The Colorado State men’s basketball team got their first preseason test of the 2017-18 season and came out with an 86-75 win over a determined Colorado Mesa squad, Nov. 3.
After a one-point game at 18-17 midway through the first half, CSU gained some breathing space by finishing the period on a 30-16 run to lead 48-33 at the halftime break. The Rams got it to as high as 23, but the Mavericks cut the margin to nine on three occasions in the final 10 minutes but could get no closer.
CSU shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field in the game but was just 6-of-24 (25.0 percent) from the three-point arc. Colorado Mesa was 27-of-61 from the floor (44.3 percent) and hit 13-of-36 (36.1 percent) from the three. The Rams were solid at the charity stripe, converting 28 of 39 attempts (71.8 percent) as compared to CMU’s 8-of-13 (61.5 percent). Colorado State outrebounded CMU, 46-32.
Senior forward Che Bob led the CSU effort with 28 points and 13 rebounds, including making 14-of-18 at the free throw line. Redshirt-sophomore center Nico Carvacho also had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds. Junior guard Prentiss Nixon had 16 points, 12 coming in the second half, while junior guard J.D. Paige and redshirt-sophomore guard Raquan Mitchell chipped in 12 and 10, respectively. Colorado Mesa was led by Emilio Acedo with a game-high 31 points, including 9-of-11 from three-point range.
