Larry Nance Jr. scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 78-75 win over the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday in Laramie.

With the Aggies in front 63-62 with just over four minutes left, Nance took over. He scored the next seven points for the Pokes and helped them regain a 71-65 lead with two minutes left. Wyoming also hit ten of their last 11 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.

Head coach Larry Shyatt said, “This was a physical confrontation every time down the floor on offense and defense… I told our team that you made 17 of your last 18 free throws… It’s not going to go on SportsCenter, but that is important.”

The Cowboys led 37-33 at half. The second period featured eight lead changes, but Nance’s two minute stretch proved to be the difference.

Wyoming (6-0) received 15 points apiece from Charles Hankerson Jr. and Josh Adams. Riley Grabau added ten points and five assists. The Cowboys shot 51 percent from the field and went 25-for-31 (81%) at the line.

New Mexico State (3-4) was led by Daniel Mullings with 21 points.

Shyatt added, “We scheduled Colorado and New Mexico State in two of our first six games on purpose because this team has a history of NCAA Tournament action. Our guys stood tall. I don’t think we played one of our best games, but I thought we played as physical as we needed to.”

UW will be back in action Tuesday, when they host the Denver Pioneers at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

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