FORT COLLINS — Who says the NIT doesn’t mean anything?

The Colorado State Rams said they were fired up to be chosen for college basketball’s second-tier tournament, and they played like it in their first-round matchup against the College of Charleston.

After six lead changes in the first 16 minutes, fourth-seeded CSU used a 12-0 run late in the first half to take the lead for good and hold on for an 81-74 victory over the fifth-seeded Cougars on Tuesday night at Moby Arena.

The Rams advanced to host No. 8 seed CSU Bakersfield in the second round, which runs Thursday through Monday, after the Roadrunners (23-9) upset top-seeded Cal late Tuesday night.

“These guys are very hungry and I thought they showed it, because they beat a real good team,” CSU coach Larry Eustachy said. “They beat a very good team that manhandled Boise this year, and we couldn’t handle Boise.”

After losing their NIT opener as a 1 seed here two years ago following the disappointment of not getting into the NCAA Tournament, the Rams were determined to take advantage of the chance to extend their season as long as possible this time. They’ll get at least one more game thanks to a balanced scoring effort that saw four players reach double figures, led by Gian Clavell with 22 points.

Prentiss Nixon added 19 points, J.D. Paige had 15 and Emmanuel Omogbo 12 for the Rams, who won just their second postseason game since 2000 (2013 NCAA Tournament). Clavell, who’s now averaging 27.2 points over his last five, also had nine rebounds and seven assists while Nico Carvacho had eight points and 11 boards.

Carvacho’s performance came after he struggled last week in the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas, where the Rams lost to Nevada in the championship game on Saturday. Entering the night, the redshirt freshman had gone scoreless in three of the team’s past four games.

“I just tried to get every rebound I could get. That’s my goal, that’s what my team needs me to do,” said Carvacho, who had five offensive boards, three assists, no turnovers and was 4 of 6 shooting. “Every single time I get rebounds is when I play good, so that’s what I tried to do at the beginning of the game.”

Joe Chealey had 15 of his team-high 16 points after halftime to help lead a second-half rally by Charleston (25-10). The Cougars trailed by 16 with 12:55 to go after a 9-0 CSU run before they came back to make it a three-point game with 5:21 remaining on consecutive 3-pointers by Chealey.

With the Rams mired in a 4-minute scoreless streak, Clavell stepped up and knocked down a pair of long, set-back jumpers to give the Rams some much-needed breathing room down the stretch.

“I like feeling pressure. I like those type of shots. If I miss, I miss and move on. I make them, great,” Clavell said. “Any moment like that, I want the ball, just to make a play, just to score. Whatever the team needs me to do, I will do.”

The Rams have now won 10 their past 12 games and 13 of 16 to reach 24 victories, the third-most in a season in program history, behind the 2014-15 (27) and 2013-13 (26) teams. All three of those teams have been coached by Eustachy.

“That’s five years we’ve been here. We’ve got the most wins in the history, the second-most, and now the third-most with 24,” Eustachy said. “Gian’s first and third in the two years he got to play full seasons. That’s an elite class, I have to say. Pretty impressive.”

The Rams’ 15-3 run to end of the first half turned a small deficit into a nine-point halftime lead, 42-33. Five different players scored during the run, which took just more than 2 minutes and saw the team make five straight from the field.

Shortly after that, tensions in the gym rose quickly, beginning with Eustachy’s second technical foul in as many games after he had gone all season without one. The call came after it appeared Clavell was fouled in the act of shooting a 3 in the corner. Charleston’s Grant Riller missed both free throws on the technical on Eustachy, keeping the Rams up 10.

The next time down the floor, the teams were caught jarring back and forth, resulting in matching technicals on CSU’s Nixon and Charleston’s Terrance O’Donohue.

Tensions rose again briefly in the second half when players from both teams were separated by officials heading into a timeout, but nothing ever got physical.

Sean Star: 970-669-5402, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar

COLORADO ST. 81, COLL. OF CHARLESTON 74 COLL. OF CHARLESTON (25-10)

Harris 2-3 1-1 5, Brantley 5-11 1-2 12, Riller 7-11 0-2 15, Chealey 4-14 5-6 16, Johnson 6-12 0-0 15, Bailey 0-2 0-0 0, Goodwin 0-2 0-0 0, O’Donohue 0-1 0-0 0, McManus 0-2 0-0 0, Pointer 4-8 0-0 11. Totals 28-66 7-11 74.

COLORADO ST. (24-11)

Omogbo 5-12 2-4 12, Carvacho 4-6 0-1 8, Paige 4-8 4-4 15, Nixon 5-13 7-9 19, Clavell 8-17 1-2 22, Koelliker 1-4 1-1 3, Bonner 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 28-63 15-21 81.

Halftime — Colorado St. 42-33. 3-Point Goals — Coll. of Charleston 11-37 (Pointer 3-7, Johnson 3-7, Chealey 3-8, Riller 1-4, Brantley 1-6, O’Donohue 0-1, Bailey 0-2, McManus 0-2), Colorado St. 10-30 (Clavell 5-11, Paige 3-5, Nixon 2-7, Bonner 0-1, Koelliker 0-2, Omogbo 0-4). Fouled Out — None. Rebounds — Coll. of Charleston 31 (Brantley 11), Colorado St. 38 (Carvacho 11). Assists_Coll. of Charleston 8 (Pointer, Chealey 2), Colorado St. 18 (Clavell 7). Total Fouls — Coll. of Charleston 22, Colorado St. 12. Technicals — O’Donohue, Colorado St. coach Larry Eustachy, Nixon.