LARAMIE, Wyo. – Rallying back from 13 down in the second half, Fresno State saw a 3-pointer by Wyoming's Obi Agbim at the buzzer send Tuesday night's contest in the Arena-Auditorium to overtime. The Bulldogs were outscored 16-5 in the extra period, falling 83-72, their second overtime in the last five.
The 'Dogs got a career-night from Jalen Weaver who had 23 points. Elijah Price recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Brian Amuneke provided 12 points off the bench. Wyoming got 18 points from Kobe Newton, 17 from Agbim, and 14 from Dontaie Allen.
The Bulldogs controlled the paint with an 18-point advantage inside (40-22), but the Cowboys countered from deep with 17 made 3-pointers, holding a 36-point difference from outside. Thirteen of those 3's came from Agbim (5), Newton (4) and Dontaie Allen (4).
How It Happened
Jalen Weaver got the Bulldogs going early, getting a floater to fall in. A corner 3 in transition for the senior off a steal and dish from Alex Crawford gave the 'Dogs a 7-2 lead three minutes in. The Cowboys responded right back with a 9-2 stretch in just over two minutes.
A pair of 3-pointers during a three-minute drought led to Wyoming taking a 19-13 lead. Zaon Collins ended the drought with an alley-oop to Mor Seck but a pair of triples from Kobe Newton put the Cowboys up 25-16. Wyoming's 14-3 run was aided by the 3-ball, going 4-of-6 from outside during the stretch.
A near four-minute drought, and with the 'Dogs trailing 27-16, Collins quickly found Weaver in the corner for his second triple of the game.
With the deficit standing at 10 with 6:03 remaining in the half, Fresno State's defense locked in, forcing Wyoming into four turnovers and finishing the half just 1-of-7 from the field. The result was the Bulldogs getting out in transition and storming back with an 11-2 run to pull within one at 31-30 at the half.
After missing on its final four 3-pointers of the first half, and its first of the second, Wyoming rattled off a 15-2 run with the deep ball playing its part. Fresno State was forced to call a timeout trailing 46-33 with 15:53 on the clock. Out of the stoppage, Collins found Brian Amuneke in the corner for his second triple of the game.
After four-and-a-half minutes had passed without either team scoring, Elijah Price ended the standstill with a pair at the line to cut the deficit to 49-40 with 8:56 remaining. Following a stop, Seck brought the 'Dogs within six with an and-one off a pass over the top of the defense from Weaver. The Cowboys answered with their 11th 3-pointer of the game to keep their advantage at nine.
A minute-and-a-half later, Dontaie Allen put Wyoming up 10 with under seven minutes to go. That's when the Bulldogs hit their stride. A 16-2 run saw five different players score, with seven of those coming from Weaver. Following a steal, layup and-one, the senior gave the 'Dogs a 63-59 advantage with 1:25 on the clock.
A layup at the other end cut the Bulldogs' lead back to two, but Crawford answered with an emphatic dunk for the 'Dogs with 41 ticks remaining. Allen, though, dropped in a triple for the Cowboys. With 21 seconds left, Amuneke was sent to the line where he calmly sank a pair at the line to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 67-64.
Following a loose ball, Wyoming maintained possession on the tie-up with 7.4 seconds left. Wyoming called a timeout. With the clock winding down Obi Agbim sank a 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
The Cowboys' leading scorer stayed hot with back-to-back triples to begin the period. Jordan Nesbitt added a third and Fresno State was forced to call a timeout down 77-69 with 2:03 remaining.
Wyoming finished out the game going 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Notes
Fresno State dropped its fourth straight game in Laramie.
Fresno State lost its second overtime game in its last four contests.
Fresno State allowed a season-high 17 made 3-pointers (17-of-36).
Fresno State has held four of its last five opponents to less than 70 points in regulation.
Fresno State had its most steals in a game (13) since grabbing 13 against Air Force in the 2019 Mountain West Quarterfinals (March 14, 2019).
Tuesday's game was the sixth time this season that every Fresno State player who entered the game ended up in the scoring column.
Jalen Weaver scored a career-high 23 points. It was the first 20-point game of the senior's career.
Brian Amuneke finished with 12 points, his third game in double figures. All three have come since Dec. 31.
Elijah Price recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. It was his third in Mountain West play.
Alex Crawford grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. He is the fourth Bulldog to grab at least 10 rebounds in a game this year.
Crawford also had a career-high four steals.
Zaon Collins had a team-high seven assists, his fifth game of the season with at least seven.
Up Next
Fresno State continues its road swing on Saturday at Boise State. Tipoff against the Broncos at ExtraMile Arena is set for 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT and will stream on the Mountain West Network.