LARAMIE – Selfish dreams don't come true.
 
That was Sundance Wicks' message after Wyoming took a series of ill-advised shots down the stretch as a 10-point lead turned into a painful defeat at Colorado State last Saturday in Fort Collins.
 
Trust your teammates.
 
Those were the first three words the head coach wrote on the whiteboard before the Cowboys' 92-82 victory over Fresno State on Tuesday night at the Arena-Auditorium.
 
UW finished with 21 assists and nine turnovers with a season-high 15 made 3-pointers while shooting 54% from the field to stymie the bigger Bulldogs.
 
Five different players in the brown and gold had three or more assists and five different Pokes scored in double figures.
 
"When you trust your teammates that's what it looks like," Wicks said. "It doesn't have to be one guy with seven assists and dominating the ball. That's a beautiful thing to see right there, that's unbelievable basketball. Fans like to watch that stuff, coaches like to watch that."
 
Nasir (Naz) Meyer, who would like to have a couple of his shots back from the bitter finish at Moby Arena, bounced back with a game-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting with four assists and one turnover.
 
"It does feel good, because one thing we have to be better at is closing games," Meyer said. "The CSU game, the last nine minutes or so, we didn't get a good shot up because we were just panicking. On the other end, we were fouling a lot and not playing smart defense."
 
The Cowboys trailed Fresno State by as many as eight points (28-20) after a cold start shooting but finished the first half with eight made 3s.
 
Uriyah Rojas tied the score 28-28 with a corner 3 and Kiani Saxon buried another shot behind the arc to get UW within 37-36. Damarion Dennis, Adam Harakow and Meyer all made layups in the final 1:26 for a 6-0 run to give the Pokes a 42-40 lead at the intermission.
 
Fresno State 7-footer Wilson Jaques was 5-for-5 from the field with 13 points in the first half to lead the visitors, who shot 54% but only 3-for-8 behind the arc.
 
The Cowboys continue to be without 6-foot-10 forward Gavin Gores due to a hand injury. Despite finishing with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 12 rebounds, Jaques and his Fresno State teammates struggled to keep up with UW's four-guard attack on the other end.
 
"This lineup puts pressure on you over and over again. It's a little bit more like the run and gun Pokes," Wicks said. "We're not going to stop guys in the paint by being bigger and more physical. We're going to have to limit 3-point attempts and we're going to have to live with a little bit of destruction in the paint just by sure objectivity. …
 
"We're not getting a growth spurt anytime soon."
 
The new locker room mantra – "small but mighty" – finally delivered a victory after the Cowboys nearly knocked off first-place Utah State in the previous home game.
 
Dennis and Khaden Bennett scored 17 points each, Leland Walker had 10 points despite foul trouble limiting him to 23 minutes, and Rojas added 11 points off the bench against the Bulldogs.
 
"It felt great," said Rojas, who went 3-for-4 shooting behind the arc. "Obviously, I've been in a big slump, but I just kept on working. Whether I'm playing good or playing bad, I just stayed in the gym, and it paid off."
 
Wicks awarded Rojas with the buffalo for running through his recent on-court storm and sparking the team.
 
"I'm proud of him, because he's been going through it," Wicks said. "The only way to get through it is to grow through it, and there is no way out other than through the fire. I don't get softer on guys as it's getting tougher on them."
 
UW's schedule gets much more difficult with road games at Grand Canyon on Saturday and Boise State next Tuesday.
 
The unselfishness and trust must travel.
 
"We were making the right plays, seeking paint and kicking it out for each other," Meyer said. "I think that's why we were shooting at a high clip because we were playing for each other and not shooting bad (shots)."
 
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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