Wes Eikmeier scored 22 points and Jesse Carr made three free throws in the final 21 seconds as Colorado State held off Denver 79-75 Wednesday night.
Greg Smith added 17 points for the Rams (11-4). Dorian Green had 15 points for Colorado State, which won its sixth straight.
The Pioneers' Brian Stafford led all scorers with 24 points, including all 10 free throw attempts. Chris Udofia had 15 points for Denver (13-4), off to its best Division I start in school history.
The Pioneers, the nation's second-best free throw team, made 25 of 34 foul shots.
Colorado State pushed its lead to double figures twice, the last time when Smith buried a 3-pointer with 8:19 left to make it 59-49. Stafford's two free throws got Denver within 76-73, but Carr sank two free throws for the Rams. After a basket by the Pioneers' Brett Olson, Carr hit one more.
