Jan. 4, 2005

Box Score

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Junior center Yemi Nicholson (Aurora, Colo.) third career double-double was not enough for the University of Denver men's basketball team to pull off a win on the road as the drop to Wyoming 78-72 in the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo., this evening. Denver falls to 5-6 while Wyoming improves 7-5. The Pioneers have dropped their third consecutive road game as they head into Sun Belt Conference play.

"Its disappointing to play well and have our mental breakdowns allow Wyoming to get back into the game," head coach Terry Carroll said. "We allowed the Cowboys to take advantage of our missed free throws and other mental mistakes."

Nicholson tallied six early points on two layups and turnaround jumper to give the Pioneers an early seven-point lead (13-6). The Pioneers went over three minutes without scoring until junior transfer Andrew Carpenter (Toronto, Ontario) nailed a 3-pointer with 9:48 left in the first, giving Denver a 20-12 advantage.

The Cowboys battled back and tied it up 27-27 with a jumper from Dion Sherrell with 5:09 left in the first and a basket by Wyoming's Jay Straight put the Cowboys in front 29-27.

Junior guard Brett Seger's (Omaha, Neb.) jumper tied it back up for the Pioneers at 29-29 with 3:56 left. A basket by Wyoming's Justin Williams gave the Cowboys a short two-point lead, but a basket by senior guard Erik Benzel (Spokane, Wash.) tied it up for the Pioneers at 31-31.

Freshman guard Steve Wetrich (Ottumwa, Iowa) sunk a free throw to put the Pioneers up by one. Denver ended the half with a two-point lead (36-34) from a dunk by Nicholson and a jumper by senior guard Rodney Billups (Denver. Colo.).

The Pioneers led by as much as 10 halfway through the first. Nicholson tallied 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Denver was a meager 4-of-10 from the free-throw line while Wyoming made four of its five attempts.

Denver started the second half trading baskets, but the Cowboys emerged with a 44-43 lead with 15:29 left in the game. Nicholson tied it up shortly after with a free throw and Benzel's back-to-back 3-pointers gave Denver a 50-44 lead with 14:13 left in the game. The Cowboys rallied back with a 10-0 run to give them a five-point lead with 7:54 left.

Sophomore forward Antonio Porch's (Denver, Colo.) 3-pointer put the Pioneers within three points with 50 seconds left, but two free throws by Wyoming's Alex Dunn and Jay Straight, and one by Steve Leven sealed the win 78-72 win for the Cowboys.

Nicholson led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his third career double-double performance. Wyoming's Straight led the Cowboys with 21 points, including five of six free throws.

The Pioneers shot only 40 percent from the field (24-of-60) and the Cowboys blocked 14 of Denver's shots, while the Cowboys shot 50.9 percent from the field making 29-of-57 attempts.

The Pioneers finish up their longest road trip since their first Division I campaign (1998-99) and open Sun Belt Conference play at Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. MT.