The game summary was courtesy of Wyoming coach Benny Dees, a southern gentleman with a knack for one-liners without a hint of excuses.
"They are so much quicker than we are off the dribble, we couldn't handle Ike (Williams) and (Steve) Logan," said Dees after the Cowboys lost 77-67 Saturday to New Mexico.Williams scored 24 points by hitting 10 of 14 shots and Logan finished with 15 points as New Mexico riddled Wyoming's predominantly zone defense with 10 3-pointers.
Besides the backcourt duo of Logan and Williams, the Cowboys also had trouble defending against 6-foot-8 Lobo leaper Khari Jaxon - another factor not lost on Dees.
"When they (Logan and Williams) weren't shooting, they would dump it inside to Khari, and he'd dunk it with his toes," Dees said.
The win for New Mexico (12-4, 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference) came two days after Colorado State snapped the Lobos' 21-game homecourt winning streak with a 67-65 overtime win.
"We have to be a meat and potatoes team and we got back to that tonight," said New Mexico coach Dave Bliss.
Wyoming (10-6, 4-3) was led by Brian Rewers with 15 points and reserve Brett Studdard with 12.
New Mexico hit 7 3-pointers in the first half but could not shake the Cowboys until Jaxon came up with back-to-back baskets late in the second half.
With the Lobos nursing a 62-60 lead after a Rewers 12-footer in the key, Jaxon got loose underneath for a layup, then stole a Wyoming pass near midcourt and raced in for another layup that got New Mexico rolling on a 15-7 run in the game's final six minutes.
Texas-El Paso 63, Colorado St. 61
At El Paso, Eddie Rivera scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, including a basket with eight seconds remaining that lifted Texas-El Paso to a victory over Colorado State.
The Miners improved to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. Colorado State dropped to 12-5 and 4-3.
Air Force 71, Fresno State 51
In Fresno, Calif., Otis Jones scored 21 points to lead Air Force to a rout of Fresno State.
Air Force (8-8, 2-5) snapped a five-game losing streak and won for the first time on the road.
Jones hit a pair of baskets midway through the second half to spark a 24-6 Air Force run after Fresno State cut the lead to 37-36. Jones scored 11 points in that run.
The winning margin was the biggest ever for Air Force in a WAC road game.
Fresno State (7-9, 2-5), lost its fifth-straight conference game. The Bulldogs never led after Air Force opened the game with nine-straight points.