Nique Clifford scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Colorado State to a 79-63 victory over Wyoming on Saturday in Laramie, Wyo. It was the first win for the Rams north of the border since 2021 as they bounced back from a loss at San Diego State on Tuesday. CSU is now 11-7 overall and 5-2 in the Mountain West Conference. For Clifford, it was a bit of sweet revenge after last year’s overtime loss at the Arena Auditorium. “Man, we owed them for last year,” Clifford said. “We had to come out and get this one. A lot of people was talking before the game, so we just wanted to come out here and prove everyone wrong. It was great motivation for us. There’s nothing better than beating Wyoming, especially on the road.” The teams traded the lead back and forth early in the game, but about midway through the first half the Rams began to pull away. They took their first double-digit lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Clifford that made it 28-17 with 6:45 remaining in the first half. Their largest lead of the first half was 15 points. That came on a 3-pointer by Bowen Born that made it 36-21 with 1:52 left before halftime. Wyoming cut the CSU lead to 36-28 at the break. In the second half, the Rams never relinquished the lead. They went ahead 64-49 with 5:16 remaining and then took their largest lead of the game at 72-55 with 1:29 remaining. In addition to Clifford’s 23 points, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson added 11 and Jalen Lake 10. The Rams outrebounded the Cowboys 37-28 and shot 52% to Wyoming’s 40%. “They’re really starting to buy into who they have to be,” CSU head coach Niko Medved said. “I said from Day 1 I thought this team could and would improve because of who they are and how they’re wired, and I think we’re seeing that.” CSU will be back home at Moby Arena on Wednesday to host Boise State.