"When you get 18 offensive rebounds against Utah, you're shocked,"

said McClain.

After falling behind 35-30 at halftime and letting the Cowboys score the first six points of the second half, the Utes fought back and made a game of it. When Hawkins scored on a drive with 3:15 left, the Utes closed the gap to 61-59.

But at the other end, the Cowboys executed a nice pick and roll and Joe Ries scored a layup off a pass from Straight. Then the Utes turned the ball over when a pass from Hawkins sailed over the head of freshman Josh Olsen, who was looking the other way.

On Wyoming's next two possessions, it appeared the ball went off Straight's leg into the backcourt twice with no violation being called.

Rupp thought the same thing, but wasn't blaming the officials afterwards.

"The officials didn't stop us from blocking out or hustling after loose balls," he said. "I think things even out most of the time."

After Drisdom lost the ball with the shot clock running down, the Cowboys increased their lead to six on two free throws by David Adams with 1:00 left.

Jacobson made his second three of the night (he was only 2 for 12) with 49 seconds left to make it a three-point game, but his missed his next two tries and the Cowboys wrapped it up with 10 free throws in the final 48 seconds.

Jacobson had no answer for his off night, saying, "I just couldn't hit them, couldn't hit the rim."

But he knew it was more than his poor shooting performance that hurt the Utes.

"It still came down to us not getting rebounds, all of us,".

"They outhustled us from start to finish," added Drisdom. "We didn't match their intensity."

The Utes appeared to be on cruise control when they jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. However, the Cowboys were more aggressive on the offensive boards and they started sinking their 3-pointers as they went on a 17-4 run to take a 20-11 lead with 12:52 left.

"We were attacking them every time we could and trying not to let their defense get set," said McClain.

Next up for the Utes will be a crucial game against Air Force Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Huntsman Center. The Falcons are 8-1 in MWC play and 18-4 after a 37-35 road loss to Texas-Pan American Monday night.

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com