FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Cowboys were in control of the crowd and the Rams here on Saturday for about 75% of the game.
 
Then Wyoming, which let a 10-point lead slip away down the stretch, left heartbroken following the 79-68 Valentine's Day loss to Colorado State at Moby Arena.
 
The continuing emergence of Damarion Dennis as an efficient two-way player this February makes Sundance Wicks' team more dangerous as March approaches.
 
"Definitely I want to step it up, I want my team to win, and I know what it takes," Dennis said. "I know I need to take more shots and help my team."

The sophomore guard had 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting during UW's 85-83 loss to first-place Utah State on Feb. 7 and followed it up with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting against the rival Rams.
 
Dennis, who had 16 points off the bench during the Pokes' 68-57 win over CSU in Laramie, was in the starting lineup Saturday. He scored 14 points in the first half to help stake the visitors to a 40-37 lead at the intermission.
 
"I think he has found a little bit more of a rhythm and a flow here because he's playing more minutes," Wicks said. "I also saw him get gassed at the end of the Utah State game and he is going to have to maintain a mentality even when he's exhausted because that's what makes him great is that intensity and that relentless competitiveness that he plays with."
 
Due to a cluster of injuries to forwards, including talented 6-foot-10 freshman Gavin Gores, Wicks and his staff have adjusted with a four-guard lineup that includes Dennis, Leland Walker, Khaden Bennett and Nasir (Naz) Meyer.
 
The Cowboys were on their way to a Border War sweep playing "small ball" until foul trouble, poor shot selection and the size disadvantage in the post allowed the double-digit lead to evaporate followed by a 15-4 run by the Rams over the final 5:19.
 
"I thought we played a really great brand of basketball for 31 minutes in a 40-minute game," Wicks said. "Thirty-one minutes of trust, toughness, togetherness and sticking to the game plan and then nine minutes of what I would call soft and selfish and kind of hero ball."
 
Dennis, who has also sparked UW with his relentless defense, has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. He is averaging 15.0 points per game over that span.
 
"He was outstanding," Wicks said of Dennis after the disappointing Border War defeat. "He was the one guy who played within himself. I don't have to call a play for him because he plays within the flow, he does a great job of being himself out there. He's a defensive disruptor, he makes winning plays, he was outstanding."
 
The Cowboys will host Fresno State on Tuesday in the Arena-Auditorium (6: 30 p.m., Mountain West Network).
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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