FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Wes Eikmeier scored 22 points and Jesse Carr made three free throws in the final 21 seconds as Colorado State held off Denver 79-75 Wednesday night.
Greg Smith added 17 points for the Rams (11-4). Dorian Green had 15 points for Colorado State, which won its sixth straight.
The Pioneers’ Brian Stafford led all scorers with 24 points, including all 10 free throw attempts. Chris Udofia had 15 points for Denver (13-4), off to its best Division I start in school history.
The Pioneers, the nation’s second-best free throw team, made 25 of 34 foul shots.
Denver sank 6 of 11 3-pointers. Colorado State was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Colorado State pushed its lead to double figures twice, the last time when Smith buried a 3-pointer with 8:19 left to make it 59-49. Stafford’s two free throws got Denver within 76-73, but Carr sank two free throws for the Rams. After a basket by the Pioneers’ Brett Olson, Carr hit one more.
Udofia, who was limited to 13 minutes in the first half with foul trouble, nearly erased Denver’s seven-point halftime deficit in the first four minutes of the second half. He had seven points in that span and made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 44-41.
Colorado State took advantage of its defense, turning seven turnovers into 13 points in the first half to lead 38-31. Will Bell’s follow-up dunk after Eikmeier’s steal put the Rams ahead 25-12 with 7:12 left in the half.
The Pioneers stayed within striking distance by making 12 of 16 free throws, and two foul shots by Stafford brought them within 34-27. Denver cut its deficit to seven when Rob Lewis beat the buzzer with a rebound basket.
Colorado State played without key reserve forward Dwight Smith, who broke his nose in practice this week.
