Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
CSU Pueblo (Exh.)
CSU Picks Up 85-56 Win Over CSU Pueblo
11/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2005
Colorado State used a 13-0 first half run to break the game open en route to an 85-56 exhibition game win over CSU-Pueblo in men's basketball action Thursday night.
Trailing 20-17 midway through the first half, Rams' forward Jason Smith scored five points in the run that gave CSU a 30-20 lead they would never relinquish.
Smith, a 7-foot sophomore from Kersey, Colo., and a first-team preseason All-Mountain West Conference pick, finished with a game-best 24 points, along with six rebounds and eight blocked shots.
"Jason had a great night," said Rams' coach Dale Layer, whose team won its second straight exhibition game heading into regular season play next week.
Smith had help from starting guard Ryan Brown, a redshirt freshman from Texarkana, Tex. He finished with 12 points, the only other CSU player besides Smith to score in double figures. Brown made a pair of three point goals in the game.
"Ryan Brown stepped up and made some big shots. Ryan gives us a guy who stretches the defense," Layer said.
The Rams finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field, making 27-of-62 field goals. CSU-Pueblo, meanwhile, shot just 39 percent, making 21-of-54 shots.
Layer also praised the play of swingman Freddy Robinson, who scored seven points and tied for game honors with seven rebounds.
"When Freddy plays with that kind of hustle, passion, he's a terrific basketball player," said Layer. "He's a little rusty, but you see flashes of the old Fred."
Robinson, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., missed all of last season with an ankle injury before returning this year as a junior having had a sixth year of eligibility restored by the NCAA.
After trailing by nine at intermission, 36-27, visiting CSU-Pueblo would come no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Robinson's basket to start the second half stretched the lead to 11, but Steve Raquet's pair of free throws cut the lead to 38-29 with just more than 19 minutes to play, the closest CSU-Pueblo would come the rest of the game.
Colorado State led by as many as 31 late in the game, when reserve guard Tim Layer - the son of the Rams' head coach - hit a three-pointer to give his team an 84-53 lead with two minutes to play.
All 13 players who dressed for the Rams scored in the game.
CSU-Pueblo was led by reserve Brett Cloepfil's 11 points, while Brian Wood added 10. CSU-Pueblo's Jeff McCall took game rebounding honors with nine.
Layer also praised CSU-Pueblo, who is coached by one of his former aides, Pat Eberhart.
"Coach Eberhart had them well-prepared. They played very hard," said Layer. "It was a good test for us. I think we learned some things. I thought we played extremely hard. We had energy, we had passion. I was not happy with our execution. We made a lot of mistakes, but we're a work in progress."
The Rams now open the regular season Nov. 18 at Northern Colorado in Greeley. Colorado State's first regular season home game is Nov. 21, when the University of Colorado comes to Moby Arena.
Tickets to all CSU home games are available by calling 1-800-491-RAMS, or online at CSURAMS.com. Tickets are also available at all King Soopers and City Market grocery store locations throughout the state of Colorado.
