Wyoming pulls off ferocious rally, stuns No. 24 Colorado State in OT

Field Level Media|published: Sat 27th January, 19:14 2024

Jan 27, 2024; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Colorado State Rams forward Isaiah Stevens (4) controls the ball against Wyoming Cowboys guard Akuel Kot (13) during the first half at Arena-Auditorium. credits: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

Akuel Kot scored 11 points in overtime, including a four-point play with 28 seconds left, as Wyoming put the finishing touches on a thrilling comeback to topple No. 24 Colorado State 79-76 on Saturday in a Mountain West matchup in Laramie, Wyo.

Kot, who netted the Cowboys' first four points in overtime, gave Wyoming a 76-74 edge with his four-point play, then split a pair of free throws with nine seconds left. He hit two more shots from the charity stripe with two seconds left to extend the lead to 79-76, and Wyoming survived when Isaiah Stevens' shot from midcourt fell short.

Sam Griffin led the Cowboys (11-9, 4-3 Mountain West) with 24 points, Kot finished with 18 and Mason Walters tallied 13. Wyoming trailed by 11 points with 1:11 left in the second half before Griffin and Walters combined for 12 points in the final 50 seconds of regulation.

Patrick Cartier topped Colorado State (15-5, 3-4) with 19 points, including five in overtime, and Stevens added 17 points, nine assists and two steals.

Down 64-53, the Cowboys got seven straight points, five of them from Griffin, to pull within 64-60.

After the Rams split a pair of free throws to lead by five, Griffin was fouled on a 3-point shot. He made the first two free throws to trim the deficit to 65-62 and missed the third intentionally before Walters was fouled during the scramble for the rebound.

Walters made the first foul shot for a two-point game, missed the second intentionally and Colorado State was awarded the ball as it went out of bounds. A lengthy video review, however, overturned the call and gave Wyoming the ball with 1.8 seconds left.

Walters made a short jumper in the lane off Griffin's inbounds pass to send the game to overtime.

The Cowboys shot 44.3 percent from the field but were only 5 of 22 from deep. The Rams made 40.6 percent of their shots from the floor and 10 of 29 from deep.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half, which ended with Wyoming up 31-28.

—Field Level Media

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