Hayden Dalton scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Wyoming Cowboys rally past Boise State 79-78 in overtime Saturday night in Laramie.

The Cowboys came back from 16 points down in the first half. UW also trailed by four early in overtime, but they fought back within one, at 76-75, on a basket by Dalton and three Louis Adams free throws.

Then, a big three from the right wing by Cody Kelley put the Pokes back in front 78-76 with 1:04 left. Wyoming missed three of four free throws in the final 16.5 seconds of OT that would have sealed it, but Kelley got one with 4.6 seconds left that was the difference.

Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison was fouled on purpose. He made both free throws, but actually tried to miss the second, down two. The Cowboys threw the ball deep, but Hunter Maldonado had it go off his hands and out-of-bounds with 0.8 left.

The Broncos got one last look, but Hutchison’s long three at the buzzer fell short.

That was UW’s first win over Boise State since the Mountain West tournament semifinals in 2015. It snaps a four-game skid in the series.

Wyoming (11-5, 2-1) shot 44 percent for the game. That included 67 percent in the second half and 50 in overtime. The Pokes struggled in the first half and shot only 26 percent. Another area UW struggled in was at the foul line. They shot 62.5 percent (20-32) for the game. The Cowboys went only 8-15 in the second half and 4-8 in OT. They did score 23 points off 18 Broncos turnovers.

Justin James contributed 15 points and six assists, but took a knee to the thigh on the last play of regulation and tried, but couldn’t go in overtime. Kelley added nine points and four assists, while Maldonado added eight points.

Boise State (13-3, 2-1) shot 40 percent from the field. They were 48.5 in the first half and 28.6 in the second. Hutchison scored 27 points with six rebounds. He went 14-20 at the free throw line. The Broncos also out-rebounded UW 49-35.

Wyoming didn’t take its first lead until a Cody Kelley free throw at the 8:08 mark of the second half. Wyoming got up by five with about seven minutes left, but Boise State rallied.

The Broncos tied it on a Haney basket with 2:09 left. After a Justin James basket, Hutchison nailed a three for a 68-67 lead. A Kelley free throw tied. Hutchison made two free throws, before James tied it on a driving lay-up with 15.8 seconds left. Hutchison had a chance to win it, but his runner in the lane rolled off.

Boise State jumped out early. A 13-0 run put the Broncos up 17-5. The lead reached 16 points four times, which included a halftime lead of 43-27. The Cowboys started the second half on a 14-4 run. They eventually tied it on a Dalton basket at 49 with just over 13 minutes remaining.

Dalton scored UW’s first 10 points and kept the Pokes in it in the first half.

Wyoming returns to action at New Mexico Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Game Notes

Junior Justin James reached the 1,000 point mark in his career with a left-handed lay-up with 1:51 left. He became the 36th player in school history to reach the plateau. James is only the second Cowboy from the state of Florida to reach the 1,000 point club. He joined HL Coleman, who had 1,122 in his career from 1993-1996.

Dalton recorded his fifth 20-plus point effort this season. He also had his fifth double-double of the season and 17th of his career.

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