Wyoming defeats Colorado 56-33

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) It's getting so that the Colorado men's basketball team will think twice about making the short road trip to neighboring Wyoming.

Josh Adams scored 14 points, including 10 in the second half, and dished out seven assists, and Wyoming continued its recent dominance at home against Colorado with a 56-33 win Saturday.

''Not to take away from our offense, but I got to tell you, you throw in 33 in some score sheets this year and you'll get some Ws,'' Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said.

Offensively, Wyoming recorded 22 assists on 22 total baskets in the game.

''Twenty-two assists on 22 made field goals, you know it's not going to get much better than that,'' Adams said.

Larry Nance Jr. and Charles Hankerson Jr. added 10 points apiece for the Cowboys (3-0). Nance also had four blocks and five rebounds.

Colorado, which was close to breaking into the AP Top 25 entering the game, has not won in Laramie since 1996. Wyoming has won all four home contests since then.

The Cowboys held Colorado to a dismal 28 percent shooting from the floor. The Buffaloes (2-1) made just 12 field goals in the game.

It was the lowest point total for a Colorado team since a 40-31 loss to Iowa State on Jan. 24, 1949.

Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle labeled the game ''embarrassing.''

''They whipped us in every conceivable way,'' Boyle said. ''Our guys got down because we couldn't make a shot and it bled over to our defense.''

Xavier Johnson led Colorado with 9 points, followed by Askia Booker with 8. Josh Scott, Colorado's leading scorer, was held to just 6 points. The last time Colorado scored under 40 was March 10, 2000, in a 78-35 loss to Texas.

Wyoming held a 26-24 halftime lead but the second half was all Cowboys with Colorado making just two field goals in the half, and scoring a total of just 9 points.

''We came out sluggish in the second half,'' Johnson said. ''Obviously, they wanted it more than us. I think it's a good wake up just seeing we're not the best team out there.''

Adams opened the half with back-to-back 3-pointers. He scored another bucket before Colorado finally scored on a basket by Booker about 4 1/2 minutes into the half.

Wyoming built up its lead as the Buffaloes offense constantly struggled against a Cowboys defense that swarmed each shooter.

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TIP-INS

Colorado: Coach Tad Boyle is now 1-3 against Wyoming.

Wyoming: Larry Shyatt is now 4-1 against Colorado and the Cowboys lead the all-time series with the Buffs 43-36.

FREE THROWS

The two teams combined to shoot just 14 free throws for the game. Each team had 13 fouls. Colorado was 5 of 8 from the foul line, and Wyoming 3 of 6.

UP NEXT

Wyoming next hosts Florida A&M on Monday night.

Colorado is at home against Air Force on Tuesday night, the start of a three-game homestand.