LARAMIE, Wyo. – Leading for more than 32 minutes, Fresno State saw a contested mid-range jumper from Akuel Kot in the final second give Wyoming a 68-67 win over the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Arena-Auditorium.
Isaiah Pope paced the Bulldogs in the scoring column, posting 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Donavan Yap Jr. added 12 points off the bench. Wyoming got a game-high 17 points from Brendan Wenzel.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With little separation through the opening 10 minutes, Fresno State worked the ball inside to get a four-point advantage. Off an offensive rebound, inside the 10-minute mark, a kick-out to Isaiah Hill outside the arc led to the Bulldogs taking a 17-10 lead.
Just as quick as Wyoming pulled back within two, the 'Dogs hit an 8-0 run to take a 25-15 with 7:15 on the clock, highlighted by a pair of drives to the bucket on the break from Jalen Weaver.
A pair of triples from Xavier DuSell during the next seven minutes helped keep the Cowboys at bay. Fresno State took a 35-28 advantage into the half.
Shooting 46.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes, the Bulldogs' cooled early in the second half as Wyoming crept to within two with 14:25 on the clock. It took the 'Dogs less than two minutes though to extend their lead back up to nine with layups from Leo Colimerio and Isaiah Pope and a step-back 3 from DuSell in the middle.
With 10:47 to play, Pope dropped in a triple to force a timeout from Wyoming as the Bulldogs grabbed their largest lead of the day at 52-40. Three minutes later, that advantage was cut to four following back-to-back 3-pointers from Brendan Wenzel.
Needing a bucket with their lead down to two with under seven minutes on the clock, Pope knocked down his second 3-pointer of the half, but Wyoming came right back with a three-point play from Wenzel. Donavan Yap Jr. then answered with his second 3, but Wenzel came right back with one of his own.
Wyoming grabbed their first lead of the second half with 2:57 on the clock at 62-61. A missed attempt on the Bulldogs' next possession, the Cowboys came back down and hit their sixth 3-pointer of the half to go up four.
Following a timeout with 1:11 to go, Pope sank his third 3 of the half to pull the 'Dogs back within one. Fresno State's defense held and with the clock dwindling to 10 seconds remaining, Isaiah Hill drove left, faked the layup and pulled back, dropping a shot off the glass with 7.9.
Wyoming called a timeout with less than six seconds on the clock. Akuel Kot let a jumper go from the midrange with a second left that rattled in as the buzzer sounded.
NOTES
Fresno State dropped to 5-5 in the last 10 meetings against Wyoming but still leads the all-time series 22-16.
Fresno State lost just its second game of the year when leading at the half (6-2).
Fresno State shot 45 percent from the field. It was the ninth time the 'Dogs have done that this season (6-4).
The Bulldogs knocked down their most 3-pointers in a game (9) since Dec. 9 against Pacific.
Fresno State outscored Wyoming 20-6 in points off turnovers.
Isaiah Pope scored a team-high 15 points. It was his fourth game leading the Bulldogs in scoring in the last six games.
Donavan Yap Jr. was in double figures for the sixth time this season, scoring 12 points.
Xavier DuSell shot 50 percent from 3 for the ninth time, shooting 3-of-6 from deep while totaling 10 points.
With nine points, Isaiah Hill moved to No. 28 on the Fresno State scoring list with 1,144, passing Jerry Pender (1971-72).
UP NEXT
Fresno State will return home on Tuesday to host San Jose State. Tipoff at the Save Mart Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT.