FRESNO, Calif. (AP) After three overtimes, Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt felt fortunate just to be on the winning end no matter how hard it was to get there.
Larry Nance Jr. scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket in the third overtime, and Josh Adams added 16 to help the 25th-ranked Cowboys survive a thriller against Fresno State with a 70-65 victory Saturday.
''That was a hard-fought game for both teams,'' Shyatt said. ''Every time we got together, after a miss or a make, I reminded them to put pressure on your defense. Put pressure on your defensive rebounds. I'm thrilled we finished on the high end of it.''
Nance missed two free throws with a second left in the second overtime for the Cowboys (16-3, 5-1 Mountain West), but recovered to hit a key basket in the final overtime period.
Nance's jumper with 1:05 left put Wyoming up 67-65 with 1:02 left and Charles Hankerson Jr. sealed the win with a 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play as Wyoming bounced back after having their seven-game winning streak snapped with a home loss to San Diego State on Wednesday night.
Paul Watson scored 19 points and Marvelle Harris added 13 for the Bulldogs (9-10, 4-2).
''They made shots at the end and we didn't,'' Bulldogs coach Rodney Terry said. ''We had great open looks. They threw one or two in and we didn't.
The Cowboys failed on many chances to get the win before finally prevailing in the third overtime. Nance missed a jumper in the closing seconds of regulation.
After Harris tied it for Fresno State with 14 seconds left in the first overtime, Riley Grabau missed a 3-pointer that would have won it.
Cezar Guerrero then tied it for the Bulldogs with 6 seconds left in the second overtime before Nance missed his two foul shots.
TIP INS:
Wyoming: The Cowboys had lost all nine previous road games in Fresno. ... Wyoming played in its first triple-overtime game since an 83-76 home win over Air Force in quadruple overtime on Jan. 28, 2002.
Fresno State: The Bulldogs had won four straight games and were looking to win five of six to open the conference season for the first time since 2004-05 when they played in the Western Athletic Conference.
HOME COOKING
The Bulldogs lost at home for just the second time in eight games this season. Cal beat Fresno State 64-57 back in November. The Bulldogs had won six of seven conference home games dating to last season.
''Anytime you lose a game at this level at home it's always difficult to swallow a loss,'' Terry said.
UP NEXT
Wyoming hosts New Mexico next Saturday.
Fresno State hosts Nevada next Saturday.
