Wyoming senior guard Marcus Bailey's college career ended Thursday night when he tore his ACL and was lost for the season in a victory over South Carolina.

Bailey scored a team-high 19 points before injuring his kneed while going for an uncontested layup. Wyoming coach Steve McClain told ESPN.com an MRI Friday confirmed the extent of the injury. But McClain also said he was told there was no other structural damage to the knee.

Bailey, a candidate for player of the year honors in the Mountain West, was averaging 15.1 points and 4.4 rebounds for the 7-2 Cowboys.

"He'll have surgery here soon and get off to a new challenge," McClain said. "This really hurts him because he's a Wyoming kid and grew up wanting to play Wyoming basketball. He had the passion to play here."

Bailey was one of the most beloved Cowboys and one of the tougher matchups in the MWC. The 6-5 Bailey could score from anywhere on the court. But McClain said the team will miss his desire to see Wyoming succeed more than anything, "that's the intangible we can't replace."

Bailey was listed as a guard but was playing an outside-in position for the Cowboys. McClain will move power forward Mory Correa (5.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) into his place at small forward.

Wyoming has notched two of the biggest non-conference wins under McClain with consecutive wins over Texas Tech (in Casper) and South Carolina. McClain said the Cowboys had to win two of three non-conference games against Texas Tech, South Carolina and an upcoming game against Kansas Jan. 15.

"We did what we had to do," McClain said. "No one is going to use this as an excuse."