San Diego State vs. Colorado State final score: Rams' 3-point shooting leads them past Aztecs 79-73

The Colorado State Rams (18-2, 5-2 Mountain West) squeaked out a 79-73 win at home against the San Diego State Aztecs (15-5, 5-2 Mountain West). CSU's J.J. Avila led all scorers with 29 points, and SDSU five-star freshman Malik Pope had his coming-out party, scoring 22 points on 9-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.

SDSU trailed by as much as 17 points in this game, but the Aztecs eventually clawed their way to within one point -- it was 73-72 with three minutes left.

At that point in the game, Pope and Matt Shrigley had scored SDSU's last 11 points. But neither player even took a shot in the last three minutes. Aqeel Quinn and J.J. O'Brien took them all and missed every one.

The Rams lit SDSU up from long range, knocking down 12-21 3-pointers. They also outmatched the Aztecs at the free throw line, making 17-22 opposed to SDSU's 9-17 clip.

SDSU next hosts the Fresno State Bulldogs (10-10, 5-2 MW) Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

CSU next travels to play the Boise State Broncos (14-6, 4-3 MW) Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT.