Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
New Mexico
Rams' Comeback Falls Short At New Mexico
1/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2006
Colorado State University's furious second-half comeback fell short at New Mexico Saturday night, the Rams losing, 83-75 to the Lobos in men's Mountain West Conference basketball action.
The Lobos - who have won 19 home games in a row - stretched a 13-point halftime lead to 15 in the second half before the Rams rallied to close within three points, 78-75, with just under two minutes to play behind the play of forward Jason Smith.
But CSU, after Smith hit the short jumper to pull the Rams close, would not score again as the Lobos put the game away with five free throws during the closing moments.
"We played well in the second half. But you can't dig yourself a hole on the road, then expect to come back. It's too tough on the road in this league," said Rams' coach Dale Layer.
Smith, the Rams' 7-foot sophomore forward from Kersey, Colo., finished with a game-best and career-most 28 points, and had nine rebounds, most by a player in the game.
"Jason Smith was the best player on the court," said Layer.
CSU and the Lobos traded three leads early in the contest. Lobos' guard Mark Walters' basket with 17 minutes, 35 seconds left to play in the first half put his team ahead, 6-5, and the Lobos would never relinquish the lead.
UNM widened the margin to 13 at intermission, 44-31. Five minutes into the final half, Walters hit two free throws to give UNM its largest lead, 52-37.
From that point, the Rams battled back into the contest behind Smith and three other players who finished in double figures. Forward Michael Harrison and guard Sean Morris each finished with 12, while Stuart Creason added 10 points.
Colorado State now takes week-long break from action before playing host to Utah Jan. 14 in Moby Arena. School officials announced earlier this week a time change to 2 p.m. that day.
CSU is also offering a special ticket discount for "Max Out Moby" when the Utes - the MWC defending champions - visit Fort Collins. General admission tickets are available while supplies last for $2 to the game. The general admission tickets can only be purchased in advance at the CSU ticket office in the McGraw Center (8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily), or the day of the game at Moby Arena.
Reserved tickets to the game, $10, are on sale by calling 1-800-491-RAMS, or on line at CSURAMS.com. Reserved tickets can also be purchased at any King Soopers or City Market grocery store location in the state of Colorado.
