LARAMIE — Playing with just eight scholarship players, Wyoming’s men’s team went toe-to-toe with Mountain West leader Utah State before coming up just short in an 85-83 loss Saturday night at the Arena-Auditorium, while the Cowgirls were undone by Colorado State’s hot shooting in an 83-54 road loss in Fort Collins.
The Cowboys nearly erased an 11-point deficit in the final six minutes before Utah State held on to improve its conference lead. Wyoming fell to 13-11 overall and 4-9 in Mountain West play.
“I was proud of our guy’s effort and what a battle,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “They had us down 10 and our guys responded both times which is a massive growth point for us. I like the way our small ball lineup looked offensively just defensively that is a good offensive team and they make you pay for every defensive miscue. Our margin for error is extremely small and I like how our guys competed physically, but mentally we need to work on what we need to do and when we need to do it. In a game like this you need everyone to contribute and you have to be perfect.”
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Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added a career-high six rebounds. Nasir (Naz) Meyer scored 19 points, including 14 in the second half. Leland Walker finished with 15 points and a team-high five rebounds, and Khaden Bennett added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds for his third straight double-figure scoring game.
Utah State shot 64 percent from the field and made nine straight shots twice, once in each half. Wyoming shot 45 percent and hit 11 3-pointers for the eighth time this season with at least 10 made 3s. Utah State held a slim 28-27 edge on the glass, while Wyoming grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.
Wyoming led early and again late in the first half, answering Utah State’s 7-0 run with an 11-0 burst capped by three-pointers from Simm-Marten Saadi, Bennett and Adam Harakow to take a one-point lead late in the half. The Aggies closed the half ahead 39-35 and pushed the lead to nine early in the second half before Wyoming answered with a 9-0 run to pull even.
The Aggies built the lead back to double digits in the final seven minutes, but Wyoming rallied late, trimming the margin to one in the final seconds before a last attempt came up short.
In Fort Collins, Colorado State’s outside shooting proved too much for the Cowgirls. The Rams made 13 3-pointers and shot 54.2 percent from beyond the arc, including 8 of 13 from deep in the first half, to pull away for an 83-54 win.
Wyoming trailed by five after the first quarter before Colorado State opened the second quarter with four 3-pointers to seize control. The Rams continued to stretch the lead in the third quarter and carried a 64-41 advantage into the fourth.
The Cowgirls shot 33.9 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers. Colorado State finished at 51 percent shooting and went 14 of 15 from the free-throw line. The Rams also held advantages in rebounding, points in the paint and second-chance points.
Jane Rumpf led Wyoming with 16 points and two blocks, shooting 5 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Malene Pedersen added 11 points, Henna Sandvik finished with seven points and a team-high three assists, and Heidur Karlsdottir had five points, four rebounds and two blocks off the bench.
Wyoming’s men return to action on Valentine’s Day at Colorado State in Fort Collins, while the Cowgirls continue their road swing Wednesday at UNLV.
