Wyoming knocks off Utah State 67-65 at Mountain West tourney

LAS VEGAS (AP) Josh Adams had 19 points and six assists Thursday and fourth-seeded Wyoming advanced to the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals with a 67-65 victory over fifth-seeded Utah State.

The Cowboys (23-9) pulled away with seven quick points over a 1:21 stretch. Riley Grabau made the go-ahead 3-pointer, Adams converted a transition jumper and Larry Nance Jr.'s putback dunk made it 58-51 with 3:56 left.

Adams's dunk with 1:58 left pushed the lead to nine, but Utah State (18-13) ended with a 12-5 run and had Jalen Moore's potentially game-winning desperation shot go long at the buzzer.

Charles Hankerson Jr. added a career-high 16 points, Nance scored 13 and Grabau 11. Wyoming will face No. 1 seed Boise State on Friday.

Moore led the Aggies with 17. Unless Utah State gets a tournament invitation, the loss marked the end of USU head coach Stew Morrill's 29-year career - 17 with the Aggies. In January, Morrill announced his plans to retire at the end of the season.