FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Little Rock had little answer for Colorado State's fast-paced game plan, falling behind early in the first half and never recovering in an 86-55 loss to the Rams at Moby Arena Wednesday night.
The loss drops the Trojans to 4-4 on the year, including 1-4 on this extended road trip, as Colorado State improves to 8-0 on the year. It was the first win for the Rams over the Trojans as Little Rock is 2-1 all-time in the series.
Isaiah Palermo led Little Rock with 16 points on the night, making 6-of-12 from the floor and knocking down all four of his free throw attempts.
Kevin Osawe was the only other Trojan to finish in double figures, scoring 11 while grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
Jovan Stulic added nine points with five rebounds, just missing reaching double figues.
DeAntoni Gordon finished with eight points and five rebounds, but left the game late in the second half after a hard collision under the basket and had to be helped off the floor.
For the game, Little Rock shot 38.5% from the floor (20-of-52), making 23.1% of its three point attempts (3-of-13) while hitting 12 of its 15 free throw attempts (80.0%). That was contrasted by a 55.9% shooting effort from Colorado State as the Rams outrebounded the Trojans 32-28 and dominated in the paint, outscoring Little Rock 44-20.
Playing shorthanded due to injuries, Little Rock held close with the Rams through the first six minutes as five points from Osawe and a steal and fast break dunk had the Trojans within one at 8-7. But Little Rock had little answer for Colorado State's offensive surge as the Rams broke out an 18-0 run over the next seven minutes, building a 26-7 lead at the 6:21 mark.
Another extend run pushed the Ram advantage even further, outscoring the Trojans 10-1 over a two-minute spurt, aided by three Little Rock turnovers, pushing the lead to 25 at 38-13 with 2:21 remaining in the half, before taking a 43-20 lead at the half.
The Trojans shot just 29.2% in the opening 20 minutes, going 7-for-24 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three, committing 14 turnovers that helped the Rams shoot 53.3%. Colorado State outscored Little Rock 24-10 in the paint in the first half, including an 18-5 edge in fast break points.
The run continued in the second half as after a layup from Gordon to open the scoring, Colorado State reeled off an 11-0 run, extending its lead to 32 at 54-22 three minutes into the second half. The Rams would lead by as many as 36 in the second half as Little Rock was never able to establish a flow offensively.
Little Rock did shoot better over the final 20 minutes, shooting 48.1% from the floor, but Colorado State bested that with a 58.6% effort, including hitting 5-of-11 from three point range, extending the lead and keeping the Trojans at bay.
The six-game, five-state, four-time zone road trip wraps up Saturday in Fayetteville when Little Rock takes on Arkansas. Opening tip from Bud Walton Arena is set for 3 p.m. with the game being broadcast on SEC Network.
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