BOX SCORE

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State shot 61.9 percent in the second half and held Southwest Minnesota State to just 27.6 percent shooting in the final half, to earn a 83-70 exhibition victory on Saturday afternoon in Ft. Collins, Colo.

CSU, a postseason NIT participant a season ago, led 42-41 at halftime before breaking away midway through the second half to earn the victory.  The Rams finished the game holding a 42-22 rebound margin, including 14 offensive rebounds.  Wes Eikmeier led the Rams with 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

CSU ended the game shooting 50 percent (28 of 56) from the field, but was just 3 of 15 from 3-point range.  SMSU finished shooting 41 percent (23 of 56) from the field, including 8 of 22 from behind the arc.

Jordan Miller paced SMSU with 25 points on 7 of 15 shooting, including four 3-point field goals.  Nick Smith added 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting and grabbed four rebounds and blocked four shots.

CSU head coach Tim Miles, served as SMSU's head coach from 1997-2001 and led the Mustangs to their first-ever conference and NCAA region championship in 2001. 

SMSU shot 56 percent from the field in the opening half and drilled six 3-pointers.  The Mustangs played solid in the opening half and built its largest lead at 35-31 with 4 minutes and 49 seconds remaining following a 3-pointer by Miller.  CSU answered with a 10-2 run over the next two minutes and built a 41-37 lead, before settling for the one-point halftime lead.

SMSU trailed 51-47 with 16 minutes left in the game before CSU put together a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to extend the margin to 66-50 with 9:26 on the clock and SMSU was never able to recover.

Vinard Birch added eight points and three steals for SMSU.

SMSU continues exhibition play on Tuesday, Nov. 8, hosting NCAA Division III St. Olaf College at the R/A Facility beginning at 7 p.m.