Rams Slip By Eagles, Claim Title

Jameel Mahmud scored 21 points and went 11 for 11 at the line to lead Colorado State to a 74-65 victory over Eastern Washington Saturday night in the championship game of the Rams Classic.

Columbia won the consolation game, edging Troy State 57-53.

The title game was tied 32-32 at the half.

But CSU’s James Smith made a driving layup, two steals and a dunk to put the Rams ahead 36-32 to open the second half and Colorado State never trailed, widening the gap to 11 points on five occasions before the final 13-point margin.

Matt Barnett scored 17 points and eight rebounds for CSU (6-1). Milton Palacio added 13 points and Smith finished with seven.

Deon Williams led EWU (4-2) with 14 points, followed by Karim Scott’s 12. Shannon Taylor and Kevin Lewis each had 10.

“It was the first 3 minutes of the second half that really cost us,” said Eastern coach Steve Aggers, who was generally pleased by his team’s play.

“We defended them well and took away their big guns,” Aggers added. “I thought our changing defenses bothered them, Our game plan worked very well. Our kids played very hard.”

Aggers thought playing the Rams close would help his Eagles a lot down the road.

“We knew it would be murderers’ row in December,” he said. “but it will help our team get better for league play. If we can go on the road and compete like we did tonight, we’ll be fine come January.”

Colorado St. 74, EWU 65

EASTERN WASHINGTON (4-2) - Sims 2-7 0-0 4, Scott 5-11 2-4 12, Humbert 2-4 3-3 7, Williams 6-15 0-2 14, Taylor 3-7 1-2 10, M.Lewis 3-8 0-0 8, White 0-2 0-0 0, K.Lewis 4-5 2-2 10, Claus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 8-13 65.

COLORADO STATE (6-1) - Smith 3-8 0-0 7, Barnett 6-10 5-6 17, Chilton 2-7 2-2 6, Palacio 4-8 4-6 13, Mahmud 4-15 11-11 21, McKanstry 0-1 0-0 0, Ford 3-4 1-2 7, Patik 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 23-57 24-29 74.

Halftime - Eastern Washington 32, Colorado State 32. 3-point goals - Eastern Washington 7-14 (Taylor 3-7, Williams 2-3, M.Lewis 2-4), Colorado State 4-10 (Mahmud 2-6, Smith 1-2, Palacio 1-2). Fouled out - M.Lewis. Rebounds - Eastern Washington 35 (Humbert 9), Colorado State 38 (Barnett 8). Assists - Eastern Washington 16 (Williams 9), Colorado State 9 (Palacio 3). Total fouls - Eastern Washington 24, Colorado State 14. Technicals - None. A - 3,963.