Isaiah Stevens tossed in 18 points and had eight assists to help Colorado State improve to 5-0 by beating Boston College 86-74 Wednesday in the first round of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
Stevens, the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, made 8 of 13 field goal attempts. The Rams shot 55.6 percent from the field (35 of 63) and made nine 3-pointers, shooting 42.9 percent from deep.
Joel Scott had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Rams. Nique Clifford (14), Josiah Strong (15) and Patrick Cartier (10) also scored in double figures for Colorado State, which will oppose No. 8 Creighton in the championship game on Thursday.
BC (4-1) received a game-high 22 points from 7-foot center Quinten Post, who scored 16 in the second half. Claudell Harris Jr. finished with 13, Jaeden Zackery had 11 and Prince Aligbe scored 10.
The Eagles, who will play Loyola Chicago in the Thursday consolation game, lost despite making all 20 of their free-throw attempts. Colorado State went 7-for-9 from the foul line.
BC was within four points, 65-61, following two Zackery free throws with 9:11 to play, but Colorado State responded with a 12-2 run and led 77-63 after a Clifford free throw with 3:37 remaining. The Eagles failed to get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
The Rams had their largest lead, 86-69, on a Scott dunk with 1:10 left.
Colorado State outrebounded BC 30-24 and had a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint.
Colorado State shot 57.6 percent from the field in the first half (19 of 33) and led 47-38 at halftime. Eight Colorado State players scored in the half.
The Rams made nine of their first 12 field goal attempts and led 22-12 after Joe Palmer connected on a 3-pointer with 13:27 remaining in the half. Colorado State had a 30-16 lead — its largest of the half — after a Strong free throw capped an 8-0 run with 9:45 left before halftime.
–Field Level Media
