Mar. 2—FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The University of Wyoming men’s basketball team had an answer for all but one of Colorado State’s runs Saturday afternoon in Fort Collins.

With the game tied 57-57 with just over six minutes remaining, the Rams outscored the Cowboys 13-5 down the stretch to hold on for a 70-62 win. The win pushed CSU to 21-9 overall and 9-8 in the Mountain West, while the Cowboys fell to 13-16 and 6-10.

The win came on an emotional Senior Day for CSU, as the program celebrated the careers of five student-athletes. One of those honored was longtime guard Isaiah Stevens, who will leave Fort Collins with the most assists and points in school history.

“We knew it was going to be a tall task coming in here on (Senior Day) for Isaiah Stevens’ last game, knowing that there was going to be a sense of desperation on their part (because) they probably can’t afford to lose a game like that,” UW coach Jeff Linder said. “… We knew we were going to get their best. I thought we did a really good job knowing that they were going to come out with a certain amount of energy.

“We knew we had to weather that storm, and I thought we did a good job of weathering that storm.”

The Cowboys started the game 1-of-8 from the field and fell behind 17-12 at the midway point of the first half. UW responded with an 8-0 run to take its first lead at 24-22 with 5 minutes, 46 seconds left in the period, but a 5-0 run put the Rams back in control 27-22 two minutes later.

The Cowboys were held without a field goal for over five minutes at the tail-end of the first half to give CSU a 33-27 lead going into the halftime break.

Freshman Cam Manyawu had a monster first half for the Cowboys, leading the team with nine points and seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. The Cowboys shot 9-of-30 (30%) from the field and 2-of-9 (22.2%) from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, while the Rams were 12-of-32 (38%) and 5-of-14 (36%).

The Rams started the second half with an 8-0 run to build their lead to 11 points, but the Cowboys countered with their own 8-0 run over the next minute and a half to get back within three with 13:33 left to play. Another 7-0 UW run tied the game 57-57 going into the final six minutes, but an 11-3 run from the Rams put them up 68-60 with 51.5 seconds left.

CSU secured the win at the free-throw line in the closing seconds to hold onto the eight-point win.

“All you can hope for on the road is to put yourself in a position to win the game, and we were down one with about four minutes left,” Linder said. “… You kind of saw their continuity and their cohesion outweigh ours in the last four minutes, and that was kind of the game.”

Manyawu led the Cowboys with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. Forward Mason Walters added 12 points and eight rebounds, and guards Brendan Wenzel and Sam Griffin finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

UW shot 21-of-55 (38.2%) from the field, but just 5-of-19 (26.3%) from deep. The Rams finished 26-of-61 (42.6%) and 5-of-20 (25%), and were led by forward Joel Scott with 20 points.

“That’s a great team that we just played and hung with until the last couple minutes,” Walters said. “It just goes to show that we can play with anybody, (we just need) a couple more minor adjustments. I think we’re right there, but we’ll figure it out so we can make a run there in (the MW tournament in) Vegas.”

While Manyawu was satisfied with his breakout performance, he also knows how close the Cowboys feel to getting over the hump to compete in the MW.

“I think (the hump is) turning some of these close games (into wins) and finishing them out,” Manyawu said. “We’re hanging around all game, but we have to find a way to, at the end of the game, push through, get stops and get wins.”

The Cowboys will return home for senior night at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday inside the Arena-Auditorium.

COLORADO ST. 70, WYOMING 62

Colorado State: Scott 8-15 3-5 20, Strong 1-5 3-4 5, Stevens 5-13 1-1 12, Clifford 4-10 2-3 10, Cartier 5-12 4-4 15, Evans 1-1 0-0 3, Jackson 1-1 0-0 3, Lake 0-1 0-2 0, Palmer 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 26-61 13-19 70.

Wyoming: Wenzel 4-10 1-3 11, Griffin 2-11 4-4 10, Kot 2-11 2-2 7, Walters 6-11 0-0 12, Powell 0-2 0-0 0, Newton 0-1 0-0 0, Manyawu 4-5 7-10 15, Combs 3-3 1-2 7, Kojenets 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-55 15-21 62.

Halftime: Colorado State 33-27. 3-pointers: CSU 5-20 (Scott 1-3, Strong 0-2, Stevens 1-4, Clifford 0-1, Cartier 1-5, Evans 1-1, Jackson 1-1, Lake 0-1, Palmer 0-2); UW 5-19 (Wenzel 2-6, Griffin 2-5, Kot 1-5, Walters 0-2, Newton 0-1). Rebounds: CSU 42 (Clifford 11), UW 34 (Manyawu 10). Assists: CSU 16 (Cartier 5), UW 10 (Griffin 3, Walters 3, Combs 3). Turnovers: CSU 7 (Clifford 3), UW 7 (Griffin 2, Kot 2). Blocked shots: CSU 3 (Scott 1, Strong 1, Cartier 1), UW 1 (Manyawu 1). Steals: CSU 6 (Clifford 4), UW 4 (Four players with 1).

Attendance: 8,083.

Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @alex_m_taylor22.

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