Colorado State upends Lobos

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- With center Will Bell in street clothes because of a swollen left knee, Pierce Hornung had to pull double duty.

He scored 13 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and helped shut down Drew Gordon in leading Colorado State to a 71-63 upset of No. 18 New Mexico on Tuesday.

Hornung also had four steals as the Rams (17-9, 6-5 Mountain West) extended their winning streak to 12 straight at Moby Arena.

"I thought he was brilliant," New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. "With Will Bell being out, they were short-handed underneath, and I thought he did an unbelievable job defending our bigs, and then to be able to score, he made his free throws down the stretch, 15 rebounds."

The Lobos (22-5, 8-3) lost for the first time since Jan. 21, ending a sensational stretch in which they won seven straight games by an average of 19.3 points.

Gordon scored 13 points and had six boards but played nothing like he did last weekend, when the 6-foot-9-inch forward had a career-best 27 points and 20 boards in a 65-45 demolition of then-No. 11 UNLV on national TV.

He kept turning the ball over in the paint -- six times in all -- and had a tough time finding shots.

In the first of three straight games against ranked teams, the Rams hung tough and then pulled away late, building a 60-52 lead thanks to a 6-0 run in which Hornung sank two free throws and a basket.

Gordon's three-point play with 3:22 left made it a five-point game, but when the Lobos had a chance to pull within three, Gordon slipped going to the basket, and the ball bounced out of bounds. And Hornung's layup at the other end made it 62-55.