The Colorado State men’s basketball team continued their winning streak on Saturday, securing their seventh consecutive victory with an 85-73 win over San Jose State.
Despite a tough challenge from the Trojans in the second half at the Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose, the Rams improved their overall record to 19-10 and their conference record to 10-8 in the Mountain West Conference. The team ended February without a single loss.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Colorado State could finish anywhere from the 5th seed to the 8th seed in the upcoming Mountain West tournament.
Following Saturday’s win, the Rams maintained their position in sixth place in the MWC standings with two games left to play. They are currently 1 1/2 games behind Grand Canyon and Nevada, who are in fourth place. Grand Canyon faced Utah State while Nevada played against UNLV on Saturday night.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Colorado State was tied in the standings with Boise State and UNLV. However, with their latest victory, the Rams moved half a game ahead of both teams. Boise State went up against Fresno State later that evening.
If tiebreakers are needed, the Rams hold the advantage over Grand Canyon but not against Nevada. While they defeated Grand Canyon on the road, they lost to Nevada at home. These were the only two teams that Colorado State faced only once during the regular season.
The game on Saturday saw both teams exchanging the lead for the first six minutes until CSU took the lead at 15-13 on a layup by Jase Butler. From that point on, the Rams never trailed in the first half.
At halftime, Colorado State held a 42-37 lead over San Jose State, shooting 52% from the field. Brandon Rechsteiner contributed 12 of his 20 points in the first half.
In the second half, San Jose State briefly took a two-point lead at 49-47 before Colorado State regained control at 52-49 with a 3-pointer by Butler.
The Rams secured their lead for the rest of the game, finishing with a 79-69 victory. Rechsteiner led the team with 20 points, followed by Mbemba and Booth with 15 points each, Muniz with 12, and Butler with 10.
Colorado State will face off against New Mexico on Wednesday before wrapping up the regular season at home against Boise State on Saturday at Moby Arena at 2 p.m.
