Colorado State University Athletics

Ogide leads CSU past New Orleans
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Andy Ogide scored 15 of his career-high 22 points in the second half and Marcus Walker added 19 points in his return to lead Colorado State to a 78-60 win over New Orleans in front of 2,687 fans at Moby Arena on Wednesday night.
Ogide was dominant in the second half of the game while Walker was on the offensive for the Rams in the early going. Walker, who missed Monday’s loss to Saint Martin’s with a sore left ankle, hit three consecutive three-pointers to open the game and scored 11 of CSU’s first 13 points on his way to 19.
“We need Marcus,” said Head Coach Tim Miles. “He’s our leader and the guy’s look to him. Our players feed off him because he brings a great, positive aura.”
Ogide couldn’t be stopped after halftime as he went 6-8 from the field in the second half and added 12 rebounds in total for his second double-double of the season.
“I was proud of Andy,” said Miles. “That’s the type of player he is, and can be. You know, he didn’t score for a lot of the game and still scored 22 points and 12 rebounds.”
Lost in the play of Walker and Ogide was the solid effort of Andre McFarland who added 15 points and four rebounds. McFarland continued his sharp shooting as he connected on 6-10 from the field and 2-5 from three-point range. Over his last three games, the sophomore has hit on 10 of his last 14 from beyond the arc.
The Rams used a 7-2 run early in the second half to build a 13 point lead and led by double figures until New Orleans clawed their way back to an eight-point deficit with 11:05 left in the game. But back-to-back layups by McFarland and Ogide pushed CSU’s lead up to 12 and the Rams would lead by at least 10 the rest of the way. In the final 5:02 of the game, CSU hit five of six shots from the field to maintain control.
Justin Archie led the way for the Privateers with 14 points and four rebounds while New Orleans’ big two were held in check. The Privateers’ duo of T.J. Worley and Darrian McKinstry came into Wednesday’s game averaging nearly 40 points between them, but McKinstry only played one minute and Worley was held to 4-14 shooting and just 11 points.
During the middle of the first half, the two teams had major struggles on the offensive end. Over a 6:31 period of the first half, a New Orleans jumper by Destin Damachoua accounted for the only points. The Rams finally got a basket thanks to an Ogide lay-in and foul which would spark a 5-0 run to give the Rams a 19-11 lead. CSU extended its lead to 10 points on three occasions in the first half, but went to locker up just seven points after the Archie hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half.
The Rams will hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to San Francisco for a showdown with the University of San Francisco Dons on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. MT.