Rams Drop Texas State

Fort Collins - Colorado State University shot a season-best 60 percent from the field and broke the game open in the first half en route to an 83-65 win over visiting Texas State Tuesday night in men's basketball action in Moby Arena.

The win pushes the Rams to 6-4 on the year while Texas State falls to 5-3.

CSU erased Texas State's only lead of the game six minutes into the contest when guard Jon Rakiecki's three-pointer gave the Rams a 9-8 lead. The Rams would widen the lead to as many as 12 in the first half before settling for a 40-29 intermission lead behind 10 points from center Matt Nelson.

Nelson, a 7-foot senior, finished with a game-best 18 points and also led all players with nine rebounds. Teammate Matt Williams, a senior forward from Temple, Tex., scored 16 points, while freshman Jason Smith added 14. The trio combined for 48 points, and helped Colorado State score 44 of the team's points inside the paint.

"We made a much better effort getting the ball inside," said Rams'coach Dale Layer. "We were sharper at the offensive end than we've been."

Colorado State led the game by as many as 21 points in the game before Layer turned the contest over to his bench.

TSU was led by guard Josh Naylor, who scored 17 points while forward Anthony Dill had 16 points.

Colorado State now takes a week off before returning to action to play host to Stetson Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. in Moby Arena. Two nights later, the Rams play host to Denver University at 6 p.m.