Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
8-4
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UTEP
6-7
Men's basketball recap: CSU outlasts host UTEP, 56-53
12/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations
EL PASO, Texas - Wes Eikmeier had a quiet first half by his standards, heading into the halftime with four points and three assists.
But the junior guard, and Rams' leading scorer, came up big when it counted most - in crunch time - to lead Colorado State (8-4) to a 56-53 road win over the UTEP Miners (6-7) in the opening game of the Bank of the West Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
"I was impressed with his poise," said Head Coach Tim Miles' of Eikmeier's second-half performance. "Wes has been circled on the scouting report before, and I've seen him struggle; UNI was a tough game, and I think he learned from that."
"Tonight, he just showed a lot of poise, a lot of patience, and then went out and made huge plays at the end. Let's just face it. We said, 'Get out of the way' and let him go. "
Eikmeier, who finished with a game-high 16 points (7-of-8 FGs) and a season-best six assists, came out of the locker room and set the tone for the second half, hitting a deep three-pointer to reclaim a 30-29 CSU lead just seconds into the closing stanza.
Then, after several more lead changes in a see-saw game that featured an incredible 19 swings, Eikmeier keyed a 9-3 Rams' run between the 5:19 and the 2:01 marks of the second half, accounting for seven points and assisting senior forward Will Bell on the other bucket. The run broke the ninth and final tie of the game, and finally gave the Rams enough separation to escape with the three-point victory in a tough road environment in front of 8,543 at the Don Haskins Center.
"This was an important game and a quality road win for us," added Miles.
Bell tied a season-high with 12 points, matching his output in the Rams' last game at Northern Colorado on Dec. 19. Junior forward Pierce Hornung finished with eight points in the contest, and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Rams outrebounded the Miners by a 27-24 advantage, surrendering just two offensive boards in the second half, and helping CSU, which entered the contest as the No. 2 rated three-point shooting team in the country, overcome a 3-of-11 shooting performance from beyond the arc.
Colorado State now awaits the winner of Game 2 of the Sun Bowl Invitational between the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
The consolation game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. MT tipoff, with the Rams' tipping off at approximately 7:30 p.m. MT in the title game.
