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Wyoming 71, Boise State 66 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
LAS VEGAS — Guard Josh Adams scored 27 points and had three steals and forward Larry Nance Jr. added 20 points as No. 4 seed Wyoming upset 25th-ranked and top-seeded Boise State 71-66 in overtime in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The Cowboys (24-9), who have never won the Mountain West tourney, will play the winner of Friday night’s second semifinal between No. 2 seed San Diego State (25-7) and No. 3 seed Colorado State (27-5) for the championship on Saturday afternoon at 6 p.m. ET.
Mountain West Player of the Year Derrick Marks scored 17 points on 6-of-21 shooting to lead Boise State (25-8), which shot just 38.6 percent. Forward Nick Duncan finished with 11 points and forward James Webb III added nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Broncos.
The Cowboys took control in overtime thanks to a 3-pointer from the top of the key that banked in by guard Jason McManamen that made it 66-62 with 29 seconds left.
Adams then stole the ball from Marks on the ensuing possession and guard Riley Grabau sank a pair of free throws to put Wyoming up by six. The Broncos never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
Wyoming, which trailed by as many as 12 points late in the first half, used a 9-0 run that featured six points by Nance to take a 45-41 lead with 14:34 to go in regulation. The Cowboys led by as many as six points before the Broncos rallied to tie it, 55-55, on a pair of free throws by guard Igor Hadziomerovic.
Adams then hit a pair of free throws to put Wyoming back in front before Webb tipped in a Marks miss to tie it 57-57 with 18 seconds left. Adams then missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it at the end of regulation.
Boise State, which had made at least 10 3-pointers in 12 of its previous 17 games, had seven by halftime. The score was tied 20-20 when guard Mikey Thompson, Marks, Webb and Duncan all connected from beyond the arc during a 14-4 run by the Broncos, who built a 38-26 lead with a little over three minutes remaining.
But Adams then scored seven of his 20 first-half points, including a dunk after a steal, to spark a 10-0 run by the Cowboys, who rallied to trail only 38-36 at halftime.
NOTES: This was the first meeting between Boise State and Wyoming in the Mountain West tournament. … The teams played once in conference play on Jan. 10 in Laramie, Wyo., with the Cowboys handing the Broncos a 65-54 loss. It was Boise State’s fourth consecutive loss at the time, but the Broncos went on an eight-game win streak after that and had won 15 of 16 entering Friday. … Wyoming was 1-5 in Mountain West tournament semifinal games, advancing to the championship game in 2006 as a No. 7 seed and losing to No. 1 seed San Diego State 69-64.
