December 10, 1997
Colorado State erased a 13-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation and went on to beat Texas A&M, 86-82, in overtime Wednesday at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies missed three straight free throws in the final 11 seconds of regulation that could have iced the game and Colorado State's Ryan Chilton tipped in a miss at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
A&M took a 70-57 lead on a three-point field goal by Jerald Brown with 5:44 left, but the Rams closed fast with a 14-2 run and trimmed the lead to 72-71 on a three-pointer by Jameel Mahmud with 1:24 left.
A&M sophomore Steve Houston was fouled with 11 seconds left and made the first free throw for a 73-71 lead. Houston missed the second free throw, but the Aggies' Shanne Jones grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled with nine seconds left.
But Jones missed both free throws and Colorado State's Matt Barnett rebounded. Barnett missed a short jumper with two seconds remaining but the 7-foot Chilton tipped in the miss at the buzzer to tie the game, 73-73, at the end of regulation.
The Rams took advantage of the big momentum swing in overtime, building an 84-78 lead with 44 seconds remaining. The Aggies trimmed the lead to 85-82 on a pair of free throws by Jones with 20 seconds left, but Mahmud added a free throw moments later to ice the game.
Chilton finished with a career-high 25 points with nine rebounds and six blocked shots. James Smith added 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Rams, who improved to 7-1. The Aggies fall to 5-2.
Brown led a group of five Aggies scoring in double figures, finishing with a season-high 18 points along with 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the year. Junior forward Calvin Davis added 16 points and 11 boards, Houston scored a career-high 17 points with nine assists, junior Chris Clayton chipped in a career-high 14 points, including four three-pointers, while Jones finished with 13 points.
The Aggies made a season-high 10-of-28 three-pointers, but connected on just 38.6 percent from the field overall. A&M posted a 42-37 rebounding edge and forced 18 Ram turnovers.
Colorado State blazed the nets with 50.8 percent field goal shooting, the first time this season A&M has allowed an opponent to shoot better than 43 percent from the field. The Rams also made 85.0 percent from the free throw line (17-of-20) to only 66.7 percent (18-of-27) by the Aggies.
A&M is idle until Dec. 19, when they meet Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. Colorado State plays host to Cleveland State on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo.