Colorado State University Athletics
The Dish: Rams' Tournament Hits Sudden End
3/4/2020 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Loss to rival comes in opening round in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – At some point, the team will look back and acknowledge – appreciate -- the progress.
That wasn't Wednesday night, nor will it come on the plane ride back home on Thursday.
Too soon. Not after entering the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Tournament with hopes of a deep run. Not after losing 80-74 to rival Wyoming in the first round, a team which came in as the lowest seed and had fallen twice to the Rams (20-12) this season.
"It's disappointing, obviously. There's a ton of emotion right now with these guys, and I know they're gutted with this loss," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "But, we'll find a way to get through it."
The second time, Colorado State trailed by 19 in the second half and stole a victory in Laramie. So when the Rams had cut a 16-point first-half deficit to five by the break, a bad start wasn't looking too bad. The thing was, Colorado State could not play consistent enough for long stretches.
Three times in the game the Rams cut the lead to two points, only to allow Wyoming to come down the floor and hit a 3.
And 3s hurt all game. The opening salvo of Jake Hendricks, who dropped his first two from deep. Those from Kwane Marble III. A couple from Trevon Taylor. All three of them scored in double figures, led by Marble's 20, as did Hunter Maldonado.
"I feel like the defense wasn't connected like we should have been, like we've been practicing," senior Nico Carvacho said. "That's on us. We've got to be better. I think we can definitely play better, especially on the defensive end, and we let them get hot in the beginning."
The first half should have been a lesson, even a wake-up call. Instead of hitting the floor with fire, the Rams allowed Wyoming to build up another double-digit lead with a 9-1 run less than 3 minutes into the stanza.
Colorado State defends man-to-man. It's who it is, yet there the Rams were running a zone much of the second half, trying anything to stem the tide.
"I think it took us a little while to get into rhythm; they really pack it in, but again, I thought the issue was … In the first half it was our defense, in the second half it was our offense," Medved said. "I really thought we turned the ball over in a lot of key situations here We tighten the game up, and I thought the turnovers and maybe some poor decisions on shot selection that way really hurt us."
Painful, because a handful of the bad passes came at the top of offense, leading Wyoming directly to fast-break points. Such plays resulted in 16 turnovers and 21 fast-break points for the Cowboys.
Carvacho played one of his best games of the year. He scored 20 – even dropping all six of his free-throw attempts – and grabbed 14 rebounds, the 49th double-double in the career of the school's all-time rebounding leader.
It leaves him hoping his last game as a Ram was not played in Las Vegas. His opinion is this team was different, it was special. He wants to step on the floor and battle with them at least one more time.
Conference freshman of the year Isaiah Stevens had a surge late to lead the team with 22 points, but he noted the Rams didn't do enough well for long enough stretches in a game that mattered. Teams need to string together possessions on both ends of the floor and pair them together to make a difference.
They insist they weren't overconfident, and the youth didn't catch up to them.
"Basketball is basketball. It doesn't matter what stage you play on, where you play," Stevens said. "We just didn't come out and get the job done. That's really all there is to it."
As good as they were, Medved said, that just wasn't what they put on the floor, and that's a harsh reality which was going to sting. He, at least, had a few moments to escape the pain.
As he weaved his way through the back hallways of the Thomas & Mack Center after the postgame press conference, he did so hand in hand with his daughter, Aly. She talked about her glitter shoes, and the pretty bracelet she wore. She wanted to know if it was OK if she could sit next to her daddy on the bus back to the hotel.
Most definitely yes.
"It's difficult right now to reflect when the emotions are what they are," Medved said before taking that walk. "You don't have time to take a step back. I know, no matter what, when you take a deep breath and you know it has been a good year. I love this team, I love this group of guys, I've loved what they've done and they're connected like crazy.
"You have to take the good with the bad. It's been a great season, and today was a tough day, there's no question about that, but that doesn't change anything about these guys and who they are as people and how they performed this year."
That wasn't Wednesday night, nor will it come on the plane ride back home on Thursday.
Too soon. Not after entering the Air Force Reserve Mountain West Tournament with hopes of a deep run. Not after losing 80-74 to rival Wyoming in the first round, a team which came in as the lowest seed and had fallen twice to the Rams (20-12) this season.
"It's disappointing, obviously. There's a ton of emotion right now with these guys, and I know they're gutted with this loss," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "But, we'll find a way to get through it."
The second time, Colorado State trailed by 19 in the second half and stole a victory in Laramie. So when the Rams had cut a 16-point first-half deficit to five by the break, a bad start wasn't looking too bad. The thing was, Colorado State could not play consistent enough for long stretches.
Three times in the game the Rams cut the lead to two points, only to allow Wyoming to come down the floor and hit a 3.
And 3s hurt all game. The opening salvo of Jake Hendricks, who dropped his first two from deep. Those from Kwane Marble III. A couple from Trevon Taylor. All three of them scored in double figures, led by Marble's 20, as did Hunter Maldonado.
"I feel like the defense wasn't connected like we should have been, like we've been practicing," senior Nico Carvacho said. "That's on us. We've got to be better. I think we can definitely play better, especially on the defensive end, and we let them get hot in the beginning."
The first half should have been a lesson, even a wake-up call. Instead of hitting the floor with fire, the Rams allowed Wyoming to build up another double-digit lead with a 9-1 run less than 3 minutes into the stanza.
Colorado State defends man-to-man. It's who it is, yet there the Rams were running a zone much of the second half, trying anything to stem the tide.
"I think it took us a little while to get into rhythm; they really pack it in, but again, I thought the issue was … In the first half it was our defense, in the second half it was our offense," Medved said. "I really thought we turned the ball over in a lot of key situations here We tighten the game up, and I thought the turnovers and maybe some poor decisions on shot selection that way really hurt us."
Painful, because a handful of the bad passes came at the top of offense, leading Wyoming directly to fast-break points. Such plays resulted in 16 turnovers and 21 fast-break points for the Cowboys.
Carvacho played one of his best games of the year. He scored 20 – even dropping all six of his free-throw attempts – and grabbed 14 rebounds, the 49th double-double in the career of the school's all-time rebounding leader.
It leaves him hoping his last game as a Ram was not played in Las Vegas. His opinion is this team was different, it was special. He wants to step on the floor and battle with them at least one more time.
Conference freshman of the year Isaiah Stevens had a surge late to lead the team with 22 points, but he noted the Rams didn't do enough well for long enough stretches in a game that mattered. Teams need to string together possessions on both ends of the floor and pair them together to make a difference.
They insist they weren't overconfident, and the youth didn't catch up to them.
"Basketball is basketball. It doesn't matter what stage you play on, where you play," Stevens said. "We just didn't come out and get the job done. That's really all there is to it."
As good as they were, Medved said, that just wasn't what they put on the floor, and that's a harsh reality which was going to sting. He, at least, had a few moments to escape the pain.
As he weaved his way through the back hallways of the Thomas & Mack Center after the postgame press conference, he did so hand in hand with his daughter, Aly. She talked about her glitter shoes, and the pretty bracelet she wore. She wanted to know if it was OK if she could sit next to her daddy on the bus back to the hotel.
Most definitely yes.
"It's difficult right now to reflect when the emotions are what they are," Medved said before taking that walk. "You don't have time to take a step back. I know, no matter what, when you take a deep breath and you know it has been a good year. I love this team, I love this group of guys, I've loved what they've done and they're connected like crazy.
"You have to take the good with the bad. It's been a great season, and today was a tough day, there's no question about that, but that doesn't change anything about these guys and who they are as people and how they performed this year."
Players Mentioned
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