Jamaal Franklin scored the first five points of overtime and finished with 12 points all together to help No. 24 San Diego State sneak past Wyoming, 67-58, at Viejas Arena on Wednesday.
Garrett Green came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Tim Shelton and Chase Tapley each chipped in 10 points apiece as the Aztecs (21-6, 7-4 MWC) snapped a three-game losing streak.
"We have to find a way to win. We can't be excuse-makers," said San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher. "We've got to make a play. We've got to dig and dig and dig and dig and make a play. That's what this team has done. We have fought and fought and fought and not given up. And I like the way we have fought."
Arthur Bouedo led Wyoming (18-9, 4-7) with 11 points and Adam Waddell netted 10 to go with six rebounds for the Cowboys, who lost their fourth straight contest.
Franklin scored the first five in the extra session, as his three-point play gave the Aztecs a 60-55 lead less than a minute into overtime.
Tapley managed a steal and a layup, but Francisco Cruz quickly answered with 1:44 remaining to make it a 62-57 contest.
Green responded with a thunderous dunk down the heart of the defense to press the lead back to seven.
The Aztecs held on down the stretch, going 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to secure the overtime victory.
The Cowboys took a 44-35 lead with 11:13 left, but went the next six-plus minutes without a field goal as the Aztecs reeled off a 10-1 to tie the game at 45.
Leonard Washington would end the drought by nailing a three but Franklin answered with a triple of his own to tie the game at 48 with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.
Leading 53-52, the Aztecs got two free throws from Green to take a two-point lead after a Luke Martinez missed foul shot, but Martinez responded with a three from the wing that hit nothing but net to tie the game at 55 with 29.2 seconds left, allowing the Aztecs to hold for the final shot.
Tapley drove the lane but came up short on the left-handed layup and Wyoming corralled the rebound with 1.7 still showing on the clock, but Wyoming came up empty on a desperation attempt at the buzzer.
"The critical thing tonight was we missed foul shots with 45 seconds left to take the lead and they came down and made two," Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt said. "We had two chances to win it in regulation, but couldn't get them. I thought we shot the ball better in the second half tonight, which has been a nemesis for us the last five games."
Wyoming used an 11-2 run to jump out to an early 13-4, but San Diego State countered with a 12-3 run of its own to take a 26-24 lead.
The Cowboys took a 30-26 lead into the locker room after scoring the final six of the half.
Game Notes
