Colorado St. Rams vs Washington Huskies Box Score on Dec 02, 2023

Josiah Strong scored seven of his team's last 10 points to help No. 20 Colorado State hold off Washington in an 86-81 victory in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday.

Strong finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Joel Scott led the Rams (8-0) with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Patrick Cartier, who did not play in the Rams' last game because of a back injury, scored 16 points. Jalen Lake missed his first game after undergoing surgery on a broken finger on his left hand.

After Washington tied the game at 78 with 1:31 remaining, Scott buried a 3-pointer. Washington's Sahvir Wheeler, who had 13 points and 12 assists, then missed a layup.

Strong made two free throws with 36 seconds left to increase the lead to 83-78.

Washington's Keion Brooks Jr., who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, then made a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left.

Strong was fouled again and made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts to give Colorado State an 84-81 lead with 26 seconds remaining.

After a missed 3-pointer and putback attempt by Washington, Strong made a breakaway layup to cap the scoring.

Moses Wood led Washington (4-3) with 21 points.

Colorado State played most of the game without guard Nique Clifford, who was ejected less than six minutes into the game because of a flagrant foul following a screen applied to Washington's Braxton Meah. It appeared Meah was struck in his midsection.

The Huskies took a 12-7 lead at the time, with 14:21 left in the first half, when Meah made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts.

Colorado State then went on a 14-0 run to take a 21-12 lead with 9:34 left in the first half.

Washington responded with seven unanswered points, including a 3-pointer and layup by Wood. The Huskies built a 41-34 lead after Wood and Wheeler made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions.

A last-second layup by Cartier cut Washington's lead to 44-41 at halftime.

--Field Level Media