Rams Headed To West Coast To Play Loyola Marymount Nov. 16

2019-20 Colorado State Men's Basketball
Game #4 - Colorado State (2-1) at Loyola Marymount (1-1)
Nov. 16, 2019 • 8 p.m. MT • Gersten Pavilion (4,156) - Los Angeles, Calif.

Video: Stadium/WCC Network
Radio: Colorado State Sports Network (Play-by-Play: David Gascon / Color Analyst: Adam Nigon)
Flagship: KARS 102.9 FM (Fort Collins) / Affiliates: KDCO 104.7 FM (Denver), KMTS 99.1 FM (Glenwood Springs), KMTS 96.7 FM (West Glenwood Springs), KRDO 105.5 FM (Colorado Springs), KKVT 100.7 FM (Grand Junction), KMTS/KKVT 99.5/100.3 FM (Rifle), KKVT 97.1 FM (Delta), KKVT 98.1 FM (Montrose), KRFD 100.1 FM (Sterling), KNEC 100.9 FM (Yuma), KNAB 1140 AM (Burlington), KLMR 920 AM (Lamar) / TuneIn App
Live Stats: Loyola Marymount
Complete Game Notes: Colorado State / Loyola Marymount

Opening Tip
• The Rams head to the West Coast to take on Loyola Marymount on Sat., Nov. 16, with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. PT at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif., and will be streamed on Stadium and WCCSports.com.
• Live audio is available on the Colorado State Sports Network, including Power 102.9 FM (flagship). David Gascon is on the play-by-play for the Rams, with Adam Nigon handling the analysis. Audio is also available via CSURams.com and the TuneIn App on all smart phones and mobile devices.
• The game will also have live stats on CSU.statbroadcast.com, courtesy of LMU.

The Leaders
• Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved (Minnesota, '97) is in his second season at CSU as head coach with a 13-21 mark and has a 92-108 overall record is in his seventh season as a head coach.
• LMU Head Coach Mike Dunlap (Loyola Marymount, '80) is in his sixth season at Loyola Marymount with a 71-88 record and 20th as a head coach overall with a 410-210 mark.

A Familiar Face In Fort Collins
• While he may be in just his second season in charge of the program, head coach Niko Medved was already a familiar face around Fort Collins and to Ram fans. Medved previously was on the coaching staff from 2007-13 under two different coaches. He was a key part of recruiting players that helped the Rams to four consecutive postseason appearances, the last two in the NCAA Tournament that included a win over Missouri in 2013.

A Quick Look at Loyola Marymount
• Returning three starters and six letterwinners from last season's 21-12 squad that finished fifth in the West Coast Conference with an 8-8 mark and played in the CBI, the Mavericks were picked to finish seventh in the league's preseason poll.
• Sophomore forward Ivan Alipiev is the Lions' leader in the early going, pacing them in points, minutes, rebounds and three-pointers. Junior forward Eli Scott, one of three returning starters, is the team's top man in assists, steals and free throw percentage.
• Last time out, the Lions fell late to Nevada, 72-67.

History Versus Loyola Marymount
• The two teams have met seven times in history, with the Lions winning five of them, including all three in LA.
• The last meeting was on Dec. 19, 2016, with LMU pulling out a 69-66 win at Moby Arena.
• CSU leader Niko Medved has never faced Loyola Marymount as a head coach.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT - 2-5
Home: 2-2 / Away: 0-3
    Date              Loc.       W/L      Score           Att.
    12/23/1966      Away        L        73-82
    12/15/1967       Away        L        69-93
    12/18/1968      Home       W        76-57
    12/20/1982      Away        L        61-63
    11/26/1983      Home        L        71-73
    11/19/2015       Home       W       83-75
    12/19/2016      Home        L       66-69        2476

CSU vs. West Coast Conference
School                     Overall     H         A         N
BYU                          46-90   33-32 10-55     3-3
Gonzaga                     2-3       1-0      0-2       1-1
Loyola Marymount      2-5       2-2      0-3        -
Pacific                         4-2       2-0      0-2      2-0
Pepperdine                 3-3       2-0      0-2       1-1
Portland                      3-1        1-0       0-1      2-0
St. Mary's (Calif.)          2-1       0-0      1-0       1-1
San Francisco             2-3       1-0       1-1       0-2
Santa Clara                 0-1         -          -        0-1
Totals                      64-109 42-34 12-66   10-9

Carvacho Growing On the Floor
• Redshirt-senior center Nico Carvacho showed his increased comfort level on the floor, growing extensively the last two seasons.
• Carvacho also was named First Team All-Mountain West and All-Defensive Team by the league's media, in 2018-19.
• In addition, Carvacho was honored on the US Basketball Writers Association All-District squad last season.
• Carvacho started the 2018-19 season No. 20 on the CSU career rebounding chart. With his 12 rebounds against San Diego State Feb. 12, he became the all-time leading rebounder at CSU. He now has a Mountain-West record 989 (tops in NCAA among current active players), passing previous leader Pat Durham (1985-89) at 851.
• Carvacho also is second in CSU offensive rebounds with 344 and is first in CSU career defensive rebounds with 645 (since tracking of the two categories began).
• He is now the leader in Mountain West-only double-doubles with 25, passing San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard (2009-11) and Nevada's Jordan Caroline. His 37 career double-doubles are fourth in the league's history (tied for second among current active NCAA Division I players).
• Carvacho became the 29th CSU player in history to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career, accomplishing that feat in the opening round of the 2019 MW Championship.
• He was also named to the preseason watch list for the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced. Last year, he was a finalist as one of final 10 players from which the top center in men's college basketball will be recognized.
• Carvacho was named to the Preseason All-MW team entering this season by the league's media representatives.

Martin Stepping Up His Role
• Redshirt-senior Kris Martin is expected to be one of the leaders this season.
• He started last 16 of 27 games played in 2018-19, averaging 9.2 points (fourth for the Rams), 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 29.5 minutes a game
• He scored in double digits in 13 games, with two of 20+
• The guard made his season debut in 2018-19 against South Dakota State, Nov. 21, and tallied 11 points in 30 minutes of action.
• He led CSU with 21 points at Colorado, Dec. 1.
• Martin recorded his first CSU career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Utah State, March 5.
• The guard led CSU in its opening win over Denver, Nov. 5, scoring a team-high 18 points and adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• The senior currently is third for CSU at 11.3 points per game while playing a team-high 30.7 minutes a contest. He is shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 71.4 from the charity stripe while also adding 4.7 rebounds a game.

Moving On Up
• Sophomores Kendle Moore and Adam Thistlewood are going to be looked at to help lead this team as two of the four returning starters.
• Thistlewood was fifth on last year's team at 8.9 points per game and Moore is sixth at 8.8 points per game. Thistlewood scored in double figures in 16 contests, with Moore with 11 10+ point games.
• Thistlewood scored in double figures in each of the last six games and ranked third in the MW in three-point field goal percentage in conference games.
• Moore and Thistlewood each shot 78 percent or better from the charity stripe.

Among the highlights from their freshman seasons
• Moore started in his collegiate debut and scored a game-high 26 points in 32 minutes of action. He was solid, going 9-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-5 from the arc and 4-of-5 at the charity stripe. He also added four rebounds, four assists and one steal.
• Thistlewood tied for game-high honors with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including a career-best four three pointers against New Mexico State, Dec. 30.
• Moore tallied 23 points on 9-of-13 field goal shooting, including 3-of-6 from the arc, in a victory over Air Force, Jan. 8. He also added career bests of five assists and four steals in the win.
• In the win over New Mexico Jan. 12, Moore handed out a team season-high nine assists while Thistlewood added 16 points, including a then season-best four three-pointers.

This season
• Thistlewood and Moore both had their best games of the young season in the win over Omaha, Nov. 13.
• Thistlewood was 5-for-11 on field goals, including 5-for-8 from the three-point arc, and hit all four free throws for a career-high 19 points. He also added seven rebounds, two off his career best earlier this year against Denver.
• Moore tallied a season-best 16 points, including five triples against the Mavericks.
• Thistlewood is now second on the team at 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Moore is fifth at 7.3 a contest.

Newcomers With Early Impact
• Head coach Niko Medved has played four freshmen each in the first two contests.
• Guard Isaiah Stevens has started all three games and tied for game-high honors with forward David Roddy with 12 points at #4 Duke, Nov. 8.
• Roddy also added six rebounds and a steal in his 21 minutes of action.
• Stevens followed it up with a solid effort against Omaha, Nov. 13, tallying 11 points and a team season-high five assists in the win.
• Dischon Thomas and John Tonje have both played in the first two contests and contributed off the bench.

Looking Ahead
• The Rams return to the friendly confines of Moby Arena to host Arkansas State, Wed., Nov. 20.
• Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT
• The game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network along with the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon on the call.
• CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the TuneIn app (free on all Apple, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Amazon Kindle devices) – once downloaded, search "Colorado St. Rams Sports Network" in the app for the games and coaches' show broadcasts.

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