Colorado State University Athletics
The Dish: Defense Shines Amid Offensive Numbers
1/27/2021 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Rams slow down high-scoring Boise State
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – You just can't ignore Wednesday's offensive superlatives. You can't.
David Roddy had a career night with 27 points and 15 rebounds, the best game he's had at Colorado State. Isaiah Stevens also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Four Rams finished in double digits in a crucial 78-56 victory over Boise State at Moby Arena, snapping their 13-game win streak and handing them their first conference loss.
But take a look at that key number: 56. The Broncos came in averaging 81.2 points per game, and the Rams made it a very difficult visit for their guests. Nothing came easy in what was perhaps Colorado State's best defensive performance of the season.
"That's really hard to do, especially turning it over 19 times," CSU coach Niko Medved said, noting one of the oddities of the game for his squad. "Still doing that, yeah, that's hard to do. I get it. It speaks to our guys' focus, and that was tremendous. That's not easy to do against anybody, but especially a team like this."
Colorado State (12-3, 9-2 Mountain West) finally met one of the conference's big dogs on their home floor, and after splitting with Utah State and San Diego State on the road, they had a chance to make a statement against Boise State (13-2, 9-1). They did, and added an exclamation point.
The Broncos are not only a good scoring team, but they rebound really, really well, leading the Mountain West in rebounding defense (30.1 per night) and second in rebounding margin (9.1 on the plus side). Not Wednesday.
Led by Roddy, the Rams snuffed out the thought of second chances, winning the board game 40-24. It was a key part of them limiting the Broncos to just 38.2 percent from the floor, holding them to just 25 first-half points to build up a 15-point advantage, 40-25.
As Medved noted, a good defensive stand can be undone in a heartbeat by giving away offensive rebounds, and the Rams didn't allow many.
"I would say so. Just us three, the bigs, and Adam Thistlewood, everybody, we always challenge everybody to get to the glass," Roddy said. "As long as we're playing great defense and I can clean up as many boards as possible, I'll do it as long as my team is successful."
Again, Boise State has some weapons, most notably Derrick Alston, and at the start of the second half, he looked like he'd had enough. Limited to just six first-half points, he scored 14 in the second half, a rash of them in the early going as the Broncos trimmed the CSU lead to just a five-point edge.
They just never got closer, and Roddy said it was a quick reminder in a huddle to get the Rams back on task.
"I'm really proud of the guys. About that 8-minute mark, they were on a run, and we really challenged everybody in the huddle to just play defense and execute," the sophomore forward said. "The offense will come by itself. As long as we were on defense and getting rebounds and staying physical, the game was in our hands."
In an instant, the lead was back up in double figures. John Tonje, who had 11 off the bench, hit successive 3s to aid the cause. And Roddy just kept pounding away inside. He played stronger deeper into the game, scoring 16 points in the second half with an assortment of touch and force.
Stevens, he had to work. Medved joked with his point guard he almost had a triple double – in a negative way – as Boise State swarmed him in the paint and forced him into an uncommon eight turnovers. But he did find a way to aid the cause – his third double-double of the kind in his career – his 10th assist a dish to Roddy for a 3.
But he said the old cliché of defense winning championships applied. And with a hot team on their home floor, the Rams were able to make a statement. Yes, they can score, too, but they're also capable of making life difficult on the defense end.
To Stevens, that's a big edge with more important games to come.
"Defense was definitely a big key coming into the game," he said. "It was a big piece of our scouting report, and I felt definitely down the stretch we started to buckle down. Boise's a really talented team, has a lot of weapons, so they can be tough to account for. I felt like we were able to make some plays coming down the stretch that were key for us."
Now, there are no unbeaten in the Mountain West standings. And Colorado State is just a game away from tying the Broncos for the top spot – actually taking it on a tiebreaker – when the two meet Friday.
David Roddy had a career night with 27 points and 15 rebounds, the best game he's had at Colorado State. Isaiah Stevens also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Four Rams finished in double digits in a crucial 78-56 victory over Boise State at Moby Arena, snapping their 13-game win streak and handing them their first conference loss.
But take a look at that key number: 56. The Broncos came in averaging 81.2 points per game, and the Rams made it a very difficult visit for their guests. Nothing came easy in what was perhaps Colorado State's best defensive performance of the season.
"That's really hard to do, especially turning it over 19 times," CSU coach Niko Medved said, noting one of the oddities of the game for his squad. "Still doing that, yeah, that's hard to do. I get it. It speaks to our guys' focus, and that was tremendous. That's not easy to do against anybody, but especially a team like this."
Colorado State (12-3, 9-2 Mountain West) finally met one of the conference's big dogs on their home floor, and after splitting with Utah State and San Diego State on the road, they had a chance to make a statement against Boise State (13-2, 9-1). They did, and added an exclamation point.
The Broncos are not only a good scoring team, but they rebound really, really well, leading the Mountain West in rebounding defense (30.1 per night) and second in rebounding margin (9.1 on the plus side). Not Wednesday.
Led by Roddy, the Rams snuffed out the thought of second chances, winning the board game 40-24. It was a key part of them limiting the Broncos to just 38.2 percent from the floor, holding them to just 25 first-half points to build up a 15-point advantage, 40-25.
As Medved noted, a good defensive stand can be undone in a heartbeat by giving away offensive rebounds, and the Rams didn't allow many.
"I would say so. Just us three, the bigs, and Adam Thistlewood, everybody, we always challenge everybody to get to the glass," Roddy said. "As long as we're playing great defense and I can clean up as many boards as possible, I'll do it as long as my team is successful."
Again, Boise State has some weapons, most notably Derrick Alston, and at the start of the second half, he looked like he'd had enough. Limited to just six first-half points, he scored 14 in the second half, a rash of them in the early going as the Broncos trimmed the CSU lead to just a five-point edge.
They just never got closer, and Roddy said it was a quick reminder in a huddle to get the Rams back on task.
"I'm really proud of the guys. About that 8-minute mark, they were on a run, and we really challenged everybody in the huddle to just play defense and execute," the sophomore forward said. "The offense will come by itself. As long as we were on defense and getting rebounds and staying physical, the game was in our hands."
In an instant, the lead was back up in double figures. John Tonje, who had 11 off the bench, hit successive 3s to aid the cause. And Roddy just kept pounding away inside. He played stronger deeper into the game, scoring 16 points in the second half with an assortment of touch and force.
Stevens, he had to work. Medved joked with his point guard he almost had a triple double – in a negative way – as Boise State swarmed him in the paint and forced him into an uncommon eight turnovers. But he did find a way to aid the cause – his third double-double of the kind in his career – his 10th assist a dish to Roddy for a 3.
But he said the old cliché of defense winning championships applied. And with a hot team on their home floor, the Rams were able to make a statement. Yes, they can score, too, but they're also capable of making life difficult on the defense end.
To Stevens, that's a big edge with more important games to come.
"Defense was definitely a big key coming into the game," he said. "It was a big piece of our scouting report, and I felt definitely down the stretch we started to buckle down. Boise's a really talented team, has a lot of weapons, so they can be tough to account for. I felt like we were able to make some plays coming down the stretch that were key for us."
Now, there are no unbeaten in the Mountain West standings. And Colorado State is just a game away from tying the Broncos for the top spot – actually taking it on a tiebreaker – when the two meet Friday.
Players Mentioned
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