Patrick Cartier scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field to lead No. 13 Colorado State to a 76-68 victory over New Mexico on Tuesday in the Mountain West opener for both teams at Fort Collins, Colo.
Fifth-year senior Isaiah Stevens finished with 18 points and eight assists for the Rams, giving him 2,017 career points.
Nique Clifford had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Scott scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Colorado State (13-1, 1-0 MW).
The Rams have won four consecutive games since losing to visiting Saint Mary’s on Dec. 9.
New Mexico (12-2, 0-1) had its 11 game winning streak snapped, losing for the first time since falling short at Saint Mary’s on Nov. 9.
JT Toppin led New Mexico with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaelen House added 14 points, Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 13 and Donovan Dent amassed 10 points and nine assists.
House’s 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining cut the Rams’ lead to 68-61. Mashburn made a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to narrow the lead to 72-66.
Four free throws by Stevens in the last 13 seconds sealed the win for Colorado State.
House, who was averaging 15.3 points and 4.0 assists entering the game, picked up his third foul with 7:11 remaining in the first half and the Lobos trailing 19-17.
House did not return until 13:11 remained in the game, when Colorado State was ahead 47-40.
The Rams were in the midst of a 10-0 run when he got back on the floor.
Kyan Evans’ jumper in the lane capped the surge and put Colorado State ahead 53-40 with 11:05 remaining. The basket was the 11th on the Rams’ past 14 shots stretching back to the first half.
New Mexico missed six consecutive shots late in the Rams’ run.
House made a layup and a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 53-45 with 9:53 left, but he was assessed his fourth foul 21 seconds later, forcing him to the bench again.
Colorado State proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to take a 62-45 lead with 7:31 remaining.
–Field Level Media
