Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 30
Fort Collins, Colo.
2 p.m. MT
Colorado State
5-1, 2-0MW
81
vs
59
Fresno State
2-2, 0-2MW
1
2
F
Fresno State
17
42
59
Colorado State
41
40
81
P.J. Byrd had a career-high 14 points, including hitting all eight free throw attempts
Photo by: Brandon Randall
Rams Sweep Fresno State With 81-59 Victory Wednesday Afternoon
12/30/2020 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CSU jumps out to a 24-point halftime lead and earns the win with 40 bench points
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State used a stingy first half defense and timely offense from the bench to build a 24-point halftime lead en route to an 81-59 win over Fresno State on Wednesday afternoon in Moby Arena. With their third straight win, the Rams improved to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in Mountain West play, while the Bulldogs fell to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Fresno State got the first two points of the game but that would be its only lead, as a three from sophomore forward Dischon Thomas put CSU up for good, sparking an 11-0 run over just 1:46 for an 11-2 lead. The Rams used a stifling defense, limiting the Broncos to just 21.9 percent (7-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes in building a 41-17 halftime advantage. From there, CSU never led by less than 20 and stretched the margin to as many as 33 points late in the game before clearing the bench in the final minutes.
Colorado State was solid from the floor, shooting 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) beyond the arc. Fresno State was just 34.3 percent (23-of-67) overall and 20.0 percent (6-of-30) on threes. The Rams attacked and got to the free throw line, going 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) as compared to the visitors' 7-of-14. CSU did win the boards, 36-34.
Three Rams finished in double digits, led by sophomore forward David Roddy with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior P.J. Byrd tallied 14 points off the bench, including going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, while freshman guard Isaiah Rivera chipped in 11 points and six rebounds in his reserve role. Forward Orlando Robinson led the Bullldogs with 19 points and 15 boards.
STAT OF THE GAME
• The Rams got 40 points off the bench, the most for CSU since the Utah Valley game in December last year (51).
NOTES
• The Rams now lead the overall series 22-18, including a dominant 17-3 at home.
• Head coach Niko Medved is now 5-1 all-time against Fresno State.
• This was the fifth game in a row that CSU has held an opponent under 60 points, the first time that has occurred since 2012-13, when Medved was in his final season as an assistant coach at CSU.
• Byrd's 14 points was a career high, while Rivera's 11 points and six boards were season bests.
• Roddy's double-double was his second straight and the fifth of his career.
NEXT UP
• The Rams will play their first Mountain West road games of the year at defending Mountain West champion and #23-ranked San Diego State, Jan. 2 and 4, 2021 in Viejas Arena.
• Tip time for the nationally-televised pair of games on Saturday is 2 p.m. MT on CBS with the finale on Monday at 7 p.m. on FS1. Emmy award-winning broadcaster Rich Waltz and former college head coach Steve Lappas are handling the game for CBS, while Alex Faust will do play-by-play and former Stanford standout Casey Jacobsen will be the analyst for FS1.
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth 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.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com.
Fresno State got the first two points of the game but that would be its only lead, as a three from sophomore forward Dischon Thomas put CSU up for good, sparking an 11-0 run over just 1:46 for an 11-2 lead. The Rams used a stifling defense, limiting the Broncos to just 21.9 percent (7-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes in building a 41-17 halftime advantage. From there, CSU never led by less than 20 and stretched the margin to as many as 33 points late in the game before clearing the bench in the final minutes.
Colorado State was solid from the floor, shooting 52.3 percent (23-of-44) from the field and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) beyond the arc. Fresno State was just 34.3 percent (23-of-67) overall and 20.0 percent (6-of-30) on threes. The Rams attacked and got to the free throw line, going 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) as compared to the visitors' 7-of-14. CSU did win the boards, 36-34.
Three Rams finished in double digits, led by sophomore forward David Roddy with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior P.J. Byrd tallied 14 points off the bench, including going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, while freshman guard Isaiah Rivera chipped in 11 points and six rebounds in his reserve role. Forward Orlando Robinson led the Bullldogs with 19 points and 15 boards.
STAT OF THE GAME
• The Rams got 40 points off the bench, the most for CSU since the Utah Valley game in December last year (51).
NOTES
• The Rams now lead the overall series 22-18, including a dominant 17-3 at home.
• Head coach Niko Medved is now 5-1 all-time against Fresno State.
• This was the fifth game in a row that CSU has held an opponent under 60 points, the first time that has occurred since 2012-13, when Medved was in his final season as an assistant coach at CSU.
• Byrd's 14 points was a career high, while Rivera's 11 points and six boards were season bests.
• Roddy's double-double was his second straight and the fifth of his career.
NEXT UP
• The Rams will play their first Mountain West road games of the year at defending Mountain West champion and #23-ranked San Diego State, Jan. 2 and 4, 2021 in Viejas Arena.
• Tip time for the nationally-televised pair of games on Saturday is 2 p.m. MT on CBS with the finale on Monday at 7 p.m. on FS1. Emmy award-winning broadcaster Rich Waltz and former college head coach Steve Lappas are handling the game for CBS, while Alex Faust will do play-by-play and former Stanford standout Casey Jacobsen will be the analyst for FS1.
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth 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.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com.
Team Stats
FRESNO
CSU
FG%
.343
.523
3FG%
.200
.409
FT%
.500
.813
RB
34
36
TO
14
18
STL
5
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
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