Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Utah
Rams upset bid falls short in overtime
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2009
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State trio of Willis Gardner, Andy Ogide and Marcus Walker combined for 65 points, but the Rams’ upset bid fell just short on Wednesday night as Mountain West leading Utah posted an 89-79 overtime win at Moby Arena.
The Utes (19-7, 10-2 MWC), behind a career-high 27 points from Tyler Kepkay, and 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots from center Luke Nevill, extended their winning streak to seven games and dropped the Rams to 8-18 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
In the overtime period, Utah connected on 3-6 from the field and 10-10 from the line while Nevill added eight points and five rebounds in the extra session. Colorado State was held to 1-7 shooting as the Rams were outscored 16-6 in the final 5 minutes.
“I loved our passion and our energy,” said Head Coach Tim Miles. “Our guys played the way that I expect them to play every night. I think that we've proven that when we play with that energy we can play with anybody. It's just obviously disappointing. We didn't execute enough things in the end.”
The Rams were in control for the majority of the game, holding a pair of 10-point leads before Utah clawed its way back. The Utes took a six-point lead with 3:15 remaining in the game, but CSU used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 71 with 1:27 left. Utah’s Carlon Brown drove and dunked the basketball to give the Utes a 73-71 lead with just over a minute to play before Gardner tied the game with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left. CSU had the final possession in regulation as Walker dribbled down the clock, but saw his jumper at the buzzer partially tipped, and the game went into overtime.
“I was just trying to play aggressive at the end,” said Walker. “I should have just taken the 15-footer. He (Nevill) was blocking everything so I could have played a little smarter on that play.”
Walker scored eight of CSU’s 10 points during a 10-0 run that gave CSU a 19-13 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The Rams would increase their lead to 10 points on two occasions in the first half as they scored 38 points in the opening period – their most since 42 against Vermont on Dec. 29.
Utah clawed its way back in the second half and used an 8-1 run, capped off by a Kepkay three-pointer at the 6:54 mark, to give the Utes their first lead since the 14-minute mark of the opening half. Utah extended that lead to six (71-65) with 3:15 left in the game.
“Kepkay hurt us in transition,” said Miles. “He just ran it down our throats. I credit him. You know what you're getting with Nevill, but when Kepkay went on that run that was a real hurtful time.”
The Rams, playing without freshman Jesse Carr, who missed his first game of the season with a strained groin, had four players in double figures. Walker scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half while Gardner added 18 and Ogide 15. Travis Franklin also came off the bench to post 10 points.
In addition to Kepkay and Nevill, the Utes received 16 points from Lawrence Borha and 12 from Brown.
The Rams will try to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Air Force to take on the 0-12 Falcons.
