Tuck’s Take: Wicks Rightfully Questions Pride After Latest Loss

LARAMIE -- With just 11 ticks remaining in regulation, Magoon Gwath -- all seven feet of him -- dove onto the floor, laying out for a loose ball before swatting it back into play just before it reached the baseline.

San Diego State was leading by 17.

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That's the effort, Sundance Wicks said, he never saw from his team in Wednesday night's 74-57 loss to the visiting Aztecs inside the Arena-Auditorium.

"It's a really good team, and it's always been a good team," Wyoming's head coach added just before delivering his ultimate message after this mostly forgettable outing. "They have what we don't -- pride. It's a proud program. It's a championship program."

With this loss, the Cowboys fall to 11-6 overall. More importantly, they now sit at 2-4 in Mountain West play. Against the league's best, the results have been telling. In setbacks to Grand Canyon, New Mexico, Nevada and SDSU, Wyoming has fallen by an average of 14.5 points.

Wicks knew his lineup wouldn't intimidate anyone getting off the bus. He often says they need to get in the ring and deliver blows. He wants blood on the floor, missing teeth, black eyes.

Only their pride was black and blue after this tilt.

The Aztecs, who likely played their final game ever inside this venue, have won 14 consecutive games in the series, including five in a row in Laramie. In July, they officially move on to the new-look Pac-12 Conference, along with Utah State, Fresno State, Boise State and Wyoming's Border War rival, Colorado State.

Wicks didn't arrive at the postgame podium until well after the final buzzer sounded. Typically, two players speak to the media first. Not tonight. They were busy, having a team-only meeting in the locker room. The boss already said his piece.

He publicly reiterated the message he sent.

It wasn't pretty.

"We have no heart right now," Wicks added. "When we're met with force, when we're met with toughness, when we're met with a big challenge, we lack grit, we lack toughness, we lack heart and we lack the intangibles."

Ouch.

Reese Dixon-Waters led the way for the Aztecs with 13 points. Miles Byrd chipped in with a dozen. Tae Simmons also added 10 as SDSU shot a blistering 50% from the field, including 7-of-17 from distance.

Wyoming made just 17 total baskets.

Naz Meyer led the Cowboys with 13 points on just 4-of-14 shooting. Gavin Gores, arguably the only bright spot for the home team on this night, netted 12 and hauled in a team-high eight rebounds. Leading scorer Leland Walker was limited to 10 points, five of which came at the free-throw line.

Layups were once again an issue. Wyoming made just five of those on 16 attempts. As a team, 34 shots were fired from beyond the arc. Ten were made, including two in the final 1:22 with the final result no longer in doubt.

Walker said the Cowboys came out on the "wrong foot." The energy, the senior point guard admitted, wasn't right, even in warmups.

With a season-best 4,556 in attendance and facing a program that just two seasons ago was playing in the national championship game, how does that happen?

"I mean, to be honest, I really don't know," Walker said. "I'm a big energy guy. You know, I give energy to my players all the time, so I would expect them to give energy back. But I feel like we were kind of shaken up today, just a little scared."

Kiani Saxon then spoke up, adding this group simply needs to start playing for the name on the front of the jersey.

Wicks said during timeouts he begged his guys in the huddle to start talking and communicating. He pleaded for energy. He was seeking a sign of life.

"They don't want to do it," he added.

Anyone else worried about the leadership qualities on this roster?

Wicks didn't shy away from that very indictment, saying this team, right now, is a shell of itself without its emotional on-court catalyst Matija Belic.

"That's the intangible that you miss," he said, referring to the 6-foot-7 senior, who is on the bench in street clothes, dealing with a nagging ankle injury. "I don't know if I'd be sitting here talking about heart if Matija was out there, because Matija was our heart. He was the guy that did the hard things. He was the guy that would go in there and bloody and batter somebody else, not just himself. You know, go fight and scratch and claw for a rebound."

Belic, who has missed the previous four games, was one of only two returning players from last year's team, joining forward Abou Magassa. He averaged 5.5 points per game to go along with 4.5 boards.

Wicks called him the "rock."

"He's such a big, crucial part of this team," Saxon said of Belic. "I think we all got to buy into the fact that he's not going to be here for however long he's going to be gone. That's just us, like, having fight. Coach questioned our fight, I think, all season, so far, and so we haven't really shown up to meet his expectations.

"... So, I think it's on all of us to kind of pick up the fight that Matija brings every day, and that we're missing. It's got to start tomorrow at practice."

Who is going to step up? Who's not afraid to make things uncomfortable? The staff, Wicks added, has run its part of the race. Who will take the baton?

It's gut-check time.

"Championship teams have juice," he said. "They have real energy. They have a team ego. We have individual egos that feed themselves, but not the team -- yet."