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Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
2-0
Loyola Marymount
1-2
Recap: Men's basketball defeats Loyola Marymount 83-75
11/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State Rams improved to 2-0 on the season, knocking off the Loyola Marymount Lions, 83-75, Thursday night in Moby Arena. The win marked the eighth consecutive regular season home victory for the Rams, and 35th consecutive home opening win for the Rams.
Senior guard Gian Clavell tied his career-high with 21 points, and junior forward Emmanuel Omogbo, senior guard Antwan Scott and senior guard Joe De Ciman followed closely behind 19, 17, and 15, respectively, to round out the Rams' double-digit scorers. The Rams attempted 42 free throws, the most by a Ram squad since Nov. 25, 2013 against Prairie View A&M, and knocked down 32 of them for an impressive 76.2 percent.
Colorado State got off to a slow start, shooting just 35.7 percent from the field in the first half, and trailed 37-34 going into the half. The Rams shot a much improved 52.4 percent from the field, and utilized a 21-6 run in the second half to take a lead that they would never relinquish.
The Rams moved the ball effectively, picking up 18 assists on 21 made field goals, but turned the ball over 12 times in the process. Colorado State also outrebounded the Lions 40-27, including 13 on the offensive side. Brandon Brown scored a career-high 24 points - shooting 4-for-5 from 3-point range - to lead Loyola Marymount (1-2) and Marin Mornar added 11 points.
IN THEIR WORDS...
"I'm not sure we would've won either game without him coming in. That was a big question mark. Could he go from shots that don't really mean anything when you're down thirty to shots that are really meaningful and he's done that. He's just so far behind. He's a victim of the places he's been, some injuries, and tough things he's been through. We really need him to defend to really have an impact. I'm not sure if we would've won, like I said, the last three games he did great." -- CSU Head Coach Larry Eustachy on guard Antwan Scott returning this year.
"We've done it from day one. We've worked on our press and that was very impressive, the way we broke the press. We worked on that from day one because we thought teams would extend the defense to try to slow the clock down. So we've had a little change of concept because of it and I thought Emmanuel was terrific. I mean nine out of ten so that was a big part of it, making free throws down the stretch." -- CSU Head Coach Larry Eustachy on his team's work on free throws and the press in practice and its impact.
"Our preseason made us successful in the past. Coaches spend a month where they really preach how to play the game, bringing us together and the new guys in. So we kind of know our base and how we play that can make us successful. Also taking it one game at a time, as we have a tough couple of games coming up. Take it one game at a time and hopefully win those games too." -- CSU senior Joe De Ciman on getting to 2-0 and where this team is going.
"I just have to keep shooting. I'm putting pressure on me. But I have teammates that will keep giving me the ball and then I can create for myself and then I can get to the free throw line. But if it isn't going in in one half, then it will go in the second half. That's my mindset of how it should be and last year that was my problem if I missed I would stop shooting." -- CSU senior Gian Clavell on building confidence for this season.
"For us to win on the road, we have to learn how not to foul so we do not give them all those easy buckets. They were plus-20 points from the free throw line. We cannot absorb an advantage for that, and, in essence, that was the game.
We had the lead in the first half because we had them eight for 11 from the free throw line, but in the end they made 32. The second part of this loss was the disparity in rebounds. As a young team, we've got to learn to win on the road, so this loss is on us." - LMU head coach Mike Dunlap on the game.
STAT OF THE GAME...
Colorado State outscored LMU 32-12 from the free throw line, with the Rams making 76.2% of their 42 attempts, compared to the Lions' 75% on 16 attempts.
NOTES...
- This was CSU's eighth straight regular-season win at Moby Arena
- The Rams picked up their 35th consecutive home-opening victory and 18th straight non-conference regular season win.
- Gian Clavell ties career-high with 21 points, matching the 21 points he got in the win against Nevada last season
- CSU is now 2-4 all-time against Loyola Marymount and 61-106 against current West Coast Conference programs.
- CSU head coach Larry Eustachy now has 71 wins in his time in Fort Collins, tying him for the sixth most wins by a coach in program history with his predecessor Tim Miles (71-88; 2007-12).
- The win also improved Eustachy to 46-9 all-time at Moby Arena.
UP NEXT...
- Colorado State will start the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic by hosting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies of the Horizon League on Sun., Nov. 21. The tournament starts with two home games for the Rams against Oakland and Abilene Christian (Nov. 23) before the squad travels to Texas to take on Portland (Nov. 27) and either UTEP or Southern Illiniois (Nov. 28).
- The Golden Grizzlies opened their 2015-16 season Nov. 18, hosting Eastern Michigan at the O'Rena and defeating the Eagles, 91-81. They were the final Division I team to open the season.
- OU returns two starters and five letterwinners from last year's squad that went 16-17 overall and 11-5 in league action.
- The Golden Grizzlies are led by Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Kay Felder. Last season, the 5-9 junior guard averaged 18.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.
- Oakland is ranked No. 14 in the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major Poll after tying for third last year in the Horizon League and earning its sixth postseason berth in seven years.
- The game will air across the Colorado State Sports Network, including flagship 105.5 FM ESPN, with Gary Miller on the play-by-play and Brian Roth handling analysis.
- The game will have its video stream on the Mountain West Network at CSURams.com/video and live audio on CSURams.com in partnership with Stretch Internet and live stats on GameTracker.
