LARAMIE, Wyo. — It would be easy to surrender.
Wyoming, coming off an agonizing 63–61 defeat at San Diego State, had Utah State on the ropes on Tuesday night.
However, the Cowboys, who had a 35–30 halftime lead, were unable to hold on without leading scorer Obi Agbim in the frustrating 71–67 loss at the Arena-Auditorium.
The now 20–3 Aggies also escaped with a 73–70 win in the first meeting back in December.
“It’s getting really old, really quick,” forward Cole Henry said of the close calls.
UW’s theme of going toe to toe with NCAA Tournament contenders also included taking a 14-point lead into the intermission against first-place New Mexico before falling in another game Agbim missed due to injury.
If you think these pesky Pokes have had enough, though, you haven’t been paying close enough attention to the progress this hastily assembled roster has made throughout the season.
Head coach Sundance Wicks’s latest message in the somber postgame locker room: Do not grow weary in this good fight.
“There are some things we’re doing that are great,” Wicks said after UW fell to 11–12 overall and 4–8 in the Mountain West following its sixth single-digit loss. “We’re making good teams look not so good. Who we are is yet to be determined. I know this: If we double down on our competitiveness, if we double down on our connection, if we double down on our commitment to becoming the team that we’re starting to become on the defensive side of the ball and the way we’re playing with our pace, the identity is starting to form, then come March you can play forever if you want to.
“I’m not here waving a white flag and throwing in the towel.”
Agbim was nearly flawless against Utah State in Logan, finishing with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting with 10 assists and one turnover while controlling the pace. The standout point guard, who is second in the conference in scoring, was a late scratch for the rematch due to concussion protocol.
UW tried to make up for Agbim’s production with a balanced attack. Jordan Nesbitt led the team with 11 points and Dontaie Allen added 10.
All eight Pokes that played scored at least 6 points, but there wasn’t enough firepower on the offensive end down the stretch despite limiting the Aggies to only three made 3-pointers on the other end.
“Offensively, we’re missing him, but I feel like we have guys who can step up for him,” forward Matija Belic said of Agbim’s absence. “Obviously, we know he’s our best scorer. It is what it is. We have to produce and play.”
Wicks has been through this before. During his first season at Missouri Western, the team lost a similar number of close games while the first-time head coach was establishing his culture. The next season the program won 18 games for the first time in 20 years.
A year ago, at Green Bay, Wicks and his staff — including current UW assistants Pat Monaghan and Nic Reynolds — turned the Phoenix from a three-win team into an 18-win team.
“It’s a funny paradox,” Wicks said. “To learn how to win you’ve got to feel what it’s like to lose.”
The coaching staff continue to push the right buttons in practice while putting together winning scouting reports. Wicks challenged the players after Tuesday’s loss to take it upon themselves to make winning plays down the stretch.
“If we were playing our best basketball and this were it, I’d walk in here and say, ‘Guys, we’re tapped,’” Wicks said. “We’re not. We’ve got so much more inside of us, and that’s what I’m encouraged about.”
The 2024–25 Cowboys, who have 10 new players who were signed over a 27-day span late last spring, can change their fortunes at the MW Tournament next month in Las Vegas.
Contenders like New Mexico, Utah State and SDSU will be certainly uneasy drawing UW in the bracket if this team continues to improve down the stretch, beginning with Saturday’s game against UNLV at the Arena-Auditorium (2 p.m., MW Network).
“The fun is competing against those top teams knowing what we did in those 27 days and we’re here. We’re knocking,” Wicks said. “They ain’t letting us in yet but we’re knocking and now instead of knocking we’ve got to go kick the door down.”
