The Pokes forced 23 turnovers and scored 31 points off the miscues in a 77-65 win over South Dakota state on Monday afternoon in the first round of the Cayman Islands Classic in Georgetown, Cayman Islands. UW hit six three pointers in the second half including three in the closing minutes of the game. Wyoming moves to 3-0 on the season with SDSU falling to 3-2.
 
"The one thing we are telling our guys is not to worry about if the shot is going in or not," UW head coach Allen Edwards said. "Sometimes teams can get a little defeated when they don't see the ball going in, but our message in the huddle was continuing to play defense and rebound the basketball along with active hands. At the end of the day it wasn't pretty but it was a good team effort. We look forward to Louisiana tomorrow."

The Cowboys move to the semifinals of the tournament facing off against Louisiana on Tuesday for a 12:30 p.m. MT start.
 
Senior Hayden Dalton led the Pokes with 18 points on the afternoon with 13 of those coming in the second half. He also added a team-high five assists in the game. Junior Justin James added 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Senior guard Louis Adams added 14 points off the bench for the Pokes.
 
Wyoming held one of the nation's top scorers Mike Daum to only 10 points, as he was averaging over 20 points per game. He hit only two shots in the contest. The two teams would combine for 48 fouls in the game.
 
"I thought that we were active defensively," Edwards said. "Daum had a rough shooting afternoon because he wasn't getting his normal looks at the basket."
 
The Pokes shot 42 percent from the field going 25-of-60. Wyoming held the Jackrabbits to 37 percent from the field (17-of-46). South Dakota State did their damage from behind the three-point line shooting 36 percent going 9-of-25. SDSU also held the advantage on the glass at 38-35.
 
"We're excited about coming here," Edwards said.  "Anytime you're in these types of environments, usually the first night the shooting is a little tough. Then going through the game and getting the feel for it, hopefully it improves."
 
A transition three pointer by Redding and an alley-oop dunk by James gave the Pokes a 5-3 lead in the early goings of the first half. The Jackrabbits hit a pair of triples to take a 9-5 lead on the Pokes with a tick under 15 minutes remaining in the opening frame.

The Pokes used a 5-0 surge to take a 10-9 lead minutes later thanks to a jumper from Dalton and a rebound followed by a layup from Adams. The Cowboys offense would struggle, as UW would go without a field goal for seven minutes. Dalton halted the drought with a triple to give UW a 19-17 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first stanza.

The Cowboys found success attacking the rim to close out the opening frame. Herndon had a dunk on a nice dish from James to close out the half making it a 27-24 game. Both teams struggled from the field with the Pokes shooting 29 percent (9-of-31) with the Jackrabbits shooting 32 percent (7-of-22). Wyoming was 2-of-17 from the three-point line in the opening half.
Wyoming came out firing in the second half with a 5-0 run to take a 32-24 advantage. James hit a triple followed by a layup by Redding. The Pokes would get into foul trouble, as the Jackrabbits went to the line with the 1-and-1 four minutes into the half making it a 34-31 game.

The Pokes extended their lead to a game-high 11 points with an 8-0 run. Dalton led the way with four points to make it a 42-31 with 14:10 remaining in the second frame. The Jackrabbits hit three triples on three trips down the floor to make it a 44-43 contest with 11:23 remaining.

 The Jackrabbits took the lead 52-50 at the 9:07 mark of the second half. It was their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half. Dalton gave the Pokes a lead on a sweet fade away layup with 7:03 remaining to make it 58-57. He continued to feel it with five more points to make it a 63-58 game with a little over six minutes remaining.

Senior guard Alexander Aka Gorski hit back-to-back threes to give Wyoming a 72-61 lead with 2:32 remaining in the game. It was the first time in the contest the Pokes hit triples on back-to-back possessions. Adams added a deep three pointer to extend the lead to 75-63 for their largest lead of the game. The Pokes would continue the strong defense and took the contest 77-65.

"Alex (Aka Gorski) is a veteran," Edwards said. "I didn't know how much I was going to play him. We ran a set for him to go out there and shot and he executed. For this team to be successful he is one of the guys that has to go out there and be effective on the floor."

Redd Tellinghuisen led the Jackrabbits with 16 points. Brandon Key also added 10 points for SDSU.

The Pokes will face off with Louisiana for the second time in school history on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. MT.