Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Miss Moments in Loss to San Diego State
12/4/2019 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Carvacho notches 39th career double-double
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Against the big boys, you can't just push.
It requires a back-up shove, a knock to the ground. Colorado State just didn't have it in the arsenal Wednesday night on its own turf against San Diego State.
For a stretch in the middle of the second half, the Rams were within two possessions of the Aztecs, an undefeated team (9-0) expected to make big noise in the Mountain West. But one can't be a missed shot, and the follow-up trip is ineffective if giving up offensive glass, which is what happened too often as the Rams fell 79-57 at Moby Arena to open Mountain West play.
"It's a little frustrating, but basketball is a game of runs, and that's what San Diego State did today," CSU guard Kendle Moore said. "They came out, hit a couple of shots, made a run and we just couldn't bounce back."
Down six at the break, CSU (6-4, 0-1 MW) was able knot the score at 42 when Hyron Edwards created a turnover and received payback on a fast-break layup when David Roddy led him down the floor. There was still 14:43 on the clock, plenty of time to make headway.
Not when you can't hit a basket, as the Rams shot just 28 percent in the second half. Not when you allow second chances, with the Rams yielding 12 offensive rebounds in the contest.
It just doesn't work that way.
"Again, there's not a lot of margin for error," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "This is a really good team. You're going to have to beat them. You can't shoot yourself in the foot. Probably a couple of decisions on offense we'd like to have back. I thought our ball-screen defense at the end of the game was really poor; I thought that really hurt us in a lot of situations there with (Malachi) Flynn, and our defensive rebounding. We weren't able to get out in transition at all."
Flynn, who filled the stat sheet with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting with four boards and seven assists, started the slow bleed down the stretch. As entertaining as most of the game was, the final 6:37 was a painful lesson for Colorado State.
The Aztecs went on a 19-2 run to close out the affair, as the Rams made just one of their final 12 shots. They started fouling, and SDSU hit 10-of-11 from the stripe.
In those key moments, the Rams couldn't convert, and eventually, the no longer exist.
"You can't let a team go on a run, any team in Division I," Nico Carvacho said. "You definitely go in the film room, watch some film, go out to practice tomorrow and Friday, go on a plane and go to Boise."
Carvacho recorded the 39th double-double of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Moore tallied 14. All they had were those brief moments where they pushed, just not hard enough or long enough.
As Medved noted, a chance missed against a good team is not soon forgotten, the scoreboard becoming the highlighted passage noted for future recall.
"For the most part, I just think we weren't able to end possessions and we weren't able to handle the ball screens late in the game," Medved said.
It requires a back-up shove, a knock to the ground. Colorado State just didn't have it in the arsenal Wednesday night on its own turf against San Diego State.
For a stretch in the middle of the second half, the Rams were within two possessions of the Aztecs, an undefeated team (9-0) expected to make big noise in the Mountain West. But one can't be a missed shot, and the follow-up trip is ineffective if giving up offensive glass, which is what happened too often as the Rams fell 79-57 at Moby Arena to open Mountain West play.
"It's a little frustrating, but basketball is a game of runs, and that's what San Diego State did today," CSU guard Kendle Moore said. "They came out, hit a couple of shots, made a run and we just couldn't bounce back."
Down six at the break, CSU (6-4, 0-1 MW) was able knot the score at 42 when Hyron Edwards created a turnover and received payback on a fast-break layup when David Roddy led him down the floor. There was still 14:43 on the clock, plenty of time to make headway.
Not when you can't hit a basket, as the Rams shot just 28 percent in the second half. Not when you allow second chances, with the Rams yielding 12 offensive rebounds in the contest.
It just doesn't work that way.
"Again, there's not a lot of margin for error," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "This is a really good team. You're going to have to beat them. You can't shoot yourself in the foot. Probably a couple of decisions on offense we'd like to have back. I thought our ball-screen defense at the end of the game was really poor; I thought that really hurt us in a lot of situations there with (Malachi) Flynn, and our defensive rebounding. We weren't able to get out in transition at all."
Flynn, who filled the stat sheet with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting with four boards and seven assists, started the slow bleed down the stretch. As entertaining as most of the game was, the final 6:37 was a painful lesson for Colorado State.
The Aztecs went on a 19-2 run to close out the affair, as the Rams made just one of their final 12 shots. They started fouling, and SDSU hit 10-of-11 from the stripe.
In those key moments, the Rams couldn't convert, and eventually, the no longer exist.
"You can't let a team go on a run, any team in Division I," Nico Carvacho said. "You definitely go in the film room, watch some film, go out to practice tomorrow and Friday, go on a plane and go to Boise."
Carvacho recorded the 39th double-double of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Moore tallied 14. All they had were those brief moments where they pushed, just not hard enough or long enough.
As Medved noted, a chance missed against a good team is not soon forgotten, the scoreboard becoming the highlighted passage noted for future recall.
"For the most part, I just think we weren't able to end possessions and we weren't able to handle the ball screens late in the game," Medved said.
Players Mentioned
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