Boulder – Daaron Brown wasn’t worried about his basket that tied the game. The free throw he hit to break the tie with 23 seconds left was another matter.
“I had to calm myself down and tell myself not to be nervous,” Brown said of what would be the game-winning point. “And it was all net.”
Brown had a clutch three-point play and Brandon Ewing had 29 points to lead Wyoming to a 76-73 victory over Colorado on Sunday.
Brown, who finished with only five points, sank a layup and free throw with 23 seconds to go to put Wyoming (4-1) ahead 74-73. Brad Jones and Eric Platt each hit a free throw to secure the win. Jones finished with 17 points.
“Daaron hit a tough one inside and knocked down a big free throw,” Wyoming coach Steve McLain said of Brown. “I thought during the second half he played like what we need him to be all year.”
Ewing was 11-for-19 shooting with six 3-pointers. Wyoming led 71-67 with 1:30 left. But Richard Roby had two straight baskets to tie the game at 71, and Dominique Coleman’s layup put Colorado (2-3) ahead 73-71 with 27 seconds remaining.
Brown responded with his three-point play. Coleman, who led the Buffaloes with 18 points, missed a shot at the buzzer for Colorado.
“I knew it was coming to me,” Brown said, “because Joseph Taylor looked at me all the way and I had my defender sealed. Joseph trusted me with the pass and I made the shot and the free throw.”
Roby and Jermyl Jackson-Wilson had 16 points each for Colorado.
Roby didn’t hit his first shot from the field until a minute into the second half on a 3-pointer that tied the game at 38. Ewing’s layup with 6:25 left in the game was his first basket in the second half.
“This was a tough one to lose, but I thought our kids fought hard,” Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said. “We lost the game at the free throw line and second half opportunities.”
Colorado was 15-for-25 shooting free throws. The Buffaloes were 4-of-19 on 3-pointers.
Ike Okoye’s layup with 50 seconds left gave Wyoming a 33-32 lead at the half. The Cowboys had taken a 31-24 lead on Ewing’s third 3-pointer of the half, but Colorado pulled ahead 32-31 on an 8-0 run that included six points from Jackson-Wilson.
McLain also credited Ewing and Wyoming’s defensive scheme aimed at shutting down Roby as a key element in the victory.
“Early in the game Brandon just locked him up and wouldn’t let him do anything,” McLain said. “He frustrated Roby a little bit early and got an offensive foul on him.”
Roby struggled coming out of the game with only a point and 0-for-4 shooting in the first half.
“This was a tough loss to take,” Roby said. “We weren’t patient down the stretch.”
