Depleted Rams Fall to Lobos 55-47

Colorado State couldn't shake off a cold shooting night, losing to visiting New Mexico, 55-47 at Moby Arena. The win broke the Lobos 22-game Mountain West Conference losing streak.

Colorado State finished the night shooting 29.8 percent from the field, 17-of-57. UNM was only slightly better, 30.9 percent, making 17-of-55 field goals.

The Rams and Lobos exchanged nine first-half leads, the last coming with a minute to play in the half when UNM's Alfred Neale hit a three-pointer to send his team to the locker room at intermission with a 22-19 lead.

After UNM had widened the lead to eight, 37-29 on a basket by Ryan Wall, the Rams reeled off six straight points to draw within a pair, 37-35, with 10 minutes, 50 seconds to play when reserve forward Phillip Thomasson sandwiched a pair of baskets around Mat Nelson's dunk.

From there, UNM would to on an 11-3 run to lead by 10, 48-38 with five and a half minutes to play. Colorado State threatened again, closing within three twice in the final two and a half minutes of the game. New Mexico made seven free throws in the final minute to put away the win.

Nelson led the Rams with 16 points, while Sean Morris added 15 and a team-best nine rebounds, his career high. They were the only two Rams to score in double figures. UNM had a trio of players in double figures, led by Wall's 12 points. Danny Granger scored 11 points and had a game-most 10 rebounds, while Neale had 10 points. CSU was slowed by yet another injury. Freshman Jason Smith pulled a hamstring in practice on Thursday, and will likely also miss the Rams next game.

Colorado State falls to 9-11, 1-6 in Mountain West Conference play, while UNM is now 17-5, 4-3. The Rams return to action Monday night, playing host to Air Force on ESPN Big Monday at 10 p.m.