Elijah Brown scored a game-high 33 points and hauled in 10 rebounds as the Lobos extended their win streak to three games with a 78-71 win over the Wyoming Cowboys on Saturday Night at Wise Pies Arena, AKA the Pit.
Brown hit 12 of 25 attempts from the field and six of seven attempts from the charity stripe to lead the Lobos to victory, while forward Tim Williams added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Hayden Dalton led all Cowboys with 17 points off of the bench, while leading all players with 13 rebounds in the game.
The two teams entered halftime notched at 38 points apiece after a very evenly matched first period.
Brown hit a jumper and three-point basket on consecutive possessions to give the Lobos a four-point advantage with 15:06 left in the second half. The three point shot was one of many big shots Brown hit down the stretch, seemingly matching the Cowboys shot for shot when they would bring the game close.
“I thought we came out with good pace and energy to start the game,” said head coach Craig Neal after the game. ”I thought we did some good things offensively. I thought Elijah and Tim were great tonight.”
The Lobos shot 45% from the floor and 35% from behind the arc, limiting the Cowboys to just 43% shooting while forcing 13 turnovers.
With the win, the Lobos move to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in Mountain West Conference play, just one-half game behind league-leading Nevada and Boise State.
After a disappointing stretch with home losses to Nevada and UNLV, the Lobos look to be in good shape in conference play as no team appears to be running away with the regular season title.