SAN DIEGO -- A rare San Diego downpour didn't slow down Jamaal Williams.
He rushed for a game-high 210 yards and a touchdown to lead the Brigham Young Cougars to a win over the Wyoming Cowboys in the Poinsettia Bowl, 24-21 on Wednesday night.
"It was a team effort," Williams said. "And the way I wanted to go out as a senior. There was great blocking from the offensive lines and the tight ends."
The Cowboys (8-6) countered with Brian Hill. He ran for a touchdown, with 93 rushing yards. Hill sat out the first quarter for an undisclosed team violation.
"That was my decision and that is all I'm going to say about that," Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said.
BYU (9-4), which competes as an independent, won its fifth straight contest.
"Our guys fight to the end, no matter how the momentum was going," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said.
Wyoming, which lost to San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference title game, ended the season with three-game losing streak.
BYU's Tanner Mangum, in his first start this season, was 8-of-16 for 96 yards, with a touchdown and interception.
Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns while completing 17 of 32 passes for 188 yards. His second interception, by Kai Nacua, came late when Wyoming had advanced to the BYU 32.
"When Josh breaks the pocket his receivers go toward the end zone," Nacua said. "I just waited and I almost over ran it I was so excited. But I made the pick."
It ended a rally in which Wyoming scored 14 points in the final eight minutes, which was nearly enough to catch BYU. But the comeback ended at the BYU 32 with about 90 seconds to play.
"I think they covered that play pretty well," Wyoming's Tanner Gentry said. "Josh rolled out and tried to do what he usually does -- make a play. He made the decision and we will live with it."
Allen threw his second scoring pass to Gentry, from 23 yards, to get Wyoming to within 24-17 with two minutes remaining.
Allen clicked with Gentry, who finished with 113 receiving yards, on an 9-yard pass to slice BYU's edge to 24-14 earlier in the quarter.
Williams stretched the Cougars' advantage to 24-7 on a 36-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run.
Mangum hit Tanner Balderee on a 5-yard pass to push the Cougars' lead to 17-7 late in the third quarter. The ball reached Balderee's hands after ricocheting off numerous players in the end zone as Magum floated the pass into traffic.
The Cowboys pulled to within 10-7 on Hill's 4-yard run midway through the third quarter. Hill scored his 22nd touchdown of the season when he moved the pile the final 2 yards for the score. The 16-play, 8:22 drive featured two fourth-down conversions, one coming on a 9-yard pass from Allen to Jacob Hollister and the other on an Allen sneak.
BYU extended its lead to 10-0 on Rhett Almond's 27-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Wyoming got its second turnover of the first half when Andrew Wingard intercepted Mangum's second-quarter pass. But again, it couldn't capitalize.
The Cowboys attempted a 42-yard field goal by Cooper Rothe, but holder Nick Szpor mishandled the snap and threw an incomplete desperation pass.
It marked the second time the special teams unit had difficulty securing the football.
Mangum rushed in from 3 yards, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. After Williams, who rushed for 121 first-half yards, was stopped for no gain, Mangum looked to pass. A hole appeared in the middle and he ran through it before diving into the end zone.
The wet conditions aided BYU in setting up the first score.
Before Mangum's touchdown run, Cowboys punter Ethan Wood dropped the snap to give the Cougars possession deep in its territory.
"The weather affected both of us a little bit," Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. "But it seemed liked we had more trouble handling the football."
Wyoming couldn't convert an earlier turnover into points. Williams was stripped of the ball by Cassh Maluia and it was recovered by Lucas Wacha. But Wyoming returned the ball on downs.
BYU returned for its second Poinsettia Bowl and this one, like its visit in 2012, resulted in a win as well.
NOTES:
BYU and Wyoming first faced each other in 1922. Their pairing in the Poinsettia Bowl was their first meeting since 2010.
Playing as an independent, BYU beat the Pac-12's Arizona, the Big Ten's Michigan State and the SEC's Mississippi State this season.
Wyoming, which finished in the Mountain West cellar last year, was in its first bowl game since losing to Temple in the New Mexico Bowl in 2011.
