The Dish: Rams Take Away More Than Three Wins

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The desired outcome was achieved. The method, not so much. But that works, too.

Capping a busy first week of action – three games total, the final two in a three-day span – Colorado State pulled away from NAIA Peru State, who was counting Sunday's affair at Moby Arena as an exhibition. For the Rams, the 88-62 victory counted toward their 3-0 start with the promise of more challenging competition to come at the Paradise Jam next week in the Virgin Islands.

The Bobcats, however, proved to be more of a battle than the Rams would have liked. A 13-2 run in the first half gave the hosts a margin to work with, but they never were really able to put the Bobcats comfortably in the rear-view mirror until late, when they put together a 13-0 run late for the closing salvo.

Offensively, the guests just kept plugging away, getting more open looks outside than the Rams would prefer to allow, and definitely more drives to the basket leading to clean looks in the paint. The Rams were sloppy with defensive assignments, as well as some offensive possessions, especially with seven first-half turnovers.

Not that anybody is going to be upset with the loss, but they can be disappointed in the fact they didn't play better. Nor is head coach Niko Medved going to blow it out of proportion.

"I think again, every time you go out there and play there's something to learn from, but I think, too, at the same point and time, you can't make things bigger than they are," Medved said. "I think that clearly, yeah, we'll look at this, but at the same time, we're looking ahead. We have to focus on the next one here and how do we continue to grow and get better, get some rest and get out there and have a couple of good days to prepare for Bradley. We'll do that, but you've to be careful not to look back too much and look ahead and don't make it more than it was today."

There were a lot of positives from the first week besides the wins. The Rams saw varied looks on both ends of the floor, and they will not be surprised by the early season tournament schedule, which promises three games in four days. Better to see fatigue on a Sunday afternoon at home and learn how to deal with it rather than in a tournament's final game.

Every defensive system, every offensive approach will be duplicated at some time down the road, and now the Rams have seen it, and they'll be better for the experience.

"That's great to have, because as the season goes along, you're going to get so many different looks, so many different play styles, and really, that was three different play styles of teams," Isaiah Rivera said. "That was good to have just to have in the back of our minds that we can play against anyone."

Medved gave praise to Peru State, particularly offensively, because of the pace they played and the way they cut and set screens with intention. He felt it made it difficult on his defense, adding it cannot remain that way if they want to play at a high level. The Bobcats played a ton of people (16 in all), and while they shot 45.3 percent in the game and made 7-of-18 3s, the Rams solved the riddle the majority of the time, forcing 17 turnovers and blocking five shots. It's the first run of three games with five or more blocked shots since the 2006-07 season.

Colorado State was similar in the fact the entire roster say some time on the floor, which was good at the end of this particular run. Neither Isaiah Stevens nor David Roddy had to play 30 minutes, a key since Kendle Moore sat for the second night with an ankle injury. They still did their damage, with Roddy leading the team with 17 points (he missed a double-double by one rebound), with Stevens close behind with 16. Chandler Jacobs, starting in place of Moore, closed with 10.

There were a host of other contributions he liked in the game, noting Adam Thistlewood provided a spark on both ends, hitting a pair of 3s and drawing two charges. They came from the bench, too, mainly Rivera, who took advantage of a normal offseason to improve his game and earn more minutes on the floor. He produced 13 points in a reserve role, shooting well from the floor by hitting 5-of-7 overall, two out of three treys.

"It's just confidence, and that comes from work," Rivera said. "I worked this whole offseason. I put my head down and just worked the whole time. That's really what it is, is confidence."

Medved smiled and said the victory wasn't "a Picasso," but it was a win. One that counts, and more than just in the standings. Thistlewood was going to put more stuck in what they came away with, which leads directly to what they need to look at for the future.

Off the top of his head, he started with their efforts on the defensive boards these first three games. Then he went next to details. Some of them they took care of in the game, limiting the turnovers to just three in the final 20 minutes.

Good teams do that. Learn on the fly, make adjustments and clean aspects of their game up. After three games, they have some targets in mind, but also the knowledge that, in reality, they are playing rather well.

"I thought we came out, we did what we needed to do," he said. "Was it perfect? No, and it's never going to be perfect. That team plays a great offense. It's quick moving, they're attacking constantly. That's great to have later in the season. Although we weren't perfect today, we hope if we face another team like that we'll have the experience to guard them."

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