Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Regis (Exh.)
Men's basketball makes exhibition debut with win over Regis
11/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The fans got their first taste of basketball in the Tim Miles era Thursday night as the Rams men's basketball team defeated Regis 81-75 before a crowd of 2,174. Stuart Creason showed his leadership, scoring 24 points with 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
"We got to the foul line, we were aggressive early," said Miles. "I thought that we attacked in the paint. Getting high percentage shots really helped us out and we were starting to get the fouls."
The game started with CSU cold, missing their first six shots and allowing the Rangers to get out to a 21-7 advantage. After a motivational timeout, the Rams rallied to get within one point at 25-24 behind the perfect shooting by Creason. During the run, Creason was 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line.
CSU continued its scrappy play staying within a few points before taking the first lead of the game with just :18 remaining on the clock. The Rams then held Regis, getting a turnover to end the half.
"Stu steadied us," added Miles. "When all heck was breaking loose and everyone was worked up, they finally realized they could get it into our big guy. We really needed that. That is why he is here."
In the second half the Rams came out with an 8-2 run to take an eight-point advantage. The hustle of the young CSU squad extended the lead to 13 points with 2:33 remaining in the game. The Rams stole the ball four times, forcing six-turnovers while blocking five shots. Willis Gardner scored 18 points in his debut for the Rams, pulling down four boards and assisting on four plays.
True freshman Josh Simmons scored 16 points including eight points from the line. He also had six rebounds and four assists. The Rams shot 50 free-throws making 31 of them. The Rangers shot 30 free throws, at 80-percent and had four players foul out of the game. Andre McFarland scored nine points and finished with four rebounds. He was a perfect 5-of-5 from the line.
"What I thought happened was when they got tired they quit moving," Miles continued. "Overall we did alright. It is a young team and we need to find the mental ability to keep going. We still have work to do; I thought we would be worse with turnovers. We have to not foul them. Fouls, rebounding and defending the three are things we need to focus on."
Colorado State will host Chadron State in its second and final exhibition game of the season on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT in Moby Arena as the second game of the day. The women's team will face CSU-Pueblo at 2 p.m. MT.
Tickets to all home games are available by calling 1-800/491.RAMS or online at CSURAMS.com. Beginning on Nov. 9 tickets will also be available for the regular season at any King Soopers or City Market grocery store location throughout the state of Colorado.
