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Colorado State was unable to complete the late rally and lost at Missouri State, 77-67, Nov. 28. With the loss in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, the Rams fell to 3-4 on the season while the MVC preseason-favorite Bears improved to 6-2 on the year.
The Rams struggled from the floor, hitting just three of their first 15 shots while spotting the hosts a 23-9 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the first half. The margin grew to as many as 16 in the opening 20 minutes as the Rams couldn’t get the lead inside of 10 before Missouri State went into the halftime break with a 42-26 advantage.
CSU scored the first nine points of the second half and got the margin to single digits at nine, but a 5-0 run by MSU pushed it quickly back out to 14. The Bears eventually grew the lead to as many as 20 in the final 20 minutes at 63-43. However, the Rams never gave in, getting down to four with 1:29 to play in the contest, but could get no closer.
Colorado State shot 35.9 percent (23-of-64) for the game and a paltry 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from the three-point arc. Missouri State was 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the floor including 33.3 percent (8-of24) from the arc. The Bears were strong at the charity stripe, making 23-of-29 (79.3 percent), while the Rams were 17-of-24 (70.8 percent).
CSU was led by junior guard Prentiss Nixon‘s 20 points and six rebounds, while senior forward Che Bob had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. Missouri State was paced by Ryan Kreklow’s career-high 20 points off the bench, while Reggie Scurry had 12 points, four rebounds and three blocks.
Colorado State will return home this weekend for an in-state rivalry, hosting Colorado, Saturday, Dec. 2 at 11 a.m.
