Cowboys Remain Winless in Conference After Loss to Utah State

The Utah State Aggies shot 53 percent in the second half and pulled away for a 68-45 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys Tuesday night in Laramie.

Utah State (17-6, 6-4) won for the fourth time in their last five games.

It was 25-16 Aggies at halftime. Wyoming's Hunter Thompson made a 3-pointer that trimmed it to 27-21 at the 19:07 mark. Utah State responded with an 11-0 run, which made it 38-21. The Cowboys failed to get closer than 13 points the rest of the game.

UW head coach Allen Edwards said, “I thought we played some good basketball in the first half defensively. What I told our guys was I thought in the second half we let our lack of offense affect our competitive edge on the defensive end of the floor."

Wyoming (5-17, 0-10) was led by Hunter Maldonado and Kwane Marble II with 14 points apiece. The Pokes shot 30 percent in the game. They were out-rebounded, 41-23.

Utah State was paced by Sam Merrill's 14 points. He was one of three Aggies in double-figures.

The Cowboys will try for their first Mountain West Conference win of the year at San Jose State on Saturday. Tip-off is at 3 p.m., Mountain Time.