Colorado State University Athletics
Game notes: Rams host Lumberjacks in final game of homestand
12/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game 11: Northern Arizona at Colorado State
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009 | 6 p.m. MT | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena (8,745)
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The Colorado State men’s basketball team looks to remain perfect on the year at Moby Arena as it takes on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the final game of a four-game homestand.
Colorado State (7-3) is fresh off an exciting 62-61 win over Montana in which Dorian Green (18) and Adam Nigon (17) combined for 35 points to lead the Rams past the Grizzlies for the second consecutive season at Moby Arena.
Northern Arizona is 3-6 entering play this weekend, but will face Air Force on Saturday before arriving in Fort Collins to take on the Rams.
Tipoff between the Rams and the Lumberjacks is set for 6 p.m. MT at Moby Arena.
Fans can listen to the action live on the Colorado State Sports Network. Jerry Schemmel will call all the action courtside. The game will be carried on flagship KLZ (560 AM) in Denver and on KCOL (600 AM), locally. Rams fans worldwide can listen to the action live streaming on CSURams.com/allaccess.
Live statistics are available by clicking the “GameTracker” logo on the men’s basketball “Schedule/Results” page on CSURams.com.
Tickets are available for purchase at the Colorado State Athletics ticket office at the McGraw Athletic Center. Fans can also purchase tickets by calling 800/491-RAMS, or online at www.CSURams.com.
About the Lumberjacks
The Rams are the final team the Lumberjacks will play in a three-game Mountain West Conference road trip. NAU fell at No. 19 New Mexico Wednesday evening and will face Air Force on Saturday before traveling to Moby Arena on Sunday.
After falling 96-57 at No. 19 New Mexico, NAU enters play this weekend with an overall mark of 3-6 on the season, with wins coming against Southwestern (Arizona), Pacific and UC Riverside. The Lumberjacks are winless on the road this season.
Head Coach Mike Adras is in his 11th year with the program, where he has guided the Lumberjacks to a 161-142 record. NAU has just one senior, forward Nick Larson, but seven juniors, including leading scorer Cameron Jones. Jones, a guard, has averaged 15.6 points on 47.4 percent shooting through nine games. Also in double figures are juniors Eric Platt (14.8 points) and Shane Johannsen (10.6 points).
Series vs. Northern Arizona
The Rams and Lumberjacks have met just three times on the hardwood, with Northern Arizona pulling out victories twice. The lone Rams win came during the 1983-84 season, a 51-50 victory at Moby Arena. The home team has won all three contests. The two teams haven’t faced off since the 1985-86 season, a 63-56 NAU victory in Flagstaff.
Big Sky times three
Northern Arizona will be the third Big Sky Conference opponent that the Rams will face this season. Earlier in the year, the Rams fell at Northern Colorado (70-63), but CSU is coming off of a victory over Montana (62-61) last Saturday. It is the only conference the Rams have played more than once so far this season.
Strong at home
With a win last Saturday against Montana, the Rams have started the season 5-0 at home. A win Sunday would give them six wins on the season at Moby Arena. The Rams won just six home games all last season, and just three the season before.
Through the years, however, Moby Arena has been a tough environment for opposing teams. CSU has won 70 percent (434-188) of its games at Moby Arena. Since the 2002-03 season, the Rams have had several winning streaks to start their home season: 2002-03, 13 consecutive; 2004-05, 9; 2005-06, 8; and 2006-07, 6.
Hot start
Coach Miles has led the Rams to a 7-3 start to open the 2009-10 season, the best start for CSU through 10 games since the 2006-07 season (8-2). In 2007-08, Miles’ first season at CSU, the Rams opened the year 5-5. Last season, the Rams were just 3-7 through the first 10 games of the season.
Three in a row
With three consecutive wins dating back to a Dec. 5 victory over Denver, the Rams have matched their longest winning streak under Head Coach Tim Miles. The Rams also won three in a row to claim the Top of the World tournament championship in Fairbanks, Alaska in Miles’ second, third and fourth games of his career at CSU (Nov. 15-18, 2007). CSU hasn’t won four straight since a nine-game streak, Nov. 18-Dec. 30, 2006.
Seven and counting
With 10 games in the books, CSU has completed one-third of its regular season. With seven wins in those 10 games, the Rams have already matched their win total in 2007-08, Miles’ first year, and are just two wins shy of reaching last season’s total.
Nigon heating up
Junior Adam Nigon entered the season averaging 2.87 points per contest through two seasons. This year, the guard is averaging 8.9 points, and has already eclipsed his point total from all of last season. Nigon is shooting at a 42 percent clip from both the floor and three-point range. Over his last five games, Nigon is averaging 11.6 points, including a career-high 17 in his last outing against Montana.
Seeing double
Junior F Travis Franklin recorded his second career double-double performance in the Rams’ victory over rival Colorado (Dec. 10). Franklin tallied 22 points, his second 20-point effort of the season, and capped off the double-double peformance with 10 rebounds to help CSU to the 77-62 victory. Franklin shot 7-for-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, while adding a block and two steals against the Buffs. Franklin also recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) nine days earlier in the Rams’ 70-63 loss at Northern Colorado (Dec.1).
Since 1902
The 2009-10 season marks the 106th in the history of the Colorado State men’s basketball program. The Rams are 1,081-1,132 (.488) in 2,213 games all-time, entering Sunday’s contest vs. Northern Arizona.
Switching it up
Tim Miles has used three different starting lineups in the last four games, and the Rams are 3-1 in those contests. Overall on the season, Miles has used four different lineups, with guards Dorian Green and Adam Nigon the only players to have started all 10 games entering Sunday’s game against Northern Arizona. More info on CSU’s starting linupes is available at the bottom of Page 8 of this release.
End of another ironman streak
Sidelined by back stiffness, junior Andre McFarland has missed Colorado State’s last two games, both victories over CU (77-62) and Montana (62-61). Since the beginning of his true freshman season, 2007-08, McFarland had played in all 71 CSU games.
Coors Light Coaches’ Show debuts
The Coors Light Basketball Coaches’ Show airs Mondays at 7 p.m. MT, live from the Stonehouse Grille in Old Town Fort Collins, and will continue throughout the season until March 1. Shows air live on the Colorado State Sports Network’s Flagship, KLZ (560 AM).
Perfect with Nigon
Adam Nigon’s career-high 17 points vs. Montana (Dec. 12) marked the fifth time this season that the junior has scored in double figures. In those games, the Rams are 5-0. Nigon has scored in double figures seven times in his career, with each resulting in a CSU victory.
Against the state of Colorado
With the Rams’ win over CU (Dec. 10), Colorado State improved to 6-2 against NCAA Division I teams from Colorado at Moby Arena under Tim Miles. CSU is 2-0 against DU, 1-1 against Air Force, 1-1 against the Buffs, and 1-0 against Northern Colorado.
Home Sweet Home
With a win against Northern Arizona, the Rams can improve to 6-0 and extend their best home-opening stretch in the Tim Miles era. The last time a Rams team won its first five games at Moby was in 2006 when the Rams won their first six.
After opening the 2009-10 season with four straight on the road, the Rams are now in the midst of seven consecutive games in Northern Colorado. Six of those contests will be played in the friendly confines of Moby Arena, while the lone trip was a short ride to nearby Greeley, Colo. Sunday’s matchup vs. Northern Arizona is the last of a four-game homestand.
Balanced rebounding attack
Despite only having three 10-plus rebounding efforts this season, the Rams entered this week having three players ranked in the top 12 in the MWC in rebounding average: Franklin (6.2), eighth; Ogide (6.1), ninth; and Hornung (5.6), 12th. As a team, Colorado State ranked second at the start of the week in the conference with 38.2 rebounds per game, and a plus-6.6 rebounding margin.
Rams hot in home openers
The Rams’ 79-42 win over Mayville State pushed the program’s streak to 29 consecutive victories in home-opening contests at Moby Arena. Under Head Coach Tim Miles, the Rams are now 3-0, having picked up home-opening victories over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (73-48) and Montana (85-55), in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively. Colorado State’s last home-opening loss came at the hands of Oklahoma State, a 69-64 setback on Dec. 8, 1980. All-time, CSU is 41-4 in home-opening games at Moby Arena, dating back to the program’s first game in the venue, a 109-70 victory over New Mexico State on Jan. 24, 1966.
Rams vs. non-conference foes
Entering Sunday’s contest vs. Northern Arizona, CSU has posted a record of 94-54 (.635) against non-MWC opponents since the formation of the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
Scoring for the Rams
Freshman G Dorian Green and junior F Andy Ogide rank 1-2 for the Rams in terms of scoring through 10 games this season. Green has scored in double figures in eight of his first 10 collegiate contests as a true freshman, while Ogide has reached double-figure scoring in five of 10 contests.
Green means go
Entering Sunday’s contest vs. Northern Arizona, freshman G Dorian Green has led Colorado State in scoring in four of the last seven contests, tallying 18 points at Indiana State, pouring in 17 more vs. Mayville State, adding 13 at Northern Colorado, and scoring 18 vs. Montana. He also added 17 points, second on the team, against San Francisco, nine points in the Rams’ victory over DU, and an early season-best 21 to help the Rams dispatch arch rival Colorado. Through nine games this season, Green is the only player to pace the Rams in scoring in back-to-back contests.
Rams crashing the glass
Junior F Andy Ogide recorded at least six rebounds in eight of Colorado State’s first 10 games, including the Rams’ last outing vs. Montana (6). He currently ranks second on the team behind junior F Travis Franklin, who averages 6.2 rebounds per game. Ogide is pulling down 6.1 per contest, while freshman F Pierce Hornung has notched 5.6 boards per game to begin his career at CSU.
Busch back for the Rams
Senior F Travis Busch, returning from an ACL injury that sidelined the Minnesota transfer for the first seven games of his career at CSU, saw his first action in a Rams uniform on Dec. 5 vs. DU. Busch scored seven points and recorded one rebound and one assist in 19 minutes of action.
Runnin’ Rams?
Colorado State ran out of the gates, and ran opponent UC Davis out of the gym, in the team’s 91-73 season-opening victory over the Aggies. CSU’s 91 points marked the team’s highest scoring output in a regulation game under Head Coach Tim Miles, and the first time the team has eclipsed 90 points since a 90-78 home victory over BYU on Jan. 20, 2007. The Rams followed up their 91-point performance against UC Davis with 91 points in a double-overtime win against San Francisco.
Long-range Rams
Entering this week, Colorado State ranks third in the Mountain West Conference with a team shooting percentage of .380 (65-for-171) from three-point range, and nearly half of that production has come from junior F Andre McFarland.
McFarland entered the week sixth in the Mountain West Conference, averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game, while his three-point percentage of .439 ranks third. The Las Vegas, Nev., native had connected on a trey in 16 consecutive games dating back to the 2008-09 season, before going 0-for-1 in the Rams’ victory over DU (Dec. 5).
For his career at Colorado State, McFarland has hit 113 three-pointers, just seven shy of cracking the program’s top-10 list. David Turcotte (1984-88) currently holds the 10th spot with 120 career three-pointers. McFarland’s career three-point percentage of .426 currently ranks ninth, behind Turcotte, in the Rams’ record book.
Freshmen strong in debuts
Freshmen Dorian Green and Pierce Hornung impressed in their first weekend of action at the BTI Tip-off tournament (Nov. 13-15). Green started all three games for the Rams at point guard and wasted no time making his mark, with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the Rams’ opening game vs. UC Davis. He earned all-tourney honors after averaging 12 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Hornung looked sharp, pulling down two rebounds, and recording four assists and three steals in 23 minutes in his first collegiate game against the Aggies. He added a pair of blocks in the Rams’ win over Winston-Salem State, and closed the weekend with six rebounds, two assists and one steal against the Oregon Ducks.
Greg Smith, who saw his first action in the Rams’ fifth game of the season, was also impressive in his debut performance, filling up the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds three steals, two assists and two blocks.
The trio looks to make an assault on the CSU freshman records throughout the season. Entering this week Green was averaging a team-leading 14.9 points per game, which would rank second all-time among freshmen at CSU, between former players Eddie Hughes (15.4 ppg.) and Matt Nelson (14.0 ppg.). Hornung’s rebounding average of 5.6 per contest also would rank second among freshmen at CSU, just behind Rich Strong, who averaged 6.3 rebounds per game during his freshman year in 1983.
If I can be frank
Junior F Travis Franklin started nine of CSU’s first 10 contests; he came off the bench against DU (Dec. 5). Franklin has left his mark at both ends of the court for the Rams. The Baton Rouge, La., native ranks first on the team in rebounding (6.2 rebounds per game) and third on the team in scoring (11.1 points per game), while leading the team in offensive rebounds (30), and free-throw attempts (74). He entered the week in the top 10 in the MWC in a number of categories, including fifth in offensive rebounding (3.0 per game) and eighth in total rebounding (6.2).
Turn up the “D”
Colorado State ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference in scoring defense entering this week. Entering Sunday’s game vs. Northern Arizona, the Rams are holding opponents to just 61.5 points per game through the first 10 games of the season. Colorado State also ranks first in the league in holding opponents to just 27.0 percent shooting from three-point range. Overall, CSU’s opponents are shooting just 38.9 percent from the field this season, which ranks third in the MWC.
Finding his stroke
Junior G Adam Nigon, who entered the 2009-10 season with 11 career three-pointers in two seasons as a Ram, nearly doubled his career numbers in the opening weekend of the season at the BTI Tip-off tournament. Nigon was impressive for the Rams, connecting on 6-of-13 (.462) attempts from beyond the arc. Nigon’s six three-pointers matched the output from his entire sophomore campaign, and bested his freshman mark by one. Entering Sunday’s game vs. Northern Arizona, Nigon is shooting 41.9 percent (18-for-43) from long range, thanks to a 4-for-7 effort in the Rams’ last contest vs. Montana in which Nigon recorded a career-high 17 points.
Next on the schedule
Colorado State heads to Los Angeles, Calif., for a matchup with perennial powerhouse UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The Rams and the Bruins have previously met six times, splitting three wins each.
