Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Western State (Colo.)
Rams end 2007 with win
12/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2007
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State snapped a four-game losing streak with a team effort behind outstanding play by the freshmen as the Rams took an 87-47 victory over Western State Saturday evening in front of 2,647 fans. Marcus Walker led the way with 16 points for CSU.
Jesse Woodard, Flynn Clayman and Josh Simmons, all true freshmen, stepped up for the Rams (6-7). Woodard finished with a career-high 14 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Clayman had a career-best eight points and also notched a career-high nine rebounds. Simmons finished with 10 points, just three shy of a career high, and five assists.
Head Coach Tim Miles recognized the effort of the younger players after the game.
"You get to a certain point where your mind clears and you are able to play aggressively," said Miles. "You see it with Jesse Woodard. We need to get all those young guys on the same page if you are going compete in the Mountain West and they really were there tonight. Our kids played with pretty good energy and were focused. I thought our kids were cutting hard, passing quick, and very aware and for the most part our kids were communicating.
"I thought we just gave them too much of a steady diet of man-to-man until we got the game under control and played straight man. David Cohen did a lot of little things really well, showed a great awareness of our game plan tonight. It was especially good to see a guy like Josh to make a three. They all work so hard and do all the dirty work. They need to be rewarded. I thought they got out and played really well tonight."
For Western State, Jeremy Brooks and Matt Pennetti each scored a team-high 10 points. Brooks and Krys Hall each added six rebounds.
CSU set a season high with 53 team rebounds and shot a deadly 48.4 percent from the field. The Rams were precision from beyond the arc, shooting 60 percent, including eight shots in the second half. Ronnie Aguilar had a career-high rebounding night with 12 off the glass. The Rams shot 72.7 percent from the field in second half and outscored the Mountaineers by 30 points.
Looking ahead to the game with UNLV, Miles can see that there is still work ahead.
"We still have to get better at what we need to do to win," Miles commented. "Blocking out, passing, rebounding and pursuing loose balls are things we really have to work on. Having a clear mind of what's going on out there is really important when we get to league play."
The Rams will open the 2008 Mountain West Conference season at 3 p.m. Saturday as they host UNLV in Moby Arena.
