No. 14 New Mexico 53, Wyoming 42: Alex Kirk had 15 points and nine rebounds as the Lobos pulled away from the visiting Cowboys late to win the Mountain West Conference title.
Cameron Bairstow added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lobos (25-4, 12-2), who will be the top seed in the MVC tournament. New Mexico has won four out of the last five MWC regular-season titles.
Riley Grabau hit 4-of-8 3-pointers and led the Cowboys (18-11, 4-11) with 14 points. Derek Cooke Jr. added nine points and seven rebounds for Wyoming, which forced New Mexico to play at a slow tempo for most of the game.
The Lobos pulled away after Derrious Gilmore's 3-pointer and Cooke Jr.'s dunk got Wyoming within 34-31 with 11:20 left. New Mexico answered with a 12-3 run, including Tony Snell's 3-pointer that ended a drought of 8:46 without a field goal, to build a 46-34 lead with 4:21 left.
Grabau tied game at 16 with his third 3-pointer with 4:54 left in the first half but New Mexico, which went seven minutes between baskets, closed the half on a 9-3 run. Kendall Williams, who finished with seven points and six assists, capped the run with a steal and dunk with two seconds left for a 25-19 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wyoming didn't attempt its first free throw until there was 10:39 left in the game. The Cowboys were 3-of-7 from the line. New Mexico hit 21-of-27 free throws. ... Wyoming's leading scorer Leonard Washington, who entered the game with four straight double-doubles, played only 10 minutes in the first half and didn't return after halftime. ... New Mexico improved to 14-1 at home.
Wyoming | New Mexico | |
Riley Grabau 14 | Scoring | Alex Kirk 15 |
Derrious Gilmore 3 | Assists | Kendall Williams 6 |
Larry Nance Jr. 10 | Rebounds | Cameron Bairstow 9 |
Riley Grabau 2 | Free Throws Made | Cameron Bairstow 7 |
Derrious Gilmore 2 | Steals | Hugh Greenwood 2 |
Larry Nance Jr. 2 | Blocks | Alex Kirk 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wyoming | 42 | 28.1 | 7-24 | 3-7 | 9 | 33 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
New Mexico | 53 | 35.7 | 2-14 | 21-27 | 12 | 37 | 3 | 5 | 6 |