KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Isaiah Stevens had 18 points and eight assists, Nique Clifford scored 16 points and Colorado State beat Boston College 86-74 on Wednesday to open the Hall of Fame Classic.
Colorado State (5-0) will face either Loyola Chicago or Creighton in the championship game on Thursday. Boston College (4-1) plays in the consolation game.
Colorado State had its double-digit lead trimmed to 60-56 after Boston College’s 10-2 run. Clifford ended the run with a 3-pointer. BC was again within four points, 65-61, before Clifford ended another field-goal drought and Josiah Strong added a 3-pointer for a nine-point lead.
Jalen Lake put Colorado State ahead by double figures for good with 5:43 left.
Patrick Cartier scored on a backdoor cut, on Stevens’ seventh assist of the game, for a 79-67 lead. Cartier fouled out at the other end, but Stevens had another beautiful assist, a cross-court pass to Strong for a 3-pointer and a 13-point lead.
Strong finished with 15 points, Joel Scott had 14 and Cartier 10 for Colorado State. Lake, who was a starter last season, came off the bench to score seven points. Scott extended his streak to 52 straight games reaching double-figure scoring. Stevens, averaging 16.8 points and 8.0 assists, was 8 of 13 from the field.
Quinten Post led Boston College with 22 points. Claudell Harris Jr. added 13 points, Jaeden Zackery had 11 and Prince Aligbe 10. The Eagles made all 20 of their free-throw attempts.
Colorado State coach Niko Medved needs three more victories to become the fifth coach in program history to reach 100.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
