Cowboys cruise to victory

laramie» Justin James scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds as Wyoming beat Denver 82-70 on Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.

James, a sophomore, scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game for the Cowboys (4-2). Louis Adams added 16 points, Jason McManamen had 13 points with four assists and Alan Herndon had 12 points and seven rebounds.

James, who scored a career-best 28 points in the Cowboys’ 71-61 loss to California last week, got an assist from McManamen and sank a 3-pointer with 3:03 left in the first period that helped lift the Cowboys to a 46-30 lead at the break. They led the rest of the way.

Denver got as close as eight points, at 76-68, with 1:03 to play, but James, McManamen and Jeremy Lieberman combined to make six free throws in the final minute to secure the Cowboys lead.

Joe Rosga led the Pioneers (2-4) with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Christian Mackey added season highs of 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

DU hurt itself in the first half with 14 turnovers and trailed 46-30 at the break.