Colorado State University Athletics
Monday, November 10
Fort Collins, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado State
85
vs
54
Fort Lewis (Exh.)
Rams down Skyhawks in exhibition play
11/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2014
Showing off their depth, a luxury CSU did not have in 2013-14, 11 of the 12 Rams that saw action scored, and 10 of those players recorded at least one rebound, led by senior forward Stanton Kidd in his CSU debut. Kidd, who sat out last season as a transfer from North Carolina Central, finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with one assist and one steal.
It was the Rams' defensive effort, holding Fort Lewis' All-America center Alex Herrera to just 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, that most impressed Rams' head coach Larry Eustachy who was excited to see his team execute the game plan so early in the process.
"I thought we did a great job on Herrera," said Eustachy of the Rams' defensive focal point against the Skyhawks. "We wanted to eliminate his touches and he only got five shots. We played collectively really well. This is one of the better teams I've had this early in the year to play long periods of time of our defensive concept. We put it together."
Herrera's 12 points was a team high, as were the eight rebounds and six blocks collected by the RMAC preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Like Kidd, another CSU newcomer, junior Gian Clavell, shook off the opening-game jitters and ignited the Rams off the bench, scoring a game-high 15 points, while adding six rebounds to go along with an assist and a steal.
"It was good," said Clavell. "I was anxious before the game. I was happy. I was nervous. All kinds of emotions but it feels good that it is all over now."
J.J. Avila and Tiel Daniels joined Kidd and Clavell in double-figures scoring for the Rams. Avila collected 14 points and eight boards, while dishing out four assists. Tiel, a transfer from Southern Illinois, added 11 points and eight rebounds, plus a pair of blocked shots in his Rams' debut.
Sophomore guard John Gillon, who also sat out as a transfer last season with the Rams, posted six points and a game-high five assists off the bench for the Rams, while true freshman Toby Van Ry, from Fort Collins High School, sparked a late-game surge that saw the Rams' extend their lead to as many as 38 points with three straight three-pointers from the 6-10 product in the final four minutes of his Moby Arena debut.
Senior guard Daniel Bejarano, a preseason first-team All-Mountain West selection, posted seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the contest, while sophomore guard Carlton Hurst struggled offensively (0-for-3 from the field) but chipped in with seven rebounds off the bench.
The Rams return to the court Saturday night in their regular-season opener vs. Montana. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. MT.
"It'll be a whole different situation on Saturday," added Eustachy. "I think we're ready, but I don't think we're ready to beat somebody really, really good. So if they are, we can struggle. When it really counts in league play I think we can beat people. I'm extremely excited about this year."
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery (Don Reichert) 
Showing off their depth, a luxury CSU did not have in 2013-14, 11 of the 12 Rams that saw action scored, and 10 of those players recorded at least one rebound, led by senior forward Stanton Kidd in his CSU debut. Kidd, who sat out last season as a transfer from North Carolina Central, finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with one assist and one steal.
It was the Rams' defensive effort, holding Fort Lewis' All-America center Alex Herrera to just 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, that most impressed Rams' head coach Larry Eustachy who was excited to see his team execute the game plan so early in the process.
"I thought we did a great job on Herrera," said Eustachy of the Rams' defensive focal point against the Skyhawks. "We wanted to eliminate his touches and he only got five shots. We played collectively really well. This is one of the better teams I've had this early in the year to play long periods of time of our defensive concept. We put it together."
Herrera's 12 points was a team high, as were the eight rebounds and six blocks collected by the RMAC preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Like Kidd, another CSU newcomer, junior Gian Clavell, shook off the opening-game jitters and ignited the Rams off the bench, scoring a game-high 15 points, while adding six rebounds to go along with an assist and a steal.
"It was good," said Clavell. "I was anxious before the game. I was happy. I was nervous. All kinds of emotions but it feels good that it is all over now."
J.J. Avila and Tiel Daniels joined Kidd and Clavell in double-figures scoring for the Rams. Avila collected 14 points and eight boards, while dishing out four assists. Tiel, a transfer from Southern Illinois, added 11 points and eight rebounds, plus a pair of blocked shots in his Rams' debut.
Sophomore guard John Gillon, who also sat out as a transfer last season with the Rams, posted six points and a game-high five assists off the bench for the Rams, while true freshman Toby Van Ry, from Fort Collins High School, sparked a late-game surge that saw the Rams' extend their lead to as many as 38 points with three straight three-pointers from the 6-10 product in the final four minutes of his Moby Arena debut.
Senior guard Daniel Bejarano, a preseason first-team All-Mountain West selection, posted seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the contest, while sophomore guard Carlton Hurst struggled offensively (0-for-3 from the field) but chipped in with seven rebounds off the bench.
The Rams return to the court Saturday night in their regular-season opener vs. Montana. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. MT.
"It'll be a whole different situation on Saturday," added Eustachy. "I think we're ready, but I don't think we're ready to beat somebody really, really good. So if they are, we can struggle. When it really counts in league play I think we can beat people. I'm extremely excited about this year."
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Monday, August 04