CSU Earns 82-74 Victory Over Host Florida Gulf Coast In Gulf Coast Showcase

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ESTERO, Fla. - Colorado State built a 19-point lead and held off a late furious rally from Florida Gulf Coast for an 82-74 win in the consolation semifinal of the Gulf Coast Showcase, Nov. 20. With the win, the Rams improve to 4-1 on the season while the Eagles fall to 2-4.

After leading by eight at the break, CSU pushed it to a 19-point advantage with just under nine minutes left in the contest. Playing on its alternate home court, FGCU rallied to cut it to a one-possession game with 3:17 to go at 71-68. Redshirt-junior Anthony Masinton-Bonner hit a kick out 3 in the corner to push the lead back to two possessions and CSU hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.

The first half had several runs that led to five ties and five lead changes, with the most significant in the final three minutes. Down 32-30, the Rams closed the half on a 10-0 run, including four straight layups by freshman guard Kendle Moore, to take a 40-32 advantage into the halftime break.

For the game, the Rams shot 59.8 percent (31-of-52) from the field, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from the three-point line. FGCU was 45.8 percent (27-of-59) on field goal attempts and just 25.0 percent (7-of-28) from beyond the arc. CSU had a slight margin in the rebound battle, 31-30.

Moore and Masinton-Bonner tied for team-high honors with 17 points each, as Moore went 8-of-10 from the field and Masinton-Bonner hit 5-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Redshirt-junior Nico Carvacho had 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Freshman Adam Thistlewood chipped in 12 points while redshirt-junior Lorenzo Jenkins added 11.

STAT OF THE GAME
CSU improved 15 percent from the field from its opening round game here, shooting 59.8 percent (31-of-52) from the field.

IN THEIR WORDS
Colorado State head coach Niko Medved on today's game
I thought we came out of the gates and played much better here early than we did yesterday and that was a great response for our guys. There were a lot of things that were neat about tonight, particularly Kendle Moore, who we know really, really struggled last night. It just tells you a lot about what he is like mentally to come out, as a freshman, and to say it was a considerably different performance would be an understatement. But it was a good team effort. We got off to a nice start, had a lead and they came and made a run at us and I thought the run at the end of the first half was absolutely critical for us to make that run going into halftime and grab the momentum that way.

NOTES
• Today's game was the first-ever meeting between CSU and FGCU
• This was Medved's first win in three tries against Florida Gulf Coast, a record that is now 1-1 at FGCU
• Redshirt-senior J.D. Paige grabbed seven rebounds, tying his previous best in the win over Colorado last year.

NEXT UP
• The Rams will play their final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Wednesday in the consolation bracket final at 1:30 pm ET (11:30 am MT) against South Dakota State.
• The Rams lost the only previous meeting with the Jackrabbits, losing in the opening round of the 2015 National Invitation Tournament in Fort Collins, 86-76.
• The contest between will be televised on the GulfCoastShowcase.com, a pay-per-view service.
• The game will air across the Colorado State Sports Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Matt Wozniak and Adam Nigon on the call.

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