Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 23
Fort Collins, Colo.
2 pm MT
Colorado State
7-6
68
vs
66
Long Beach State
5-10
1
2
F
Long Beach State
31
35
66
Colorado State
34
34
68
Photo by: Javon Harris
Nixon's Buzzer-Beating Triple Lifts Rams To 68-66 Win Over Long Beach State
12/23/2017 9:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Junior guard cans a 28-foot shot as time expires for CSU's seventh straight home win
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Junior guard Prentiss Nixon connected on a well-guarded 28-foot three-pointer as time expired to lift Colorado State to a thrilling 68-66 victory over visiting Long Beach State, Dec. 23. With the win in their final non-conference game of 2017-18, the Rams improved to 7-6 on the season while the 49ers fell to 5-10.
The game came down to several dramatic possessions in the final minute of action. With CSU leading 64-61, Gabe Levin canned a triple for the 49ers to knot the game with 53 seconds to play. Nixon, who came into the game hitting almost 90 percent at the free throw line, was fouled on back-to-back possessions but only converted 1-of-4 attempts at the charity stripe, giving the Rams a one point lead and Long Beach the ball with 24 seconds to play. Deishaun Booker hit a reverse layup with 4.5 seonds remaining, setting up the final game winner. Nixon took the inbounds pass, dribbled hard down the court and pulled up well outside the line with a hand in his face, knocking down his second CSU career game-winner that sent the Moby Arena crowd into a holiday frenzy.
The Rams opened the game strong, leading 20-7 just under nine minutes into the game. But the visitors clamped down and closed the gap to three at the halftime break, 34-31. Long Beach State eventually took back the lead at 38-36 with 17:19 to play in the game, built the lead to as many as six on three occasions and held the lead until a 51-all tie with 8:24 remaining. For that final segment, no team led by more than three the rest of the way before CSU earned the win.
Colorado State finished the game shooting 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field and just 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the free throw line. Long Beach State ended at 40.3 percent (25-of-62) on field goal attempts and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the charity stripe. The Rams held a small advantage on the glass at 41-39 and forced 16 turnovers by the 49ers while giving up 13 of their own.
Nixon finished the game with 14 points, tying for team-high honors with junior forward Deion James, with the latter adding seven rebounds and a season-best three blocked shots. Senior forward Che Bob added his fifth double-double of the year with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Redshirt-junior guard J.D. Paige was the other CSU player in double figures with 11 points. Long Beach State was led by Temidayo Yussuf with 18 points, while Levin added 15, as the 49ers also had four players with 10 points or more.
STAT OF THE GAME…
CSU overcame shooting woes in the win, as the team was just 3-of-23 from the three-point arc prior to redshirt-junior J.D. Paige hitting an open three-pointer and Nixon's game winner at the buzzer.
NOTES…
• CSU has completed its non-conference slate with a winning record for the sixth time in six years under head coach Larry Eustachy.
• CSU is undefeated in non-conference home games this season at 7-0.
• Improved the Rams home winning streak to seven games and regular-season home win streak to 11.
• Move Larry Eustachy within three wins of Stew Morrill for second on the CSU career coaching chart.
• The Rams now lead the series 3-2 overall.
• CSU head coach Larry Eustachy is now 6-7 all-time against his alma mater and has gone 4-2 in home games Long Beach State.
NEXT UP…
• Colorado State opens Mountain West play on the road, playing at Boise State, Wed., Dec. 27 at 7:30 pm MT.
• The contest between the Rams and Broncos will be televised on CBS Sports Network and is the second time in three seasons the two teams will meet in the league opener (both at BSU).
• The game will air across the Colorado State Sports Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon on the call.
The game came down to several dramatic possessions in the final minute of action. With CSU leading 64-61, Gabe Levin canned a triple for the 49ers to knot the game with 53 seconds to play. Nixon, who came into the game hitting almost 90 percent at the free throw line, was fouled on back-to-back possessions but only converted 1-of-4 attempts at the charity stripe, giving the Rams a one point lead and Long Beach the ball with 24 seconds to play. Deishaun Booker hit a reverse layup with 4.5 seonds remaining, setting up the final game winner. Nixon took the inbounds pass, dribbled hard down the court and pulled up well outside the line with a hand in his face, knocking down his second CSU career game-winner that sent the Moby Arena crowd into a holiday frenzy.
The Rams opened the game strong, leading 20-7 just under nine minutes into the game. But the visitors clamped down and closed the gap to three at the halftime break, 34-31. Long Beach State eventually took back the lead at 38-36 with 17:19 to play in the game, built the lead to as many as six on three occasions and held the lead until a 51-all tie with 8:24 remaining. For that final segment, no team led by more than three the rest of the way before CSU earned the win.
Colorado State finished the game shooting 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field and just 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the free throw line. Long Beach State ended at 40.3 percent (25-of-62) on field goal attempts and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) at the charity stripe. The Rams held a small advantage on the glass at 41-39 and forced 16 turnovers by the 49ers while giving up 13 of their own.
Nixon finished the game with 14 points, tying for team-high honors with junior forward Deion James, with the latter adding seven rebounds and a season-best three blocked shots. Senior forward Che Bob added his fifth double-double of the year with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Redshirt-junior guard J.D. Paige was the other CSU player in double figures with 11 points. Long Beach State was led by Temidayo Yussuf with 18 points, while Levin added 15, as the 49ers also had four players with 10 points or more.
STAT OF THE GAME…
CSU overcame shooting woes in the win, as the team was just 3-of-23 from the three-point arc prior to redshirt-junior J.D. Paige hitting an open three-pointer and Nixon's game winner at the buzzer.
NOTES…
• CSU has completed its non-conference slate with a winning record for the sixth time in six years under head coach Larry Eustachy.
• CSU is undefeated in non-conference home games this season at 7-0.
• Improved the Rams home winning streak to seven games and regular-season home win streak to 11.
• Move Larry Eustachy within three wins of Stew Morrill for second on the CSU career coaching chart.
• The Rams now lead the series 3-2 overall.
• CSU head coach Larry Eustachy is now 6-7 all-time against his alma mater and has gone 4-2 in home games Long Beach State.
NEXT UP…
• Colorado State opens Mountain West play on the road, playing at Boise State, Wed., Dec. 27 at 7:30 pm MT.
• The contest between the Rams and Broncos will be televised on CBS Sports Network and is the second time in three seasons the two teams will meet in the league opener (both at BSU).
• The game will air across the Colorado State Sports Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon on the call.
Team Stats
LBSU
CSU
FG%
.403
.387
3FG%
.200
.200
FT%
.857
.652
RB
39
41
TO
16
13
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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