Kelly Lyell

kellylyell@coloradoan.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. — J.D. Paige and John Gillon did it again.

Three days after making key plays to help the CSU men’s basketball team rally from five points down in the final minute to beat UNLV, the two guards basically repeated the feat.

Paige made a short jumper in the final second of regulation to force overtime, and Gillon made a driving layup with 10.9 seconds left in overtime Saturday to lift the Rams to an improbable 85-84 win at San Jose State.

A layup by San Jose State freshman Jayce Hillsman in the final second of overtime fell harmlessly off the rim and into Paige’s hands as the buzzer sounded.

“It’s just almost a miracle that we found a way to win,” Colorado State University coach Larry Eustachy said.

It really was.

WOMEN'S HOOPS: Rams beat SJSU to run win streak to 10

Although they tied the game seven times in the second half and overtime, the Rams (10-6, 2-1 Mountain West) led just once in the second half – by one point for all of 22 seconds. They were playing from behind throughout the five-minute overtime period, taking their first and only lead on Gillon’s layup at the end.

“I was just thinking I’ve got to get to win this game for my team; I promised them a win,” Gillon said. “I told them in the second half just give me the ball, and I’ll do whatever it takes for us to win.

“They trusted me, and I couldn’t let them down.”

Gillon, a senior, finished with 18 points and senior forward Tiel Daniels scored 16 for the Rams, who trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before rallying to tie the score 37-37 at the break, and by as many as eight points in the second half.

Senior guard Princeton Onwas scored 24 points for San Jose State (5-11, 0-4) and guard Ryan Welage, one of three true freshmen starters for the Spartans, added 16.

CSU kept itself in the game for much of the second half by making free throws, making 12 in a row at one point while going more than five minutes between field goals. The Rams were 24 of 27 at the line for the game.

Junior forward Emmanuel Omogbo added 13 points and eight rebounds for CSU, and senior guard Joe De Ciman chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Paige, a redshirt freshman who scored seven points in the final 47 seconds Wednesday night to help the Rams rally for a 66-65 win over UNLV, finished with seven this time.

But his last basket was huge, picking up a loose ball with less than a second left in regulation and making the tying basket from about 10 feet out. Teammate Fred Richardson’s tip of a San Jose State pass a few seconds earlier had given the Rams, who were down 78-74 with 23 seconds left, the an opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have had to extend the game.

“It was a great play by Fred; he caused the steal,” Paige said. “I was just there. I just made the play.”

A play that, along with Gillon’s layup at the end of overtime, allowed the Rams to avoid becoming the first Mountain West team to lose a game to San Jose State in nearly two years. The Spartans, although markedly improved from last season, have lost 27 conference games in a row and are 1-38 all-time in the Mountain West, with their lone win coming Feb. 18, 2014, at Nevada.

“Thank God we pulled it out,” Gillon said. “It would have been a long flight home.”

Instead, the Rams have back-to-back wins in games they just as easily could have lost and a chance to still contend for a conference title.

“Nobody ever gave up,” Eustachy said. “We kept urging them on. They made a lot of mistakes, but they played through them, and that’s what it’s all about.

“I think this week is a big defining moment in our season. We showed some real resilience.”

Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news

Tournament tracker

Win keeps Rams in hunt for postseason play but five nonconference losses make NCAA or NIT unlikely

Next up: San Diego State at CSU, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Moby Arena

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CSU 85, SAN JOSE STATE 84

At Event Center, San Jose, Calif.

Colorado State 37-41-7—85

San Jose State 37-41-7—84

Colorado State (10-6, 2-1 MW) – Omogbo 4-11 4-4 13, Daniels 6-8 4-5 16, Scott 3-8 0-0 8, Gillon 5-11 8-8 18, De Ciman 3-11 3-4 11, Jackson 1-2 0-0 2, Richardson 2-6 4-4 8, Nixon 1-1 0-0 2, Paige 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 28-64 24-27 85.

San Jose State (5-11, 0-4 MW) – Rogers 4-10 2-2 12, Welage 6-10 2-4 16, Schwartz 2-5 0-0 6, Hillsman 1-7 0-0 3, Thornton 3-5 1-4 7, Williams 4-8 2-2 10, Clarke 2-2 0-0 4, Onwas 7-14 9-9 24, Bahner 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 29-61 18-23 84.

A – 1,470