Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

close
 

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    No. 24 Colorado State beats Aztecs 66-60

    FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- The ball and the call went Dorian Green's way in the final minute.

    Green scored six straight points in the final 65 seconds Wednesday night, helping No. 24 Colorado State celebrate its first game as a ranked team in 59 years with a thrilling 66-60 win over San Diego State.

    Green missed a jumper with 1:11 left that would have erased the Aztecs' 60-58 lead, but teammate Pierce Hornung got the board and fed Green for the go-ahead 3-pointer and the 15th lead change of the night.

    After an uncharacteristic air ball by Xavier Thames at the other end, Green found himself with the basketball in his hands again and Aztecs star Jamaal Franklin standing between him at the basket with 18 seconds left.

    Green plowed into Franklin as the ball went through the hoop, then spun around to see if he'd been whistled for the charge - which both coaches thought was going to be the case.

    ''Right when I jumped, I was thinking I didn't know if it was going to be a charge or a block,'' Green acknowledged. ''Until I heard the crowd's reaction.

    ''He must have been in the circle because he was pretty low. I was hoping when I released that he was in that circle. Because it was going to be a charge if he wasn't.''

    Instead, the call went against Franklin.

    ''I was just waiting for that ref to call a charge and call it off,'' Rams coach Larry Eustachy admitted. ''It wasn't to be.''

    The Aztecs argued Franklin was well outside the no-charge zone and should have gotten the call.

    ''But officiating is part of what we do,'' Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. ''We had chances.''

    After Green's bonus gave the Rams a 64-60 lead, Greg Smith stole the ball from Franklin and fed Jon Octeus for an exclamation dunk that gave Colorado State its biggest lead of the night.

    ''We made enough plays at the end of the game to pull this one off,'' said Green, whose 16 points led the Rams (20-4, 7-2 Mountain West), who matched their win total from last year and extended their home-court winning streak to 27 games, third-longest in the nation.

    ''We wanted to show people that we deserved it, that we could keep it going,'' Smith said. ''We felt we should have (been ranked) weeks ago.''

    The Aztecs (18-6, 6-4), who beat Colorado State 79-72 in overtime last month, had just three turnovers through the first 33 minutes before turning the ball over five times down the stretch.

    ''That doesn't help either,'' Fisher said. ''You've got to be able to get a shot to have a chance to score. But this was a tough, hard-fought game just like we thought it would be. We were in a position to win, we didn't quite get it done and that's what makes it hurt all the more.''

    Chase Tapley led San Diego State with 16 points and Franklin and J.J. O'Brien each had 12. The Aztecs did a great job of defending Iverson in the post, holding him to 7 points, half his average. Iverson, though, grabbed 11 boards.

    Franklin, the only player in the nation who leads his team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals, missed 9 of his 13 shots and the Rams held the rest of his considerable game in check, too.

    ''We made it a point to prevent what he does,'' Hornung said. ''We did. He is a heck of a player.''

    The Aztecs don't usually lose close games like this, either.

    Over the last three seasons, they own the highest winning percentage in the country (.806) in games decided by six points or fewer or in overtime (25-6), and they came into the game having won 14 of 17 under Fisher when tied at halftime. This one was tied at 35 at the break.

    They've also won 87 straight games when leading with 5 minutes left, and this one was tied at 54 at the 5-minute mark.

    At 24th in both polls, the Rams vaulting into the rankings this week for the first time since 1954, when they were ranked for four weeks, reaching as high as No. 18, on their way to the school's first NCAA tournament berth. Back then, Colorado State was known as Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College.

    Fittingly, the Rams honored the program's heritage Wednesday night by wearing pumpkin orange and alfalfa green uniforms with the Colorado A&M; mascot ''Aggies'' written across their chests.

    They're now 4-0 on ''Orange Out'' nights over the last four seasons.

    While the Aztecs have won 33 straight games against California teams, they've now lost two straight against Colorado teams. They were beaten 70-67 at Air Force on Feb. 2.

    The last time CSU started out 7-2 in league play was as a member of the Western Athletic Conference in 1996-97.

    ---

    Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

    Next Opponent

    Colorado St. vs. Team Logo (cropped) 50x50cUNLV
    Wed, Feb 20, 2013 10:15 PM EST
    Wyoming vs. Team Logo (cropped) 50x50cSan Diego St.
    Tue, Feb 19, 2013 10:00 PM EST

    Team Comparison

    TeamRecordConfDivision/PlacePFPAFG%3 Pt%FT%Streak
    Colorado St.21-48-22nd Mountain West73.860.844.934.372.5Won 6
    San Diego St.18-76-53rd Mountain West69.759.943.833.266.7Lost 2

    22 comments

    • ONE  •  3 days ago
      Agree - I like the Colorado St Coach - he is cool! And when he agreed that the ref blew the call and that they got one - it was a class act! Colorado St has been on the wrong end of some of these calls too many times. Both State Colleges (San Diego and Colorado) are going to the big dance!
    • Jeff  •  3 days ago
      You guys are right that was a bad call but they still would have had the lead even if the right call was made. SDSU took some bad shots late in the game and along with the bad call it cost them the game.
    • Return2Sender  •  3 days ago
      One call does not determine a game. Even if the call had gone the other way, CSU is still up. SDSU still turned the ball over right after and gave CSU an easy dunk . The refs were making bad calls for both teams all night.
    • BringBackDad  •  2 days 15 hours ago
      It's the lung searing altitude... the Aztecs (according the Union-Tribune) lack stamina when they're above sea level. Fisher should make them run the bleachers for a few hours, that'll fix it.
    • ONE  •  3 days ago
      Wow! The CBS announcers were surprised that the ref called a blocking foul on Franklin with 19 seconds left and Colorado St up by 1 pt. It gave them the game. They said, it was an absolutey terrible call and how could the ref make it! By rule it was an obvious charge by Colorado St. It cemented the win for Colorado St. Hate to see games end this way! I like both teams, but the call was so terrible - and the announcers kept talking about it.
    • Captain Longhorn  •  3 days ago
      Absolutely a winnable game for SDSU. I've always said that there is not clear cut winner in any basketball game that is decided by 5 points or less because of the call/no calls by the refs. These close games are traditionally referee decisions. Well you can add a 6 point margin to that theory because clearly, this game was decided by officiating. Call it belly aching crying if you like, but the Aztecs get cheated out of this one. I know it, you know it, the TV announcers know it, and the CSU team & fans knows it. See you in Vegas where we will right this wrong. Go Aztecs...
    • Steve  •  3 days ago
      Absolutely horrible call on Dorian Greens charge that wasn't called in a one point game. He completely ran Franklin over. CSU got two such calls but this determined the outcome of the game. Had he rightfully been called for a charge take 3 points away, you still have a 1 point game with SDSU possession. Even the announcers went crazy on that one. A 1 point game is much different than a 4 point game. Franklin got hammered all night long, especially on the rebound late in the game, he should have been shooting free throws instead of having to call timeout. CSU was the beneficiary of more #$%$ referees to determine the outcome of what was otherwise a great game. It's a shame a game such as this has to finish with such pathetic calls.
    • D Hitch  •  3 days ago
      The Aztecs will stick it to the Rams in the conference tourney.
    • Kid_surf  •  3 days ago
      No disrespect to the Rams who are a very good team...but SDSU got jobbed tonight by some horrific calls...especially the foul at the end that even had the CBS announcers shaking their heads.

      Credit Ram's Coach for calling a spade a spade and saying that his team got a call at the end. Class act.

      All that said, best of luck to Colorado St the rest of the year except for in 1 game of the Mtn West tourney. Very physical team and very good team ball.
    • CLW  •  3 days ago
      Nice refs the Lakers couln't win there with theses morons calling the game. Now I know why they won 27 in a row at home.