SAN DIEGO – Wyoming seemed every bit capable of beating San Diego State, which would have been a devastating fourth straight loss for the Aztecs.
Up by nine points with 11:10 to play, the Cowboys couldn't hold on. No. 24 San Diego State caught them in regulation, and then won 67-58 in overtime.
Jamaal Franklin scored the first five points of overtime and finished with 12 overall for the Aztecs.
The Aztecs (21-6, 7-4 Mountain West) avoided what would have been their first four-game losing streak since February 2005.
Wyoming (18-9, 4-7), lost its fourth straight and for the fifth time in six games.
"We were trying to slow it down and play at our pace," said Wyoming's JayDee Luster, who went to high school in San Diego. "I think it worked for the most part, but then at the end, we didn't make the plays we needed to win."
Wyoming also had second-half leads on the road against Colorado State and New Mexico before losing.
"I don't know if this one, I felt better about or worse," Cowboys coach Larry Shyatt said. "All three, we gave ourselves opportunities to win."
Both teams had chances to win in regulation. With the score tied at 55, San Diego State's Chase Tapley missed a layup with 3 seconds left. Wyoming's Luke Martinez couldn't hold onto a pass and time appeared to expire. But the referees put 0.7 seconds back on the clock and Larry Nance Jr. missed a shot at the buzzer.
Franklin, returning after missing a loss at Air Force with a sprained left ankle, opened overtime by putting back his own missed shot and converting a three-point play. Tapley had a steal and a layup to give SDSU a 62-55 lead with 2:08 left in the extra period.
Franklin and Tapley, SDSU's leading scorers, had only six points each in regulation. Franklin scored six in the overtime while Tapley had four. Tapley and Tim Shelton finished with 10 apiece.
Garrett Green led the Aztecs with 14 points. He made a layup with 1:23 left in regulation for a 53-52 lead, and then added two free throws for a three-point lead with 41.6 seconds to go.
Martinez hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 29.2 seconds left in regulation.
Wyoming made only 1 of 7 shots in OT.
Arthur Bouedo led Wyoming with 11 points and Adam Waddell had 10.
San Diego State came in having lost at UNLV, at home to New Mexico and at Air Force, which dropped it 11 spots in The Associated Press' Top 25.
The Cowboys made 9 of 22 3-point shots while SDSU made 3 of 11.
Wyoming led 44-35 with 11:10 to play on a long jumper by Bouedo, the Cowboys' fourth nine-point lead of the night.
San Diego State went on an 8-0 run to pull to 44-43, on a baseline shot by Shelton, a slam dunk by Green, a sweet reverse layup by DeShawn Stephens and a layup by Xavier Thames. The Aztecs finally tied it on a layup by Green on a feed by Shelton with 4:36 left. The Cowboys' only point during that stretch came when Leonard Washington made one of two free throws.
Washington and Franklin traded 3s. Tapley a huge 3 with 2:17 left after the Aztecs fell behind by four.
Wyoming led by nine points three times in the first half, the last at 21-12 with 8:22 left on a 3-ponter by Luster. San Diego State tied it at 24 on a 3-pointer by Tapley, his first points of the game. SDSU's first lead, 26-24, came on two free throws by Franklin.
Wyoming scored the final six points of the half to take a 30-26 lead. Waddell hit a jumper, Nance had two free throws and Francisco Cruz made a layup at the buzzer.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.