Isaiah Stevens breaks career scoring record for No. 16 Colorado State in win over Loyola Marymount
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Isaiah Stevens scored 19 points to break the career scoring record for No. 16 Colorado State, which remained perfect away from home with a 76-67 victory over Loyola Marymount on Friday night.
Nique Clifford led Colorado State with 23 points, going 9 of 10 from the floor. Patrick Cartier added 14 points for the Rams (11-1), who won their second consecutive game since their only loss — a home defeat against Saint Mary’s on Dec. 9 — and improved to 5-0 in away and neutral-site games.
Stevens broke the record previously held by Pat Durham (1985-89) and now has 1,986 points in five seasons with the Rams. He also went 8 of 13 from the floor to break Durham’s school record for field goals.
“I don't even know if I've fully processed it yet,” Stevens said. “It's definitely a blessing. I couldn't do this on my own. I couldn't do it without coaches, teammates and family members believing in me.”
With seven assists, Stevens also surpassed 700. As a team, Colorado State had 21 assists on 30 baskets.
“He's meant the world to me personally, and our program, and you could tell when he set foot on campus as a freshman, he had the ‘It’ factor," Colorado State coach Niko Medved said. “He's been special from day one. He's a great player and an even better person and leader.”
Will Johnston scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half for Loyola Marymount (7-6), which dropped to 1-1 to begin a stretch of six consecutive home games.
Keli Leaupepe scored 13 points and Justin Wright added 10 for the Lions, who were playing a ranked team for the first time this season. Loyola Marymount beat a pair of ranked foes last season in in No. 6 Gonzaga and No. 15 Saint Mary’s.
Lamaj Lewis gave Loyola Marymount an early lead on a layup 21 seconds into the game before Colorado State gained control with a 14-1 run over the next seven minutes. The Rams led 35-27 at the half after the Lions went on a 5-0 run just before the break.
Loyola Marymount made it an 11-0 run with the first six points of the second half to pull within 35-33 and took a 44-43 lead with 15:13 remaining on a 3-pointer by Leaupepe.
The Rams answered with a 10-0 run for a 53-44 lead, with Stevens scoring the first five points. Stevens set the record by making a pair of free throws with 8:47 remaining that put Colorado State on top 57-50.
“For us to be able to get an assist on almost every basket we made tonight, that's what we preach and that's what we work on, so that's special,” Stevens said.
The Rams took control for good with a 9-2 run that was capped by a steal and a dunk from Joel Scott for a 66-55 led with 4:48 remaining.
“Our guys showed a lot of fight and we put ourselves in position (to win)," Loyola Marymount coach Stan Johnson said. “But when we got up one, they went on a 10-0 stretch. Those are the games within the game. Against good teams, you can't have that.”
UP NEXT
Colorado State: Hosts Adams State on Dec. 29.
Loyola Marymount: Hosts Tarleton State on Dec. 29 ahead of three West Coast Conference games at home.
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