Senior guard Jason McManamen's layup through contact with 43 seconds remaining sealed the game  for Wyoming in a 74-68 win over Utah Valley on Wednesday evening advancing the Cowboys to the finals of the College Basketball Invitational presented by Five Four. The Pokes will meet Sun Belt foe Coastal Carolina in a best-of-three series that will start on Monday in Conway, S.C. The Cowboys will then host on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. followed by a third game if necessary on Friday at a time to be determined. All three games will be televised by ESPNU.

"I'm happy for and proud of these guys," UW head coach Allen Edwards said. "One of the things that I was happiest with was we didn't allow us not shooting the ball well affect us on the defensive end of the floor.  We never lost confidence, our mojo or our energy in terms of continuing to play hard whether we missed shots or not.  I also love the fact that guys were in the huddle talking to each other positively about finishing the game out strong and getting stops.  That type of positive communication really help guys focus in on the task at hand."

McManamen's layup gave him 1,001 career points making him the 35th Cowboy to reach 1,000 points and the fifth Wyoming native to accomplish the feat. He finished his 120th game as a Poke with 12 points for his 51st game in double-figures in his career.

 "I truly am happy for Jason (McManamen)," Edwards said.  "That play was huge.  He's a senior and has really taken to his role this postseason of being there when we need him."

The Cowboys led until the 3:20 mark of the second half when UVU's Issac Neilsen made it a 67-66 contest with a pair of free throws, as it was the first lead of the game for UVU. Sophomore guard Justin James gave UW a 69-68 lead on free throws with a little over two minutes remaining and the Cowboys defense didn't allow field goal, as UW walked away with their 21st win on the season. It was also the 400th win in the Arena-Auditorium and the 17th this season tying for the most wins in the Arena-Auditorium in a single-season. 

James added 16 points for UW to lead all scorers. He has led Wyoming in scoring in seven-straight games. Junior guard Louis Adams added 12 points on 8-of-10 from the free throw line. It was his 11th double-figure scoring game of the season. Junior guard Jeremy Lieberman added a team-high four assists. Junior forward Alan Herndon had nine points and five rebounds and added two steals. Junior forward Hayden Dalton grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Wyoming.

The Pokes held Utah Valley to 37 percent from the field for back-to-back games holding the opposition to under 40 percent from the field. Wyoming shot 46 percent from the field, but only hit three triples on the night breaking their 11-consectuive games with double-digit three pointers streak. UVU held the advantage on the glass on the night with 42 compared to UW's 32. Wyoming scored 21 points on turnovers in the game

 "As we were preparing for Utah Valley, watching them on film reminded me a little bit of what we went through earlier in the year in terms of being careless with the ball and turning it over," Edwards said. "We just wanted to play solid defense with active hands.  I thought we did a good job in turning them over.  I thought the one Cody (Kelley) had was really special."

The Cowboys got out to an 11-2 start that saw redshirt freshman forward Andrew Moemeka put an exclamation mark on it with an alley-oop jam from Lieberman. Herndon added a triple to open the scoring and McManamen added a reverse layup as well.

The Wolverines cut the Pokes lead to as little as two at 15-13, but a 10-0 run by UW made it a 23-10 game with 11:27 remaining in the first half. Adams led the way with four points during the stretch that gave UW their largest lead of the game.

A 6-0 run by UVU cut the UW lead to lead to two points with under five minutes remaining in the first period making it a 31-29 contest. The Wolverines tied the game tied the game at 33-33 at the 2:52 mark on a layup up Conner Toolson.

Wyoming closed the second half on a 6-0 run to take a 39-33 lead into the half. Sophomore forward Jordan Naughton sparked the Cowboy attack with a dunk. Wyoming scored 14 points off of turnovers in the opening frame. 

Utah Valley opened the first half on a 6-2 run to make it once again a two point game at 41-39 in the opening minutes of the second stanza. Adams and Herndon stopped the run with back-to-back buckets for UW.

The Cowboys held Utah Valley scoreless for nearly three minutes building the lead to eight points at 59-51 with under eight minutes remaining after the Wolverines cut the lead to under three points on numerous occasions the previous minutes. Dalton made it a 10 point game at 62-52 with a put back slam moments later.

But the Wolverines would not go away with back-to-back triples making it a two point game this time at 65-63 with a few ticks over five minutes remaining. Brandon Randolph tied the game with a pair of free throws at the 4:45 mark of the second stanza.

The Wolverines took their first lead on the Neilsen's free throws. But McManamen's layup and two free throws from Dalton and one from Lieberman lifted UW to the 74-68 win. 

Neilsen recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah Valley. Toolson added 15 points as well along with seven rebounds. 

Tickets for Wednesday's game start at $13/adult and $10/youth. Priority tickets will also be available for $21 (Gold) and $16 (Blue). Season ticket holders will have till 5 p.m. on Thursday to claim their tickets. Tickets can be purchased on GoWyo.com, over the phone at 307-766-7220 or in person at the Wyoming Athletic Ticket Office.