VERMILLION, S.D. — The University of Wyoming basketball team fell just one point shy of a tie-game and overtime against the University of South Dakota Coyotes in its 82–81 Tuesday night away game.
Despite a night of career and season highs, Wyoming’s defense couldn’t match the energy and pace of South Dakota and let the Coyotes easily make their shots from the mid-range and beyond the arc. South Dakota, though limited to only four three-pointers, was shooting at an efficient 45% from the field, according to UW Athletics. Wyoming drained eight threes for the night, but shot at 42%.
Regardless of the loss, a handful of Pokes really showed up and showed out. Senior guard Dontaie Allen scored a season-high 10 points, while sophomore guard A.J. Wills scored 16 points coming off the bench — a career high. Senior Obi Agbim led the whole team with 17 points.
Even while exhibiting pure dominance at the glass with nearly double the rebounds at the basket than the Coyotes, Wyoming Basketball Head Coach Sundance Wicks has indicated he’s not OK with the energy the team brought to the game.
“We let the fight come to us tonight and didn’t bring the fight to them,” Wicks said in a UW Athletics release. “We have to be better down the stretch and just go out and win the game. Defense has to travel and we defended the arc and we had to guard the one-on-one and I tip my cap to them.”
Turnovers are another area of improvement on the Pokes’ horizon. They nearly doubled the disparity between their turnovers and South Dakota’s with 19–10. The Cowboys will get a chance to see how far they can stretch their opponent’s defense and score this Saturday against BYU of the Big 12 Conference, again on the road, at 7 p.m.
