Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Air Force
Smith's 27 Not Enough to Overcome Falcons
2/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS - Colorado State University forward Jason Smith scored 27 points - one shy of his career best - but it wasn't enough to overcome a hot-shooting Air Force team that beat the Rams, 71-56 Wednesday night in Colorado Springs.
Smith, the Rams' 7-foot sophomore from Kersey, Colo., led all scorers in the game by making 9-of-12 field goals and adding nine free throws to go along with a game-best seven rebounds.
Smith and teammate Stephan Gilling helped stake the Rams to a 27-23 lead with just more than five minutes left in the first half.
But AFA would outscore the Rams, 14-1 the rest of the half to lead 37-28 at intermission.
"I thought we played well in spots," said Rams' coach Dale Layer. "We made some shots early, but we didn't make them the rest of the game."
Gilling, a freshman from Chino Hills, Calif., scored 11 points - all in the first half - but was saddled with early foul troubles. He and Smith were the only two CSU players to score in double figures.
"That was the difference. They stepped up and made big shots when they needed to," said Layer. "We didn't."
Smith's three-point play helped CSU match its largest lead of the night, and 45 seconds later, he put CSU on top 28-25.
From there, AFA scored the final 12 points of the half .
Jacob Burtschi's two free throws closed CSU's 28-25 lead to a single point with four minutes, 28 seconds to play in the half. Falcon guard Matt McCraw put the Falcons on top for good, 30-28 on a three pointer with 3:20 to go in the first half, the game's second and final lead change.
AFA expanded the nine-point halftime advantage to as many as 20 before CSU closed the game to the final 15-point margin.
Burtschi would finish with a team-best 21 points, one of four Falcons to score in double figures.
The Falcons and Rams battled evenly early, with a pair of ties and one other lead change.
Colorado State finished the game by shooting 45 percent from the floor, while AFA made 24-of-45 field goals, 53 percent. The Falcons made eight three-pointers, four more than the Rams.
Colorado State is now 12-9 overall, 1-7 in Mountain West Conference play, while AFA is 18-3, 6-2.
The Rams are back in action Saturday night, playing host to San Diego State. Game time is 7 p.m. in Moby Arena. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-491-RAMS, or on line at CSURAMS.com. Tickets are also available at all King Soopers and City Market grocery store locations throughout the state of Colorado.
