No. 17 Colorado State eases past CSU-Pueblo

Isaiah Stevens scored 18 points, Patrick Cartier, Nique Clifford and Taviontae Jackson added 13 apiece and No. 17 Colorado State rebounded from its only loss of the season to earn an 86-54 victory over visiting CSU-Pueblo on Sunday in Fort Collins, Colo.

Joel Scott scored 11 points as Colorado State (10-1) cruised to the victory eight days after a 64-61 home loss to Saint Mary's. The Rams had a lead over the Gaels with 2:10 remaining last week before faltering down the stretch but remained in the Top 25 rankings.

Colorado State shot 50.9 percent from the field Sunday and won the battle of points in the paint 36-12 against the smaller ThunderWolves.

Armon Muldrew scored 16 points and Brevin Walter added 13 for Division II CSU-Pueblo (6-6), which had just one day or rest after a heartbreaking 101-99 defeat in overtime to South Dakota Mines on Friday.

The ThunderWolves recorded just six assists and had eight points off turnovers to 31 for the Rams. It was the only scheduled Division I opponent for CSU-Pueblo this season.

CSU-Pueblo enjoyed a strong start, leading 6-4 after the opening 3 1/2 minutes before Colorado State grabbed control with a 10-0 run for a 14-6 advantage and never looked back.

The Rams' first double-digit lead came at 18-8 with 12:24 remaining in the first half and their first lead of at least 20 points came on a 3-pointer from Stevens with 4:22 left in the half for a 36-14 advantage.

Colorado State led 46-26 at halftime by shooting 54.8 percent from the field and making 9 of their 17 attempts from 3-point range (52.9 percent).

CSU-Pueblo made the first two field goals of the second half before a 10-2 run from Colorado State thwarted any momentum the ThunderWolves could build.

Colorado State has two more games remaining -- one at home -- before Mountain West Conference play begins Jan. 2 at against visiting New Mexico.