FORT COLLINS — On a night when Colorado State’s usually reliable outside game was nearly nonexistent, sophomore backup wing Greg Smith delivered the key shot of the game.
Smith’s jumper with 41.5 seconds left put the Rams in front by five points Wednesday, and CSU went on to close out Air Force 69-66 in front of a crowd of 4,150 at Moby Arena.
“We can’t shoot any worse than we did tonight,” Travis Franklin said of CSU’s 5-of-26 performance from 3-point range. “We still found a way to win, which just shows you how good this team is.”
Franklin finished with game-high totals of 21 points and seven rebounds.
Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds was impressed with the Rams, who improved to 14-6 overall and 4-2 in the Mountain West Conference. He said with the exception of Jimmer Fredette-fueled Brigham Young, “CSU is as good an offensive team as anyone in the league.”
It’s a good thing for the Rams that they had their way inside with the Falcons (11-8, 2-4).
CSU owned the paint, with help from sophomore Pierce Hornung’s 6-foot-6 shooting. Hornung scored 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
Although the Falcons (50 percent) outshot CSU (45.3 percent) overall, Reynolds said: “We try to hold the other team to 40 percent or below.”
The Rams held on to third place in the MWC standings, but Air Force nearly pulled off its first conference road win after 19 straight losses.
The Rams played without sophomore guard Wes Eik-meier. The transfer from Iowa State has a foot injury and Rams coach Tim Miles didn’t know if Eikmeier would be available Saturday at Utah.
Miles was so upset about the Rams’ string of misses outside Wednesday, he said he told them during the game “to quit jacking 3s.”
Sure enough, the Rams settled down when they went to Franklin and Pierce inside to spark a 13-0 run that produced a 46-41 lead. But the Falcons refused to fold. Michael Lyons, who has paced the Falcons’ resurgence, dropped in a 3-pointer to make it a 66-64 game with 20 seconds left.
Adam Nigon made two free throws to put CSU ahead 68-64 with eight seconds remaining.
Lyons, who battled foul trouble, led the Falcons with 14 points. Tom Fow added 13.
“Their offense is pretty tough,” Franklin said of the Falcons. “Their defense is tricky. You have to get used to it, and you have to find out where the holes are in it.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
