Laramie, WY – Hugh Greenwood tallied four points in the final nine seconds -- including a right side jumper which broke a tie game -- as 20th-ranked New Mexico held on for a 63-59 road victory versus Wyoming Wednesday at Arena-Auditorium.
Cameron Bairstow scored a game-high 17 points, while Greenwood recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Lobos (18-3, 5-1 MWC), who bounced back from a historically brutal showing Saturday, in which the team managed just 34 total points in a loss to San Diego State. Kendall Williams chipped in 12 points and six boards in the win.
"We've played three road games and won two of them, so you give yourself a chance to stay in the league title race when you can win road games," New Mexico head coach Steve Alford said.
Derrious Gilmore led Wyoming with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and Riley Grabau netted 11 points -- including the late game-tying 3- pointer with 15 seconds left -- for the Cowboys (15-5, 2-5), who have dropped three straight and four of their last five.
After Wyoming took a 28-27 lead into the break, Bairstow's two free throws just over seven minutes into the second half capped off a 16-9 flurry which saw New Mexico take a 43-37 lead.
The Lobos kept adding to their advantage as Jamal Fenton connected from behind the arc with 6:44 left giving the Lobos a 52-43 advantage, the largest lead of the half.
Wyoming, however, then answered with a 10-4 run as Larry Nance Jr. slammed home a nice feed from Leonard Washington, then Washington returned the favor by nailing a 3-pointer which brought the Cowboys within 56-53 with just over two minutes remaining.
Following a timeout, Bairstow cut to the hoop for a tough layup, which resulted in a critical 3-point play and 59-53 lead. Still, the home team wasn't done, as Josh Adams hit his second three of the game, this one bringing the Cowboys within 59-56 with 1:34 left to play.
After New Mexico corralled Tony Snell's missed jumper back into its own hands, it looked like the game was over. Wyoming, though, forced Snell to turn the ball over with 32 seconds left.
Grabau tied things up at 59-59, before Greenwood snuck open for the critical late-second jumper, which pushed New Mexico to its fifth win in its last six trips to Laramie.
Greenwood sealed the win by going 2-of-2 from the charity stripe with seven seconds remaining, after Washington had a hand in a Wyoming turnover as the Cowboys tried to tie things up.
"We are of course very disappointed. I thought our guys played their hearts out," Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt said. "We really couldn't get the stops we needed down the stretch."
With 4:58 left in the first half, Greenwood's 3-pointer gave the visitors a 20-17 edge, but the Cowboys responded with a 11-7 surge to close the stanza. That was highlighted by 3-pointers from Gilmore, Nance Jr. and Grabau to take the one-point lead after 20 minutes of play.
Game Notes
New Mexico's 34 points in its loss Saturday were its fewest since scoring 32 on Jan. 31, 1976, at Utah ... The Lobos have won 10 of the last 12 meetings in the series ... Wyoming shot 12-of-22 from behind the arc, compared to just 2- of-10 for New Mexico ... The Cowboys are still without leading scorer Luke Martinez (14.5 points per game) who is not only injured, but has also been suspended indefinitely due to a bar fight that was the original cause for the injury ... The Lobos outscored the Cowboys, 28-12, in the paint.
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