FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Even though his team was playing the back end of consecutive road games, NAU coach Mike Adras believed his Lumberjacks were primed for an upset Saturday night.
NAU was poised to beat its second Mountain West Conference foe in as many nights before host Colorado State erased a four-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to pull out a 64-56 victory.
Junior forward Travis Franklin energized the Rams with 22 points and six rebounds, helping Colorado State win its fourth straight game. The Rams (8-3) have won six of their last seven contests and improved to 6-0 at home.
"There was no atmosphere in this building, and this game was for anybody that wanted to step up and do it," Adras said. "Fortunately for them, Franklin wanted to step up and do it, and that was the difference."
Dorian Green added 18 points for the Rams. The winning streak is Colorado State's longest since it won nine straight in the 2006-07 season.
Redshirt freshman Gabe Rogers had a career-high 17 points off the bench for NAU (4-7). He made 6 of 11 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers, and added three assists. No other Lumberjack had more than eight points.
"Gabe had a nice game," Adras said. "You have to have two or three guys like that to win, especially on the road."
NAU, which beat Air Force on Saturday, was plagued by 20 turnovers.
"I wouldn't say we had tired legs," said guard Cameron Jones, who tallied seven points and five assists. "We just didn't get into our game, didn't make our shots in the first half or down the stretch."
NAU opened the second half with a 15-5 run, cutting the lead to 38-36 on Jones' jumper with 13:15 left. The Lumberjacks pulled ahead 40-39 on two free throws by Shane Johannsen with 12:18 to go.
After Rogers hit a 3-pointer, DeAngelo Jones sank two free throws and Josh Lepley one to put NAU up 46-42 with 9:42 left.
"Once we got the lead we got careless with the ball and had four straight turnovers," Adras said. "I think we could have distanced ourselves in those four possessions."
The Rams went from a straight man defense into a variety of zone defenses to change the tempo in the game. Colorado State then went on a 12-0 run that included two putbacks by Greg Smith.
"We were behind, and we weren't getting stops," Colorado State coach Tim Miles said. "We needed a change of energy, a change of momentum in the game and it worked, the press and the zones."
Rogers hit two more 3s, the second with 3:13 left closed the gap to 56-52 with, but Green sealed the game with a layup and two free throws in the last two minutes.
NAU will break for the holidays before returning to action on Dec. 28 in its final non-conference road contest of the year at Texas Pan American. The Lumberjacks return to Flagstaff to host Northern New Mexico on Dec. 30 before restarting Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 2.
