Las Vegas – Seemingly hopelessly out of it, Wyoming nearly staged a miraculous second-half comeback, but conference champion BYU prevailed 96-84 on Friday night in a Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinal game in the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Cowboys pulled to within 79-72 with 2:47 remaining, but a 3-pointer by senior guard Mike Rose stymied the comeback and the Cougars won going away.
BYU (25-7) faces UNLV on Saturday afternoon for the tournament championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
“We knew the second half would be different,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “Teams know this time of the season that it’s over if they don’t win. We were able to hold them off.”
The Cowboys (17-15) paid a price for their slow start and long comeback bid. They were called for 29 fouls in the spirited play. BYU had 19.
But the Cougars got four starters in double figures in scoring, with Trent Plaisted leading the way with 27. Guards Brad Jones and Brandon Ewing led Wyoming with 23 each.
“Trent Plaisted had one of those days,” Cowboys coach Steve McClain said. “They hit all their shots early. If he was covered inside, they’d kick it out and hit a 3.”
Wyoming made a game of it in the second half, but BYU’s big early margin was a hill too steep to climb.
There was little question that the tournament’s No. 1 seed meant business. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Cougars had a 23-point lead at 33-10. The big advantage came incrementally at 12-2, 20-5 and 29-6 before the Cowboys even managed much of a response.
Sophomore guard Lee Cummard had a fast start, scoring seven of BYU’s first 17 points.
His 3-pointer was lone long-range shot for the Cougars in the first half.
But Plaisted was also master of the inside, hitting 7-of-9 field-goal attempts as the Cougars hit 60 percent from the floor.
Ewing boosted the Cowboys in the late going, winding up with 15 points. The Cowboys trailed 54-35 at halftime.
WYOMING (17-15)
Taylor 3-5 2-3 9, Brown 4-9 0-0 8, Jones 6-16 10-15 23, Spencer 1-3 0-0 2, Ewing 10-22 2-3 23, Okoye 1-1 0-0 2, Dermody 0-0 0-2 0, Platt 4-8 1-3 13, Nelson 2-3 0-2 4, Songondo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 15-28 84.
BYU (25-7)
Young 3-13 6-8 12, Plaisted 10-13 7-16 27, Ainge 4-6 5-6 16, Balderson 2-5 0-1 6, Cummard 6-8 7-8 21, Rose 2-4 3-4 9, Burgess 0-0 0-0 0, Murdock 0-1 0-0 0, Tavernari 2-6 1-2 5. Totals 29-56 29-45 96.
Halftime – BYU 54-35. 3-point goals – Wyoming 7-19 (Platt 4-8, Taylor 1-1, Jones 1-3, Ewing 1-6, Spencer 0-1), BYU 9-14 (Ainge 3-3, Balderson 2-2, Rose 2-4, Cummard 2-4, Tavernari 0-1). Fouled out – Taylor. Rebounds – Wyoming 38 (Taylor 11), BYU 42 (Plaisted, Young 10). Assists – Wyoming 13 (Jones 5), BYU 14 (Balderson, Cummard 3). Total fouls – Wyoming 29, BYU 19.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
