Despite squandering a double-digit advantage in the second half, Colorado State men’s basketball regained the lead in the final minutes and held on to defeat Nevada, 66-64, and open conference play with a victory Saturday in Reno, Nev.
With the win, the Rams improved to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West Conference.
With 15 minutes, 27 seconds left in the second half, Kyan Evans hit a 3-pointer to give the Rams a 44-33 lead. CSU led by 11 again when Kyle Jorgensen hit a pair of free throws with 14:37 remaining.
From there, the Wolfpack battled back, eventually taking a 52-50 lead on a 3-pointer by Chuck Bailey with 8:18 left. With four minutes left, Nevada had a 57-54 lead when the Rams made their final push.
CSU went on an 8-0 run to take a 63-57 lead with 32 seconds left, and the Rams were able to hold on for the win after making 3 of 4 free throws in two trips to the line in the final 10 seconds.
Nique Clifford and Evans each scored 16 points for the Rams. Clifford added 12 rebounds to register another double-double. Rashaan Mbemba added 10 points for CSU.
CSU won despite being outrebounded 37-29 and turning the ball over one more time than the Wolf Pack.
The first half featured a series of runs by both teams. The Rams went first, scoring the initial six points of the game before Nevada answered with seven straight to take a 7-6 lead.
After the Rams retook the lead, a pair of free throws by Jaylen Crocker-Johnson gave the Rams a 17-9 advantage with 12:43 left in the first half. The Wolf Pack answered again, tying and taking the lead back on a pair of free throws by Kobe Sanders with 5:56 left before halftime at 25-23.
A 3-pointer by Keshawn Williams put CSU back ahead 26-25, and the Rams didn’t trail again in the first half. After taking a 33-30 lead into halftime, CSU opened the second half with an 11-3 run to take their largest lead of the game at 44-33 before a drama-filled final 15 minutes ensued.
CSU will be back in action next Saturday when the Rams host New Mexico at Moby Arena. Tipoff has been moved up an hour to 1 p.m.
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