Josiah Strong scored seven of his team’s last 10 points to help No. 20 Colorado State hold off Washington in an 86-81 victory in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday.
Strong finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Joel Scott led the Rams (8-0) with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Patrick Cartier, who did not play in the Rams’ last game because of a back injury, scored 16 points. Jalen Lake missed his first game after undergoing surgery on a broken finger on his left hand.
After Washington tied the game at 78 with 1:31 remaining, Scott buried a 3-pointer. Washington’s Sahvir Wheeler, who had 13 points and 12 assists, then missed a layup.
Strong made two free throws with 36 seconds left to increase the lead to 83-78.
Washington’s Keion Brooks Jr., who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, then made a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left.
Strong was fouled again and made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts to give Colorado State an 84-81 lead with 26 seconds remaining.
After a missed 3-pointer and putback attempt by Washington, Strong made a breakaway layup to cap the scoring.
Moses Wood led Washington (4-3) with 21 points.
Colorado State played most of the game without guard Nique Clifford, who was ejected less than six minutes into the game because of a flagrant foul following a screen applied to Washington’s Braxton Meah. It appeared Meah was struck in his midsection.
The Huskies took a 12-7 lead at the time, with 14:21 left in the first half, when Meah made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts.
Colorado State then went on a 14-0 run to take a 21-12 lead with 9:34 left in the first half.
Washington responded with seven unanswered points, including a 3-pointer and layup by Wood. The Huskies built a 41-34 lead after Wood and Wheeler made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.
A last-second layup by Cartier cut Washington’s lead to 44-41 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
