Box Score FORT COLLINS, Colo. – MSU Denver played Division I power Colorado State close for much of the first half Friday night, but the Rams gradually pulled away for a 91-52 victory in a men's college basketball exhibition game.
 
Though it doesn't count officially, it was MSU Denver's first publicized game against a Division I team in nine years.
 
"It was a great opportunity for us to play at the highest level and see what that looks like, to see where we want to get this program to," new MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said.
 
Veteran Tyrei Randall scored 11 points, while true freshmen Yaw Reneer and Brayden Maldonado each scored eight for the Roadrunners. Junior college transfer Skylar Robinson had seven points and seven rebounds.
 
MSU Denver had leads that included 2-0, 5-2, 7-4 and 9-6 and was still within 22-18 after a Reneer 3-pointer with 8:33 left in the first half.
 
"The first 12 minutes, we showed what we are capable of doing, but we just couldn't sustain that against bigger, higher-level athletes and players," Ficke said. "We ran some good stuff. Caleb McGill got us started and Tyrei played off him, and we had some good defensive possessions."
 
Despite Colorado State's size, MSU Denver battled hard and gave up only four offensive rebounds all night.
 
"I loved our defensive intensity and our rebounding," Ficke said. "We played more at our pace and we're getting more comfortable with it, and now it's a matter of making shots and executing at that pace. We had some good looks, but we just didn't knock them down.
 
"We had some of our role players step up and play better than they did last week (in a non-publicized scrimmage against Air Force) and now it's a matter of taking this experience for what it's worth and building on it, getting into the gym and getting ready to play a team on our level."