Wyoming dominated inside

the numbers

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 | 10:24 a.m.

First Half: Wyoming 31-23

The man: Wyoming center Uche Nsonwu-Amadi scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds despite sitting out about four minutes after getting poked in the eye.

Turning point: With the score, 13-13, Rebels forwards Dalron Johnson and Omari Pearson combined to miss four shots around the basket on one possession. Wyoming guard Donta Richardson came down the court and nailed a 3-pointer to highlight a 15-4 Cowboy run.

Game within the game: The Rebels played most of the half in a 2-3 zone to try to take away the strong inside game of 6-foot-10, 260-pound Nsonwu-Amadi.

Second Half: Wyoming 69-66

The man: Wyoming guard Donta Richardson scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the second half, including two clutch free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to up Wyoming's lead to three points.

Turning point: After UNLV closed to within one point, 65-64, on two Marcus Banks free throws with 31.2 seconds left, Wyoming guard David Adams appeared to travel as he attempted to call a timeout while stumbling out of bounds at midcourt. The referees gave him the timeout and the Rebels were forced to foul on the inbounds play. Adams sank two free throws to put Wyoming back up by three, 67-64, with 18.4 seconds to go.

Game within the game: After Richardson hit his two free throws to put Wyoming back up by three, Banks missed a chance to force overtime when he lost control of the ball.