Derek Cooke Jr. goes up with the powerful dunk during the Cowboys overtime win Saturday against Nevada.
Junior forward Larry Nance Jr. hit a game-winning shot with three seconds left in overtime to give the Cowboys a 64-62 victory over the University of Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday in the Arena Auditorium.
The Cowboys, now 13-6 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West, were led by Nance who recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior guard Riley Grabau also stood out with 13 points. Sophomore guard Josh Adams scored 12 points.
Wyoming is currently on a four-game conference-winning streak—the Cowboy’s longest since February 2009.
“It was a great atmosphere and this place helped us tonight,” UW head coach Larry Shyatt said. “The crowd got us over the hump and helped us win today. We got a lot of defensive rebounds and I think we just really gutted it out, because this team has a tremendous will. It never goes away and you can feel it.”
The Pokes seemed in control for the bulk of the first half, at one point leading by 11 points. However, Nevada’s Deonte Burton—who hit five shots from downtown in the contest—kept the Pokes from pulling away in the first with spectacular shooting from behind the arc.
During halftime, Wyoming basketball announced plans for a renovation in the $30 million range of the Arena Auditorium. The renovation is set to include a 22-foot statue of Wyoming basketball legend Kenny Sailors.
The news of this renovation comes fresh off the heels of Nevada’s Burton saying that he hates playing in the AA. Nance said that he used Burton’s comments as motivation.
“You know what? That makes it so much better,” Nance said. “Where they can feel so confident to talk about us like that and we get the fan support that we did and we come in here and beat them like that, it just makes it that much better.”
In the second half the game was close the entire time. Adams forced overtime for the Pokes on a three-point play late in the second half thanks to a failed last-shot attempt from Nevada at the end of regulation.
Overtime went much like the rest of the game, with neither team truly pulling away. With things tied at 62 apiece with 34 seconds left, Nance saw an opening and sunk a high-arcing hook to give the Pokes a victory in front of a hometown crowd of 6,944.
Wyoming’s victory came in large part because of their terrific play on the boards, where they out–rebounded the Wolf Pack 30-26. Saturday’s contest was the first conference game this season in which the Cowboys have won the rebound battle.
Wyoming basketball returns to action on Wednesday, when the Cowboys travel to Fresno State. The game is set for 8 p.m. MT.
Wyoming’s victory came in large part because of their terrific play on the boards, where they out–rebounded the Wolf Pack 30-26. Saturday’s contest was the first conference game this season in which the Cowboys have won the rebound battle.
Wyoming basketball returns to action on Wednesday, when the Cowboys travel to Fresno State. The game is set for 8 p.m. MT.
For more photos of the game, visit our photo gallery here.
