Nixon’s game-winning 3 gives Rams shot at conference title

FORT COLLINS – A little more than 72 hours after Colorado State knocked off an opponent with a last-second 3, they did it a second time. A Prentiss Nixon 3-pointer propelled the Rams to a 78-76 victory over Wyoming Tuesday night in Moby Arena.

CSU (21-9, 13-4) ditched their typical first half woes, jumping out to a 14-2 lead at the first media timeout. The Rams seemingly couldn’t miss, making 11 of 14 shots to begin the game. Gian Clavell and Prentiss Nixon led CSU’s offensive attack, with the duo scoring a combined 31 points in the opening frame.

Wyoming used an eye-opening shooting performance of their own to hold serve with their conference rival. Hayden Dalton hit 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc to keep the Cowboys within striking distance. An 8-0 run coupled with a 2-for-10 stretch from the Rams got Wyoming to within just three points at the 5:35 mark.

The hot shooting from both teams served as the highlight of the opening 20 minutes, with CSU going 63 percent from the field and Wyoming connecting on 59 percent of their shots.

CSU didn’t take long to extend their lead coming out of halftime, hitting 4-of-5 field goals to open the second half. The Cowboys, meanwhile, made just two of their first 10 shots. As the game’s paced slowed, the fouls for both teams began to pile up in a hurry.

Minutes later, Emmanuel Omogbo notched his 13th double-double of conference play, a Mountain West record. But the green and gold went into an offensive funk where they failed to score points in nearly a four-minute stretch. With a little more than five minutes to play, the Cowboys had their first lead of the game thanks to an 11-0 run.

The teams exchanged leads for much of the remainder of the game, with neither team going ahead by more than three points. To make things more interesting, Clavell fouled out with 1:01 on the clock.

Wyoming’s Justin James had a chance give his team the lead back, but missed both free throws to keep Rams on top 74-73. James made up for it though on the Cowboys next possession, hitting a 3 to make it 76-75 Wyoming with 17 seconds remaining.

Larry Eustachy chose not to use a timeout, allowing his players to get a last-second shot attempt on their own. Nixon did just that, connecting from well beyond the 3-point line to give CSU yet another wild win, as well as the school’s first seven-game win streak in conference play since 1989.

“Just make the shot,” Nixon said of what was going through his head prior to taking the shot. “Make the shot for these two dudes (Clavell and Omogbo). I mean, we worked hard all season. I couldn’t let them go out like that. Gian fouled out, so someone had to take the shot. I just slowed the game down in my head and just took it. I pushed it quick and then slowed it down and just waited for a good look.”

The Rams added another rarity to their season by beating Wyoming for the second time in a season.

“I’d like to say we didn’t play well, but we did,” Eustachy said. “Give Wyoming all the credit. I’m not sure we should have won that game. They played extremely well and we knew that no lead was insurmountable for them. We were very, very fortunate to win the game.”

Now with 10 wins in their last 11 games, CSU heads to Nevada for the first shot at a Mountain West regular season title in 27 years.

“It doesn’t come any better than that,” said Eustachy of the chance for the program to make history.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Nixon – In a season more or less dominated by Clavell and Omogbo, the always steady guard stole the spotlight Tuesday night. Nixon finished with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-7 from 3-point land.

BY THE NUMBERS

52 – Both teams shot 52 percent for the game.

24 – Points for James, 18 of which came in the second half

8 – Games this season decided by three points or fewer. With the win over Wyoming, the Rams improved to 4-4 in tight games.

WHAT’S NEXT

After winning in improbable fashion on Senior Night, CSU must turn their attention to the Wolf Pack with the conference regular season title up for grabs. Tipoff Saturday night is set for 6 p.m.