The Wyoming Cowboys won their first game at the Cayman Islands Classic Monday, 77-65, over South Dakota State and remain undefeated on the season.

Hayden Dalton scored 18 points and dished out five assists, Justin James had 16 points and seven rebounds and Louis Adams added 14 points off the bench.

Wyoming (3-0) capitalized with 31 points off 23 Jackrabbit turnovers.

Head coach Allen Edwards in a release from the university said,

“The one thing we are telling our guys is not to worry about if the shot is going in or not. Sometimes teams can get a little defeated when they don’t see the ball going in, but our message in the huddle was continuing to play defense ad rebound the basketball along with active hands.”

UW led 27-24 at halftime. The Pokes used an early 8-0 run and built a 42-31 lead with 14 minutes left.

South Dakota State fought back with three 3-pointers and cut it to 44-43 with just over 17 minutes remaining. The Jackrabbits took the lead at 52-50 with nine minutes left.

Dalton responded with a basket at the 7:03 mark, which gave the Cowboys the lead for good, 58-57. He added five more points, and Wyoming stretched its lead to 63-58.

Alexander Aka Gorski hits three’s on back-to-back possessions for a 72-61 lead. Adams iced it with another three for a 75-63 advantage.

UW shot 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.

South Dakota State was led by Reed Tellinghuisen with 16 points. Brandon Key and Mike Daum added 10 points apiece. Daum, their leading scorer, was held to two field goals in the game. The Jackrabbits shot 37 percent from the floor.

Edwards also referred to their ability to hold down one of the nation’s top scorers.

“I thought that we were active defensively. Daum had a rough shooting afternoon because he wasn’t getting his normal looks at the basket.”

Wyoming advances to the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic, where they will play the Louisiana Rajun Cajuns at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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