s 17 turnovers.
The game went back-and-forth in the first half. The lead changed seven times, and the game was tied four different times. The Pokes had a good half with 52 percent shooting, knocked down five 3-pointers and had the game at their tempo. James had 10 points, which included a tying triple just before halftime, while Naughton scored eight in the first half. The game was tied, 33-33, at the break.
The Cowboys are now off for a week. They head to Air Force on Wednesday, Feb. 6 to play the Falcons at Clune Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.