Walters and Kot rally Wyoming for a 79-76 overtime victory over No. 24 Colorado State
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) Mason Walters scored at the buzzer to force overtime and Akuel Kot completed a four-point play in the final minute of the extra period, leading Wyoming to a 79-76 win over No. 24 Colorado State on Saturday night.
Sam Griffin scored 24 points to lead the Cowboys (11-9, 4-3 Mountain West), who trailed by 11 points with 1:11 remaining in regulation.
Isaiah Stevens finished with 17 points and nine assists, Patrick Cartier added 19 points and Colorado transfer Nique Clifford added 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead Colorado State (15-5, 3-4).
“Well, I’m not sure what to say. Speechless. I’m not sure what happened,” Wyoming head coach Jeff Linder said. “Looking up in the stands when you’re down 11 with 1:11 left, which I can’t blame the people for starting to turn and leave. Obviously, they missed probably the most special endings in the Border War rivalry.”
Wyoming, which failed to hit a field goal over an eight-minute span, rallied late and cut its deficit to 65-63. Walters missed the second of two free throws and the rebound went out of bounds off Colorado State’s Josiah Strong with 1.8 seconds left.
Walters scored in the paint at the buzzer to force OT. The reigning NAIA player of the year fouled out with 4:21 remaining in overtime after getting called for a flagrant foul.
Trailing 74-72, Kot hit a 3-pointer while being fouled and completed the four-point play to give the Cowboys a 76-74 lead with 27.5 seconds remaining in overtime.
Kot, who finished with 18 points, previously made game-winning shots at the buzzer to beat San Jose State and Fresno State.
Wyoming improved to 8-1 at home, including 4-0 in the rugged Mountain West.
“This is the craziest game I’ve ever been in,” said Griffin, a Tulsa graduate transfer who made the entry pass to Walters at the end of regulation. “It’s kind of like Tulsa and Wichita State, but this is a little more - the fans were a little more diehard about it.”
The win was Wyoming’s first over a ranked team since beating No. 23 Nevada in double-overtime during the 2017-18 season.
“One of the hardest losses,” a stunned CSU head coach Niko Medved said after watching Wyoming’s student body storm the court to celebrate. “I’m just really trying to process exactly what happened, especially because I thought our guys had a great mindset here tonight. We came out and fought, we guarded well. We played well at the end of the first half, and then in the second half I thought we had control of the game and did what we needed to to make the plays to win the game.”
BIG PICTURE
Colorado State: The Rams fell to 0-4 on the road in Mountain West play after losing 77-64 at Nevada on Wednesday.
Wyoming: The Cowboys defeated Nevada, another potential NCAA Tournament team, 98-93 in their previous home game and were coming off a loss at San Diego State. Wyoming will be a tough opponent for contenders in Laramie.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Colorado State, one of three Mountain West teams in The Associated Press Top 25 poll along with No. 18 Utah State and No. 25 New Mexico, will fall out of the rankings after two road losses.
UP NEXT
Colorado State: Hosts San Diego State on Tuesday.
Wyoming: At Air Force on Tuesday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Rams gains possession) | |||
19:35 | +3 | Sam Griffin makes three point jump shot | 0-3 | |
19:11 | Josiah Strong misses three point jump shot | |||
19:09 | Akuel Kot defensive rebound | |||
19:02 | Akuel Kot misses two point layup | |||
19:00 | Joel Scott defensive rebound | |||
18:54 | Nique Clifford misses two point jump shot | |||
18:52 | Mason Walters defensive rebound | |||
18:42 | Sam Griffin misses three point jump shot | |||
18:40 | Patrick Cartier defensive rebound | |||
18:34 | Joel Scott misses two point layup | |||
18:32 | Caden Powell defensive rebound | |||
18:09 | Mason Walters misses two point layup | |||
18:07 | Josiah Strong defensive rebound | |||
17:58 | Nique Clifford turnover (bad pass) | |||
17:37 | +2 | Akuel Kot makes two point jump shot | 0-5 | |
17:15 | Caden Powell shooting foul (Patrick Cartier draws the foul) | |||
17:15 | +1 | Patrick Cartier makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 1-5 | |
17:15 | +1 | Patrick Cartier makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-5 | |
17:06 | Akuel Kot misses two point jump shot | |||
17:04 | Joel Scott defensive rebound | |||
16:55 | Josiah Strong misses three point jump shot | |||
16:53 | Caden Powell defensive rebound | |||
16:39 | +2 | Mason Walters makes two point jump shot | 2-7 | |
16:20 | +3 | Patrick Cartier makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 5-7 | |
16:04 | Brendan Wenzel misses three point jump shot | |||
16:02 | Rams defensive rebound | |||
15:40 | Joel Scott misses two point layup | |||
15:38 | Rams offensive rebound | |||
15:39 | TV timeout | |||
15:26 | Joel Scott turnover (traveling) | |||
15:05 | Oleg Kojenets misses two point hook shot | |||
15:03 | Nique Clifford defensive rebound | |||
14:56 | Isaiah Stevens misses two point jump shot | |||
14:54 | Oleg Kojenets defensive rebound | |||
14:43 | Joel Scott shooting foul (Oleg Kojenets draws the foul) | |||
14:43 | Oleg Kojenets misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
14:43 | Oleg Kojenets misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
14:43 | Nique Clifford defensive rebound | |||
14:25 | +2 | Isaiah Stevens makes two point layup | 7-7 | |
14:08 | Akuel Kot turnover (lost ball) | |||
13:48 | Rashaan Mbemba misses two point hook shot | |||
13:46 | Cam Manyawu defensive rebound | |||
13:22 | Rashaan Mbemba personal foul (Mason Walters draws the foul) | |||
13:14 | Mason Walters misses two point hook shot | |||
13:12 | Rashaan Mbemba defensive rebound | |||
13:02 | Rashaan Mbemba misses three point jump shot | |||
13:00 | Brendan Wenzel defensive rebound | |||
12:53 | Sam Griffin misses three point jump shot | |||
12:51 | Javonte Johnson defensive rebound | |||
12:44 | +3 | Joe Palmer makes three point jump shot (Jalen Lake assists) | 10-7 | |
12:13 | +2 | Brendan Wenzel makes two point jump shot | 10-9 | |
11:53 | Jalen Lake misses three point jump shot | |||
11:51 | Javonte Johnson offensive rebound | |||
11:34 | Javonte Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
11:32 | Akuel Kot defensive rebound | |||
11:11 | Mason Walters misses three point jump shot | |||
11:09 | Rashaan Mbemba defensive rebound | |||
11:02 | Isaiah Stevens misses two point jump shot | |||
11:00 | Rashaan Mbemba offensive rebound | |||
10:50 | Javonte Johnson offensive foul (Akuel Kot draws the foul) | |||
10:50 | Javonte Johnson turnover (offensive foul) | |||
10:50 | TV timeout | |||
10:26 | Cam Manyawu turnover (bad pass) (Joe Palmer steals) | |||
10:26 | Cam Manyawu personal foul | |||
10:10 | Patrick Cartier misses two point hook shot | |||
10:08 | Caden Powell defensive rebound | |||
10:03 | Sam Griffin misses two point jump shot | |||
10:01 | Patrick Cartier defensive rebound | |||
9:56 | Kael Combs personal foul (Kyan Evans draws the foul) | |||
9:50 | Caden Powell blocks Patrick Cartier's two point jump shot | |||
9:48 | Josiah Strong offensive rebound | |||
9:37 | Joe Palmer offensive foul (Caden Powell draws the foul) | |||
9:37 | Joe Palmer turnover (offensive foul) | |||
9:23 | +2 | Caden Powell makes two point layup (Akuel Kot assists) | 10-11 | |
9:12 | Kyan Evans offensive foul (Caden Powell draws the foul) | |||
9:12 | Kyan Evans turnover (offensive foul) | |||
8:59 | Brendan Wenzel misses three point jump shot | |||
8:57 | Cam Manyawu offensive rebound | |||
8:44 | +2 | Sam Griffin makes two point layup | 10-13 | |
8:23 | Javonte Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Brendan Wenzel steals) | |||
8:11 | +2 | Mason Walters makes two point hook shot (Sam Griffin assists) | 10-15 | |
7:50 | Mason Walters personal foul (Joel Scott draws the foul) | |||
7:50 | TV timeout | |||
7:39 | +2 | Nique Clifford makes two point jump shot | 12-15 | |
7:22 | +3 | Brendan Wenzel makes three point jump shot (Sam Griffin assists) | 12-18 | |
7:09 | +3 | Patrick Cartier makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 15-18 | |
6:57 | Mason Walters turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Stevens steals) | |||
6:48 | +3 | Patrick Cartier makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 18-18 | |
6:21 | Patrick Cartier personal foul (Akuel Kot draws the foul) | |||
6:11 | +2 | Sam Griffin makes two point jump shot | 18-20 | |
5:55 | +2 | Joel Scott makes two point dunk (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 20-20 | |
5:45 | +2 | Sam Griffin makes two point jump shot | 20-22 | |
5:32 | Patrick Cartier misses three point jump shot | |||
5:30 | Sam Griffin defensive rebound | |||
5:21 | Sam Griffin turnover (lost ball) (Isaiah Stevens steals) | |||
5:16 | +2 | Nique Clifford makes two point dunk (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 22-22 | |
4:54 | Mason Walters misses two point layup | |||
4:52 | Nique Clifford defensive rebound | |||
4:49 | Nique Clifford turnover (lost ball) (Mason Walters steals) | |||
4:42 | +3 | Akuel Kot makes three point jump shot (Brendan Wenzel assists) | 22-25 | |
4:31 | Isaiah Stevens misses two point jump shot | |||
4:29 | Brendan Wenzel defensive rebound | |||
4:08 | Sam Griffin misses two point layup | |||
4:06 | Caden Powell offensive rebound | |||
4:03 | +2 | Caden Powell makes two point layup | 22-27 | |
3:46 | +2 | Joel Scott makes two point layup | 24-27 | |
3:29 | Nique Clifford personal foul (Akuel Kot draws the foul) | |||
3:29 | TV timeout | |||
3:29 | +1 | Akuel Kot makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-28 | |
3:29 | +1 | Akuel Kot makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 24-29 | |
3:01 | Isaiah Stevens misses two point jump shot | |||
2:59 | Sam Griffin defensive rebound | |||
2:32 | Akuel Kot misses three point jump shot | |||
2:30 | Cam Manyawu offensive rebound | |||
2:26 | Akuel Kot misses three point jump shot | |||
2:24 | Rams defensive rebound | |||
2:09 | Nique Clifford misses two point layup | |||
2:07 | Joe Palmer offensive rebound | |||
2:03 | Isaiah Stevens misses three point jump shot | |||
2:01 | Brendan Wenzel defensive rebound | |||
1:51 | Sam Griffin misses three point jump shot | |||
1:49 | Rams defensive rebound | |||
1:31 | +2 | Patrick Cartier makes two point layup (Isaiah Stevens assists) | 26-29 | |
1:20 | Isaiah Stevens personal foul (Mason Walters draws the foul) | |||
1:20 | +1 | Mason Walters makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-30 | |
1:20 | +1 | Mason Walters makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-31 | |
1:20 | Cowboys 30 second timeout | |||
1:10 | Mason Walters personal foul (Patrick Cartier draws the foul) | |||
1:04 | +2 | Nique Clifford makes two point dunk | 28-31 | |
0:36 | Akuel Kot misses three point jump shot | |||
0:34 | Rams defensive rebound | |||
0:07 | Patrick Cartier misses two point jump shot | |||
0:05 | Sam Griffin defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |