Laramie – Justin Williams’ 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots helped lift Wyoming to a 75-69 win over SMU on Thursday night.
The Mustangs (5-4) went on a 10-2 run that pulled them within 73-69 with 16 seconds left, but Wyoming (6-4) held on with strong free-throw shooting down the stretch. The Cowboys shot better than 76 percent from the line, making 13 of their last 16 attempts.
Chris Anderson’s 3-point play with 16:02 left gave the Cowboys their first double-digit lead of the game, 45-35.
Bryan Hopkins scored seven straight points as the Mustangs answered with a 14-6 run that pulled them within 51-49 with 10:32 to go, but that was the closest they would get.
Brandon Ewing led all Wyoming scorers with 19 points, including 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Steve Leven scored 14, and Brad Jones added 12 for the Cowboys.
Hopkins led SMU with 19 points.
Montana State 84, Denver 76
Bozeman, Mont. – Nick Dissly scored eight of his 15 points in overtime to lead Montana State over Denver.
Ja’Ron Jefferson led the Bobcats with 21 points, including five in the extra period. Derrick Edmonds, who had 18 points, also scored five in overtime.
DU’s DaShawn Walker led all scorers with 26 points and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11 seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.
Denver (5-5) took a 74-70 lead with 1:58 left in overtime, but MSU (5-6) scored eight straight points, including 3-pointers by Dissly and Edmonds, and took a 78-74 lead on a pair of Edmonds free throws with 28.8 seconds remaining.
Alex Cox hit a layup to cut the lead to 78-76 with 20.9 seconds left.
Free throws by Jefferson and Marvin Moss and a steal and dunk by Dissly sealed the victory.
The Bobcats had a chance to win in regulation, but Edmonds’ 3-pointer at the buzzer was long.
Yemi Nicholson, the Pioneers’ leading scorer with a 17.6-point-per-game average, finished with 15 points. Andrew Carpenter scored 14 for Denver, and Antonio Porch added 11.
Moss finished with 13 points for the Bobcats.
Kansas 85, Northern Colorado 62
Lawrence, Kan. – Darnell Jackson, suspended by the NCAA for the first nine games of the season, scored a career-high 12 points in his return to help Kansas beat Northern Colorado.
Brandon Rush and Julian Wright led Kansas (6-4) with 13 points each.
Northern Colorado (0-14), which is in the third year of a four-year transition to full membership in NCAA Division I, lost its 17th straight.
The Bears didn’t score until Darren Jeffries hit a 3-pointer more than 4 1/2 minutes gone, by which time Kansas already led 14-0, and didn’t record their first back-to-back baskets until early in the second half.
Matt Kline led the Bears, who shot just 38 percent from the field, with 14 points. Jeffries added 13 points, and Kirk Archibecque finished with 11.
Women
Air Force 68, Colo.-Colorado Springs 56
Air Force Academy – Air Force matched its best win total as a Division I team with its seventh win of the year by beating the Mountain Lions.
Air Force (7-2) outrebounded UCCS 23-11 in the first half and led 33-20 at halftime.
The Mountain Lions (2-7) battled back in the second half, getting to within eight points with 11:22 remaining, then the Falcons increased their lead to 52-38 on a layup by freshman Brooke Cultra with less than eight minutes to play.
