LARAMIE — Traditionally, it’s the Border War. But this time, it was also a battle to stay out of the Mountain West Conference basement.
It was the Wyoming Cowboys (7-11, 1-5 MWC) who secured their first conference victory of the season with a 73-58 win Saturday over rival Colorado State (6-13, 0-5).
“I feel like we won the Super Bowl,” said Brandon Ewing, who led the Cowboys with 19 points. “Hopefully, this is the start of our season right now.”
Even with 7-footer Stuart Creason out with a sore left foot, the Rams took a 10-3 lead.
But Wyoming soon took control. A 14-4 run to close out the first half gave the Cowboys a 33-23 lead.
Marcus Walker scored a game-high 26 points to keep the Rams in the game. But CSU’s 34.3 percent shooting was its downfall.
Rams coach Tim Miles said he thought his team’s shot selection was good but the players’ confidence was lacking.
“Earlier in the year, I thought we were pretty good offensively,” Miles said. “Now, I think we are better defensively, but bad on offense.”
Still, CSU battled back to within two points, 47-45, with 8:34 remaining.
The Cowboys then made their ascent out of the MWC cellar.
Brad Jones’ 3-pointer gave the Cowboys a 54-45 lead, and Tyson Johnson added a dunk.
Loveland native Ryan Dermody’s 3-pointer put Wyoming up 59-45 with 3:55 remaining.
“We see the light now,” said Wyoming’s Joseph Taylor, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. “We just need to keep heading toward the end of the tunnel.”
COLORADO STATE (6-13, 0-5 MWC)
McFarland 2-11 2-2 7, Aguilar 3-7 0-0 6, Walker 10-27 3-5 26, Nigon 2-3 0-2 4, Gardner 4-11 2-2 10, Clayman 1-3 0-0 3, Cohen 0-0 0-0 0, Simmons 1-2 0-0 2, Woodard 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-67 7-11 58.
WYOMING (7-11, 1-5)
Dermody 2-9 1-3 6, Taylor 5-9 3-4 14, Linskens 2-8 0-0 5, Jones 3-8 4-5 11, Ewing 6-12 6-7 19, Johnson 1-6 0-0 2, Platt 0-1 0-0 0, Nelson 7-11 2-2 16, Bunker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 16-21 73.
Halftime — Wyoming 33-23. 3-point goals —Colorado St. 5-25 (Walker 3-10, Clayman 1-2, McFarland 1-5, Woodard 0-2, Gardner 0-6), Wyoming 5-16 (Taylor 1-1, Jones 1-2, Linskens 1-3, Dermody 1-4, Ewing 1-4, Platt 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Fouled out —None. Rebounds — Colorado St. 40 (Aguilar, Nigon 8), Wyoming 47 (Taylor 10). Assists — Colorado St. 7 (Nigon 2), Wyoming 14 (Ewing 5). Total fouls —Colorado St. 18, Wyoming 14. A — 6,024.
