FRESNO, Calif. — Wyoming came up empty on the offensive end in the closing minutes and dropped a 63-60 decision to Fresno State on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.
The Cowboys did not make a field goal in the final three minutes and fell to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in Mountain West play.
“This was a make or miss game at the end or make them miss and get a stop game and we didn’t do that,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “It is good to be in the game on the road, but not good enough yet. This is a brutal league, and I told our guys this is a big test right now and a defining moment for our guys down this next stretch.”
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Wyoming shot 41 percent from the field, the same mark as Fresno State. The Cowboys added 26 shooting from behind the arc and did not make a 3-pointer in the second half, while holding the Bulldogs to 17 percent from long range. Wyoming held a 36-31 rebounding advantage.
Leland Walker led the Cowboys with 17 points, adding five assists and four rebounds for his 13th double-figure scoring game of the season. Nasir (Naz) Meyer finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for his 13th double-figure outing, and Damarion Dennis scored 10 points for his seventh such game. Gavin Gores tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Wyoming opened the game quickly as Walker scored seven points in the opening minutes to help the Cowboys jump out to a 10-2 lead. Meyer added a 3-pointer off a Walker pass, and Kiani Saxon hit a corner 3 as Wyoming made its first three attempts from long range to take a 13-5 lead.
Fresno State trimmed the margin to four, but Dennis knocked down Wyoming’s fourth straight 3-pointer to push the lead back to seven with 14 minutes left in the first half. The Cowboys then went scoreless for more than six minutes, allowing the Bulldogs to pull within one.
Fresno State took a 20-18 lead with 6:18 remaining in the half and extended it to 22-18 on a fast-break dunk. Wyoming responded by holding the Bulldogs scoreless for more than three minutes and regained the lead at 25-23 on another Dennis 3-pointer with just over two minutes left. Meyer added a basket to give Wyoming a 27-26 advantage at the break, with both teams shooting 10-of-26 from the field.
The game remained tight early in the second half. Meyer’s driving layup made it 33-30 four minutes in, and Uriyah Rojas pushed the lead to five before Fresno State tied the game at 37-37 with under 13 minutes left.
Dennis reached double figures to give Wyoming a 41-39 lead with under 12 minutes remaining, but the Cowboys went scoreless for nearly three minutes as the Bulldogs moved in front 44-43. Adam Harakow broke the drought with three free throws at the 7:18 mark, and the teams traded leads over the next several minutes.
Walker put Wyoming ahead 54-53 at the free-throw line with 4:36 left, and Meyer followed with a jumper to make it 56-54 with 3:43 remaining. Fresno State answered at the line to take a 60-58 lead with 1:59 to play and extended it to 62-58 with 1:02 left.
Walker hit two free throws to pull Wyoming within 62-60 with 53 seconds remaining. The Cowboys had a chance to tie in the final 30 seconds, but a missed shot led to a free throw on the other end, giving Fresno State a 63-60 lead with nine seconds left.
David Douglas Jr. and DeShawn Gory led Fresno State with 13 points apiece.
Wyoming returns home Tuesday to host Boise State at the Arena-Auditorium. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.