LARAMIE — Wyoming struggled to find offensive rhythm, particularly in the first half, and fell 74-57 to San Diego State on Wednesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.

The loss marked just the Cowboys’ second at home this season and dropped Wyoming to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in Mountain West play. San Diego State, which is tied for first place in the conference, improved its conference position with the win.

“We can collectively become a tougher team if we believe in the process and right now, I’m not sure we are believing in that and seeing the lack of response was disappointing,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “The product we put out tonight, they smacked us in transition, and we uncharacteristically shot threes without getting to the paint and kudos to San Diego State that is a really good team and have been a really good team for a long time. We are fighting for our standard every day.”

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Wyoming shot a season-low 31 percent from the field and went 10-of-34 from 3-point range for 29 percent. San Diego State shot 50 percent overall and 41 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 7 of 17 attempts. The teams were even on the glass with 34 rebounds apiece, while Wyoming committed 11 turnovers and San Diego State had eight. The Aztecs outscored the Cowboys 34-14 in the paint.

Freshman Gavin Gores led Wyoming with a career-high 12 points, scoring in double figures for the second straight game for the first time in his career. He also pulled down a career-best eight rebounds. Nasir (Naz) Meyer finished with 13 points for his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season and the 65th of his career. Leland Walker added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Khaden Bennett recorded a career-high seven assists.

The game opened with both teams managing just one basket in the first two minutes. Wyoming used a 5-0 run to take a 7-4 lead on a 3-pointer from Bennett and a layup by Abou Magassa, holding the Aztecs scoreless for nearly four minutes. San Diego State tied the game with 14 minutes remaining in the half.

Wyoming later went ahead 13-9 on a 3-pointer from Kiani Saxon with just under 11 minutes left, but San Diego State responded with a 7-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. The Aztecs then held Wyoming without a basket for four minutes and extended the advantage to 20-14 before Meyer hit a 3-pointer to stop the run.

San Diego State answered with an 8-0 run to build a double-digit lead at 28-17. Wyoming missed eight straight shots and went 1-of-15 from the field during a prolonged scoring drought as the Aztecs pushed the lead to 13 points late in the half and took a 38-25 advantage into intermission.

Gores scored six early second-half points, including a pair of dunks, to cut the deficit to 45-35 with under 17 minutes left. A 6-0 run by San Diego State quickly restored control, making it 51-35, and another Aztecs run stretched the lead to 21 points with 13 minutes remaining. San Diego State maintained control the rest of the way.

Reese Dixon-Waters led the Aztecs with 13 points, hitting 3 of 5 shots from long range. Miles Byrd added 12 points and a team-high four assists, and seven San Diego State players grabbed at least three rebounds.

Wyoming returns to action Saturday with a road game at Fresno State. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Save Mart Center on the Mountain West Network.