FORT COLLINS — Carey Booth and Jase Butler combined to score 47 points and lead Colorado State past San Diego State 83-74 on Saturday at Moby Arena.
Butler had a team-high 25 points while Booth added 22 as the Rams won their fifth game in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season.
With the win, the Rams improved to 17-10 overall and 8-8 in the Mountain West Conference, evening their league record after starting 3-8.
“When you have seven new guys in your rotation that haven’t been here before, you lose a few games and start to question things,” CSU head coach Ali Farokhmanesh said. “For them to fight that off and stay together, it just takes time.”
The game went back-and-fort for the first 12 minutes with four ties and two lead changes. After Kyle Jorgensen broke that tie with a layup to make it 16-14 with 7:13 left in the first half, the Rams never relinquished the lead.
CSU went ahead by as many as 15 points late in the first half and led 38-25 at halftime.
The Rams led the entire second half, by as many as 15 and as few as seven but never let the Aztecs get closer than that.
In addition to Butler and Carey’s 47 points, Brandon Rechsteiner added 16 for the Rams. CSU shot 47% from the field to San Diego State’s 38.
Butler’s 25 points were a career high. He made four 3-pointers and was 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
“I think just his confidence has changed,” Farokhmanesh said. “I think he’s just starting to believe in himself a little bit more. And sometimes you need those results to get to that point. I thought this was who he was going to be. And it’s cool for him to get to that point now that he is playing at a high level because he works at it, and he shows up every day. He’s a byproduct of consistency.”
The Aztecs outrebounded the Rams 35-33. Jorgensen led the Rams with eight.
CSU will be back in action Tuesday when the Rams host Fresno State at 7 p.m. at Moby Arena.