LARAMIE, Wyo. (Feb. 7, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowboys went toe-to-toe with Mountain West Conference leader Utah State but fell but fell just short in an 85-83 loss on Saturday evening inside the Arena-Auditorium. The Pokes, who are down to eight scholarship players nearly erased an 11-point deficit in the final six minutes of play, as UW falls to 13-11 overall and 4-9 in MW 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 look 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 every to contribute and you have to be perfect."
 
The Pokes were led by Damarion Dennis with 20 points going 8-of-13 from the field for his second game of 20 or more points. He also added a career-high six rebounds. Nasir (Naz) Meyer added 19 points with 14 in the second half. Leland Walker added 15 points and a team-high five rebounds. Khaden Bennett added 11 points for his third-straight game in double-figures and led the team with seven rebounds.
 
Utah State shot 64 percent from the field on the night and made nine-straight shots twice in the contest. With one in each half. Wyoming shot 45 percent and knocked down 11 threes on the night for the eighth game with 10 or more threes this season. Utah State had a slim 28-27 lead on the glass, as UW grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.
 
Dennis scored the first five points of the game for the Pokes for an early 5-2 advantage. Utah State responded with a 5-0 run themselves using the three ball and a fast break bucket.
 
Bennett added a three-pointer and a slick pass from Uriyah Rojas to Simm-Marten Saadi made it a 10-7 game for the Pokes with 15 minutes left in the first half. Rojas add a trio of free throws to cap an 8-0 run and a 13-7 lead for the Pokes.
 
Utah State went on a 6-0 run to tie the contest at 13-13, but Meyer added a corner three for a 16-13 lead with 11:34 left in the first frame. He added a fast break bucket a minute later for a 18-13 lead for the Brown and Gold.
 
The Aggies added four-straight buckets and went on a 7-0 run over three minutes to take a 21-20 lead near the eight-minute mark of the opening stanza. Bennett ended the run with a nice dribble drive bucket. But the Aggies continue the hot shooting pushing to nine-straight makes and a 32-22 lead with five minutes left in the half.
 
The Cowboys responded with a run of their own this time 11-0 with a trio of three pointers from Saadi, Bennett and Adam Harakow for a 33-32 lead with two minutes left in the half. Utah State. Mason Falslev added five points late in the half and lifted Utah State to a 39-35 lead at the half.
 
After an early run by Utah State to open the second half to push the lead to nine points, Wyoming went on a 9-0 run lead by a rare four-point play from Dennis, a nifty layup from Walker and a three from Kiani Saxon for a 44-44 game.
 
The Aggies pushed the lead to five-points during a stretch, as the Pokes couldn't push closer than two points. Meyer added back-to-back threes for a 58-56 game with 11 minutes left in the contest.
 
Walker made it a one-point game, but the Aggies used the paint and made it a 64-59 game with nine minutes left. The Aggies pushed the lead to 73261 on the heels of a 8-0 run with under seven minutes left.
 
The Pokes battled to make it a seven-point game, but a scoring drought pushed the Utah State led to 76-65 with under four minutes left. Dennis would get to 20 points helping make it an 80-73 game with under two minutes left.
 
The Cowboys used the free throw line and made it an 82-78 game with 26 seconds left. Walker added a layup and UW forced a turnover and a and-one from Meyer made it a 84-83 game with 15 seconds left. The Pokes would have a chance to tie or win the game in the final seconds, but a shot was short and Utah State took a 85-83 lead.
 
The Aggies were led by Falslev added a game-high 27 points going 10-of-14 from the field. MJ Collins added 20 points going 10-of-14 from the free throw line.
 
The Cowboys will return to action with a Valentine's Day matchup against Colorado State set for 2 p.m. at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo.