Wyoming
Colorado State basketball completes stunning comeback against Wyoming
CSU got ‘tougher’ to grab comeback win over Wyoming
CSU men’s basketball coach Ali Farokhmanesh said the Rams got tougher in the second half to pull off win over Wyoming.
A refuse-to-lose effort.
The Colorado State men’s basketball team was teetering on the edge of a really rough loss but the Rams dialed into a new level of determination to wrestle this one away.
The Rams were down 10 points in the second half to rival Wyoming on the cusp of a tough season sweep to their biggest rivals.
Then CSU buckled down and dominated the end the game to grab a 79-68 win at Moby Arena on Feb. 14.
Here are takeaways from the game.
CSU responded to Wyoming’s talk
Wyoming (13-12, 4-10 Mountain West) was full of plenty of chatter after a home win over the Rams at the end of January.
Leland Walker said the Rams “were getting the belt” and coach Sundance Wicks lauded the “sucks to be a CSU Ram” chant heard at Arena Auditorium.
This week Wicks was annoyed at a radio program that pointed out Khaden Bennett overperformed his stats in that game (he scored 22 after coming into the game just shy of 10 points per game).
Wicks also said he was displeased with a photo CSU used celebrating a win over Wyoming last season.
CSU (15-10, 6-8 MW) refused to get into a battle of words with coach Ali Farokhmanesh calling it “just another game” ahead of the second Border War.
That, obviously, is not true and CSU played like it, especially late on.
“You can’t act like it’s another game because it’s really not,” said CSU forward Carey Booth, who tied a career-high with six blocks. “Obviously, it means more. It’s great to get wins in games against Wyoming.”
Farokhmanesh wanted the team to respond with play on the court and it worked out in a strong win for the Rams.
“They were motivated,” Farokhmanesh said of his team. “I think they were motivated just in general, but yeah they were motivated. There were some things that were said that were kind of disrespectful. That’s up to them. But for us, we’re just going to play basketball and be about us and talk about us and it’s about us more than it’s about them.”
Colorado State’s toughness finishes Wyoming
Wyoming led 57-47 with 12:37 to go in the game. There was a timeout shortly after that and Farokhmanesh challenged the group to buckle down.
Buckle down they did.
Wyoming scored just 11 points the rest of the way, shooting 4-21 (19%) in the final 12-plus minutes. The Cowboys missed their final eight shots of the game and 14 of their final 15.
“I thought we got tougher. It wasn’t a whole lot of game plan stuff,” Farokhmanesh said. “We really just got tougher.”
It was a great response from the Rams.
CSU had gone down nine points in the first half as well, while also losing sharpshooter Josh Pascarelli to injury.
That minute lineups got shuffled but the Rams responded with players filling key roles.
Booth’s six blocks disrupted Wyoming and forced the Cowboys to alter drives to the lane. Jevin Muniz carried a huge workload (36 minutes) with Pascarelli injured and scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing three assists.
Kyle Jorgensen scored nine of his 11 points after halftime.
Wyoming was switching defensively, leaving the Rams with size mismatches that encouraged inside play. CSU scored 30 paint points, but also drew 26 fouls.
The Rams shot 25-30 (83%) from the line, while Wyoming had just eight free throw attempts.
“We know we’re a good 3-point shooting team, but if they’re going to switch everything we’ve got to take advantage of mismatches and keep driving the ball to the paint,” CSU guard Jase Butler said.
CSU outscored Wyoming 32-11 in the final 12:37 of the game. Wyoming shot just 32% in the second half and scored 28 points in the final 20 minutes.
Jase Butler’s growth shows in game-winning performance
Butler likely takes the crown of MVP for the game, with a career-high in points (18) and assists (six). He also had three rebounds and three steals, while hitting 11 of 12 free throws.
He was an eye-popping plus-25 in 30 minutes on the floor against Wyoming.
The sophomore is a former four-star recruit who transferred into CSU from Washington (he was recruited by CSU out of high school, too) and has become a do-it-all for the Rams.
“You just trust Jase. He’s Jalen Lake to me,” Farokhmanesh said, referencing the four-year Ram who graduated after last season.
“A lot like Jalen Lake where you trust him on the court, you trust him in those situations to make plays and he came up with every play tonight.”
Butler’s versatility is key. He had a big steal to spark the second half comeback. He can guard multiple positions, he can shoot the ball (40% on 3’s this season) and he’s one of CSU’s best cutters and drivers.
With limited minutes last season at Washington, Farokhmanesh likened the early part of this season to being Butler’s freshman season and now he’s on to being a true sophomore as his game grows.
“I thank Coach Ali for the trust in me,” Butler said. “I think the more reps I get, the better I get.”
Sports reporter Kevin Lytle can be found on social media on X, Instagram and Threads @Kevin_Lytle and on Bluesky.
Wyoming
Fourth Annual Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo, Wyoming Governor’s Match returning to Casper July 18, 19
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation recently announced that the community is invited to a series of events happening on July 18 and 19.
The weekend will feature the Wyoming Governor’s Match, as well as the Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo.
A release from the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation says that the 10th Annual Wyoming Governor’s Match, hosted in partnership with the Casper Shooter’s Club, will run July 18–19 at the Stuckenhoff Shooters Complex, 10 minutes outside of Casper.
The event will bring together spectators, shooting sports organizers and elected officials to interact with more than 360 competitive shooters from across the country.
Eye protection is required for spectators, and ear protection is highly recommended.
Additionally, on Saturday, July 18, the fourth annual Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo is taking place at David Street Station from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The expo is free and open to the public, and it will feature exhibitor booths, a legislative panel and family-friendly activities. It will also feature local food and drink vendors, including WY Knot Pretzel Co., The Dog House and Kuver’s BBQ.
Expo attendees will be able to explore products and gear and will be able to witness demonstrations by the following Wyoming-based brands and organizations:
- 3C Guiding LLC
- 9×19 Fabrication
- ACG
- Adventure Ready RV Solutions
- Cutting Edge Tactics and Training
- Diamond R Saddlery
- DVL Custom Lures
- FEROX
- Freedom Tactical Firearms
- Guardian Warrior Solutions
- Gunwerks
- High Carbon Mercantile
- Kimber Tracks Big Game Recovery/Rocky Mountain Big Game Recovery
- Lucid Optics
- Maven Optics
- MOD Outfitters
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Red, White and Blued
- Ridgeline Customs LLC
- Rocky Mountain Discount Sports
- Scouting America
- Sheridan Fly Rod Co.
- Thunder Beast Arms
- Wilkinson Tactical
- Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
- Wyoming Game & Fish Department
- Wyoming Gun Company
- Wyoming Motorcycle Trials Association
- Wyoming Patriots
The release notes that from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation will facilitate an Outdoor Recreation Legislative Panel on the lawn of David Street Station. The panel discussion is also free and open to the public and will offer legislators and elected officials an opportunity to discuss the importance of growing and sustaining the outdoor recreation and shooting sports industry.
To RSVP or learn more about the Wyoming Firearms & Outdoor Recreation Expo, visit wyorec.info/Expo2026.
To register or learn more about the Wyoming Governor’s Match, visit wyorec.info/GovMatch2026.
Related
BILLINGS — Two Wyoming women escaped unharmed after a black bear attacked their tents in the Big Horn Mountains while they were still inside.
Friends Maggie Bassett and Shonna Dehl were on a camping trip when the bear began tearing into their tents while they were asleep on Sunday night.
Click here to hear the story:
Wyoming women escape black bear attack on their tents in the Big Horn Mountains
“It was so scary,” Bassett said.
Basset said it jolted them and their four dogs awake and that both women were shocked at the bear’s behavior.
“It wanted in the tents,” Dehl said. “That’s all it wanted. It didn’t matter what we did.”
Dehl and Bassett proceeded to yell and scream at the bear, even firing gunshots in its direction in an effort to scare it away. None of those efforts worked.
“It was not scared at all,” Bassett said Wednesday afternoon in an online web call. “It didn’t even blink. It just kind of circled around and came back at me from a different angle.”
“It was circling us,” Dehl said. “It felt like it was circling our campground.”
Eventually, the bear scattered away after more gunshots were fired. Then, the two women fled to their vehicle, hiding out for a couple of hours and honking their horn to keep the bear away.
“We were in there for at least an hour,” Dehl said. “Just scared and shaking.”
Eventually, the two drove away unharmed and made their way to Dehl’s family cabin a few hours away.
When they returned the next day, they found their tents collapsed and torn to shreds. Wyoming Game and Fish responded and told the two women they plan to trap the bear and relocate it.
Both Bassett and Dehl said it was a frightening ordeal, especially because they followed all bear-aware protocol, including using bear containers.
“I will never forget that sound of my tent being ripped open,” Bassett said.
Chrissy Webb with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has not been involved in the investigation but said a bear’s memory can bring it back to places where it has encountered unnatural foods before.
“You know it’s not unreasonable for a bear to return to a site where they’ve gotten food in the past,” Webb said. “When bears start accessing those unnatural human-based food is when we start to see bears that can be potentially dangerous because, you know, they’ve got conditioned by this food.”
Webb said there is no way to know if that is what happened in this case, but staying bear aware is crucial for both campers and the animals.
“It’s safer for you to store things properly, and it’s better for the bear’s sake if they’re not able to access those human foods,” Webb said.
For Bassett and Dehl, it’s an experience that has changed the way the two plan to go camping in the future.
“I don’t see myself sleeping in a tent anytime soon, maybe never,” Bassett said.
“Yeah, we’re going to need four walls,” Dehl said.
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