Yemi Nicholson hit 10-of-11 field goals and scored 28 points Wednesday night as the University of Denver beat Northern Colorado 85-80.
Nicholson scored 17 points in the first half for DU (14-12), which shot 68 percent in the half, 59.6 percent for the game.
DU built a 21-point lead in the second half before Northern Colorado (4-23) went on a 19-6 run to pull to within seven with 5:13 to play.
The Bears got as close as five points with 12 seconds left on a layup by Kirk Archibeque, who led Northern Colorado with 22 points. Sean Taibi added 17 points for the Bears.
NEW MEXICO 47, WYOMING 45
Albuquerque – Mark Walters scored 12 points to carry a lethargic New Mexico offense that sputtered and stumbled in a win over Wyoming.
New Mexico (16-9, 7-5 Mountain West) won its fourth straight game, but it wasn’t pretty. The Lobos shot 38.8 percent, hit just 3-of-14 3-pointers and nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final 4:41, when their only points were two free throws.
Wyoming (12-13, 5-7) got 17 points from Steve Leven and 18 rebounds from Justin Williams, but the Cowboys could not overcome their problems on offense. The Cowboys’ 45 points were a season low.
Leven and freshman guard Brandon Ewing, averaging 12 points, were a combined 5-of-24 from the field, with Ewing going 1-for-10.
NO. 25 UTAH WOMEN 80, COLORADO STATE 56
Fort Collins – Kim Smith scored 18 points to lead Utah (18-5, 9-3 MWC).
Melissa Dennett and Vanessa Espinoza scored 11 points each for CSU (8-14, 2-9).
WYOMING WOMEN 59, NO. 20 NEW MEXICO 52
Laramie – Jodi Bolerjack scored 22 points to lead Wyoming (17-6, 7-5) in an upset over New Mexico (18-7, 8-4).
TCU WOMEN 84, AIR FORCE 79
Air Force Academy – Natasha Lacy scored a game-high 31 points to lead TCU (13-9, 7-4 MWC) over AFA (12-11, 3-9).
