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Colorado State had its 11-game regular-season home winning streak snapped with a tough 77-68 loss to San Diego State, Jan. 2. With the loss, the Rams dropped to 8-8 and 1-2 in the Mountain West, while the Aztecs improved to 10-4 and 2-1 in the conference.
A three-point game at the break was close throughout the second half, with San Diego State leading by no more than eight in the final 20 minutes. CSU took a brief lead at 61-60 with 5:54 to play, but the visitors closed the game on a 17-7 run, led by Trey Kell’s seven points in that stretch. CSU trailed by two with 1:42 to play on a one free throw, but Kell scored five of the next seven points for SDSU on a 7-2 run that put the game away.
Colorado State shot just 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor in the game while San Diego State hit on 48.3 percent (28-of-58) of its shots, including 60.0 percent (15-of-25) in the second half. The Aztecs dominated the glass, 45-32, and utilized it for an 18-11 advantage in second change points.
Redshirt-junior guard J.D. Paige posted a season-high 22 points on 9-of-18 field goals, while redshirt-sophomore guard Anthony Bonner chipped in 13. Junior guard Prentiss Nixon was the only other Ram in double figures with 11 points. San Diego State had four players in double figures led by Jalen McDaniels with 19 points, while Jeremy Hemsley added 13.
“It was very frustrating especially the rebounding and just how hard we have been working in practice these last couple weeks, you know you want that stuff to translate, but you know the tougher team won down the stretch, that one was tough,” Paige said postgame.
Next up, Colorado State completes a two-game homestand when it hosts Fresno State, Sat., Jan. 6 at 3:30 p.m. The contest between the Rams and Bulldogs will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. 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.