Isaiah Stevens had 20 points and 11 assists, Jalen Lake scored 16 points, and the No. 20 Colorado State Rams beat Colorado 88-83 in Fort Collins, Colo., on Wednesday night.
Joel Scott and Nique Clifford had 15 points each and Joe Palmer added 11 for Colorado State (7-0). The Rams ended a three-game skid against their in-state rival.
KJ Simpson had 30 points, Cody Williams scored 21 and Tristan da Silva contributed 11 for Colorado (5-2).
The Buffaloes were aggressive to open the second half and cut into Colorado State’s 15-point lead. Simpson hit from deep, the first made 3-pointer for Colorado, and Williams made a layup and a fastbreak jumper to make it 45-35.
Clifford’s layup gave the Rams a 13-point lead but Simpson had a three-point play and Williams made a running layup in a 10-2 run to make it 53-48. Lake scored five straight points to help get the lead back to 10 points midway through the second.
Stevens was fouled on a shot and Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle was hit with a technical, and Stevens made all four free throws to make it 64-52.
Colorado responded to the technical with a 10-4 run to get within 68-62 with 6:18 left. It was 72-65 when Stevens drained his first 3-pointer and the Buffaloes turned it over at the other end.
Colorado got within 87-83 on Simpson’s 3-pointer with four seconds left.
Neither team shot well for most of the first half but the Rams began to heat up in the final five minutes. After the Buffaloes cut the lead to 21-16, they missed a short jumper that would have made it a three-point game and Colorado State capitalized.
On two straight possessions, Palmer hit 3-pointers after a drive and kickout to him beyond the arc that made it 24-16 with 3:39 left in the first.
Palmer drained another from deep and Lake finished the half with a flurry. He made a 3-pointer, was fouled on another 3-point attempt and sank three free throws and then stole the inbounds pass and hit a layup at the horn.
–Field Level Media
