After falling into a 20-8 hole within the first eight minutes of the game, CSU men’s basketball mounted a comeback to defeat Nevada 73-69 despite senior forward Pierce Hornung playing only three minutes due to a stomach illness.

Stepping up and leading the Rams in the scoring department was senior forward Greg Smith, who led the Rams with 28 points while adding `12 rebounds in the game.

CSU (19-4, 6-2) managed to make it through the game without Hornung, its leading rebound man on the year, thanks in large part to the play of senior center Colton Iverson, who provided toughness in the post while pulling down a team-high 16 rebounds while chipping in 10 points.

Nevada (11-11, 2-6) managed to push the Rams’ backs against the walls thanks in large part to senior guard Malik Story, who paced the Wolf Pack with 31 points on 7-for-11 shooting from three-point range.

CSU and Nevada stayed within four points of each other throughout the final 6:07 of the game.

The difference in the game came with 26 seconds remaining in the game when after a Colton Iverson made jumper, Nevada guard Jordan Burris threw a pass down into the post where no one was except for Iverson, who recorded the steal and put the Rams in position to win the game.

Four made free throws by senior guard Wes Eikmeier iced the game for the Rams and gave them their fourth straight victory and more importantly, gives CSU its second straight road conference victory, an area the team struggled in last year.