The Pokes silenced The Show for over half the game.
Then the visitors in brown and gold went cold and the loudest student section in the Mountain West had plenty to scream about as Wyoming surrendered 81-65 to San Diego State on Tuesday night at Viejas Arena in San Diego.
The Cowboys (10-9, 3-3) – who shot 35.5% from the field in the second half while being outscored 47-33 by the Aztecs (16-4, 5-2) – fell to 0-7 in true road games.
UW committed 15 turnovers that led to 19 points for SDSU. The Pokes only forced two turnovers that resulted in zero points.
“There’s no moral victories,” head coach Jeff Linder said. “But I thought our effort and performance in one of the toughest places in the country to play, against a very experienced team, I thought our guys battled hard.
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“We wore down a little bit. Give credit to San Diego State. That’s what they do to teams.”
SDSU shot 66% in the decisive second half to bounce back from a one-point loss at Boise State on Saturday.
But it wasn’t easy for the 2023 national runner-up.
Akuel Kot hit a 3-pointer and Sam Griffin buried back-to-back shots behind the arc to give the visitors a 41-36 lead with 17:53 remaining.
Lamont Butler finished a 9-0 counterpunch with a layup off the Cowboys’ 11th turnover to give SDSU a 45-41 advantage.
Darrion Trammell completed a three-point play to finish a 19-4 run that gave the Aztecs a 55-45 lead.
UW would trail by as many as 18 points (76-58).
Butler, the Final Four hero, finished with 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting and Jaedon LeDee added 17 points to lead the Aztecs.
“We put ourselves in position,” Linder said. “The difference was in the first half we were able to keep them out of the paint and we understood the scouting report. In the second half they got in the paint too much and that’s obviously why they shot 66%.”
Griffin had 22 points, Mason Walters finished with 18 points and Kot added 16 for the Pokes. The rest of the team only chipped in nine points on 2-for-12 shooting.
Kobe Newton did not make the trip due to an undisclosed illness. Brendan Wenzel was 0-for-8 from the field but led the team with eight rebounds.
The shorthanded Cowboys finished with a 39-29 edge on the glass.
“With Sam and Akuel playing 40 minutes, they fought hard, it’s just a matter of wearing them down,” Linder said. “And with San Diego State’s depth and experience, they do that to you.”
UW built an early five-point lead and trailed 34-32 at the intermission after going scoreless over the final 4:02 of the first half.
The Aztecs made three 3s out of the gate to get an 11-4 head start. UW answered with an 8-0 run capped with a 3 by Griffin.
SDSU missed its next 10 attempts behind the arc, and the Pokes took a 22-20 lead after a dunk by Caden Powell followed by a bucket by Walters in the paint.
A floater by Griffin extended the cushion to 32-27, but the Aztecs responded with a 7-0 spurt capped with a basket by Trammell at the buzzer.
UW was 4-for-9 (44%) on 3s while SDSU went 4-for-19 (21%) through the first 20 minutes.
The Cowboys had nine turnovers that led to 33 points for the Aztecs, who did not have a turnover in the first half.
“We’re getting better, and I think that’s the only thing that matters right now,” Linder said. “Because there’s a lot of teams this time of year they start trending in the other direction, and I think we’re trending in the right direction.
“We’ve just got to continue to keep getting a little bit better each day and we’ve got a chance to do some things as the season goes on.”
The Pokes, who improved to 3-0 at home in MW play with a 98-93 win over Nevada before the SDSU trip, will host Border War rival Colorado State at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Arena-Auditorium.
Follow UW beat writer Ryan Thorburn on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn
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