SPOKANE, Wash. (AP)—Morris Almond scored 31 points as Rice beat Colorado State 70-61 on Wednesday in the consolation game at the NIT Season Tip-Off West Regional at the Spokane Arena.
Rice (2-1) shot just 34 percent in the game, but made 30-of-36 free throws, including 7-of-8 in the last minute. Almond made 18-of-20 from the line.
Jason Smith scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Colorado State (1-2), which outrebounded and outshot the Owls. Smith had scored 25 points and had 19 rebounds on Tuesday against Baylor.
The Rams made 18-of-28 free throws in the game.
The teams traded the lead throughout the second half.
After Almond tied the score at 52 with a pair of free throws, Tyler Smith sank a 3-pointer for Colorado State and Cory Lewis made a layup for a 57-52 lead with 6:15 left.
But Rice went on a 12-2 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by Cory Pflieger, for a 64-59 lead with 56 seconds left.
Jason Smith made a pair of free throws for CSU to cut the lead to 64-61. But Almond replied with a pair of free throws for a 66-61 Rice lead that held up.
Tyler Smith finished with 16 points for Colorado State, which was 18-of-28 from the line.
In the first, Rice was trailing 21-20 when Almond shot a string of eight consecutive free throws—making seven—to lift the Owls to a 27-21 lead with 2:31 left.
Chris Hagen’s free throw with 1 second left gave Rice a 33-30 halftime lead, even though the Owls shot just 33 percent in the half.
Rice made 17-of-20 free throws in the first half, while Colorado State made 9-of-18.
Almond, held to 13 points by Gonzaga on Tuesday night, scored 18 in the first half alone.
He finished 6-of-18 from the field, and Rice made just 17 of its 49 shots in the game.
