Honolulu – Michael Harrison scored 24 points and was almost perfect from the field as Colorado State defeated Western Michigan 87-69 on Tuesday in the first round of the Rainbow Classic.
Harrison made 11-of-12 field goals and teammate Stephan Gilling added 18 points, all on 3-point shots. Jason Smith added 14 points and six assists.
The Rams (8-1) used an 11-2 run early in the second half to open up the game as Western Michigan struggled to hit its shots during the run. The Rams also made 9-of-19 shots from 3-point range but struggled at the free-throw line, making just 12-of-26 shots.
Joe Reitz led the Broncos (2-5) with 17 points.
Colorado State faces the winner of the Loyola Marymount-Hawaii game in Thursday’s semifinals. Western Michigan will play the LMU-Hawaii loser in Thursday’s consolation round.
COLORADO STATE (8-1)
Lewis 2-4 0-0 5, Smith 5-8 4-8 14, M. Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Gilling 6-13 0-0 18, Harrison 11-12 2-5 24, S. Morris 0-5 1-2 1, Harris 2-2 0-1 4, Robinson 4-6 2-2 11, Patterson 0-1 1-6 1, Brown 1-1 0-0 3, Creason 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 33-54 12-26 87.
WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-5)
Snider 1-13 0-1 3, Hershberger 0-3 2-2 2, Bufford 4-9 4-4 12, Gary 3-6 4-4 10, Reitz 7-13 3-4 17, Fracalossi 1-2 0-0 3, Drews 3-3 3-5 10, Ricks 1-2 0-0 2, Hess 3-3 0-0 6, deVries 1-5 0-0 2, Cloutier 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 24-59 18-22 69.
Halftime – Colorado State 41-33. 3-point goals – Colorado State 9-19 (Gilling 6-12, Robinson 1-1, Brown 1-1, Lewis 1-2, S. Morris 0-3), Western Michigan 3-9 (Drews 1-1, Fracalossi 1-2, Snider 1-4, Gary 0-1, Ricks 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado State 33 (Harrison 8), Western Michigan 32 (deVries 6). Assists – Colorado State 17 (Smith 6), Western Michigan 11 (Snider 4). Total fouls – Colorado State 21, Western Michigan 20. A – NA.
