The Dish: Tonje Gets Offensive in Defensive Lineup

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The idea was to go with a smaller lineup, for defensive purposes.

John Tonje's idea was to come up huge, for offensive purposes.

"Wasn't that a brilliant coaching move?" CSU men's basketball coach Niko Medved said with a grin. "I said it was for defense and he responds with … I don't know if a guy's had 30 in here in how long. But you guys watch John, that's who he is. Last year whenever he came in the game, he made things happen.

"And you know what? He may come off the bench in the next game. And you know what? He doesn't care. That's just who he is."

He was something else Tuesday night in front of a near-sellout crowd of 7,897 at Moby Arena, torching the Golden Eagles for 31 points in a resounding 109-80 victory.

The Rams went without a center on the floor when they tipped off the season against Oral Roberts on Tuesday night at Moby Arena, with Tonje getting the start. With the way the Golden Eagles run their offense – and the way Max Abmas shoots it – switching and help were going to be important. He did lead the nation in scoring last year at 24.2 points per game and opened the season as a preseason All-American.

He draws attention, and the Rams wanted to give him plenty of it with different looks. Tonje was part of the mix, though not primary.

But defense is only one part of the floor, and Tonje has proven he can play at both ends. Remember, he iced a win on the road over San Diego State with a game-winning 3, then came back the next night with a career-best 15. He did it again a few games later with UNLV.

He almost had that at halftime with 13. Then he came out and knocked down his first four shots, eventually finishing with a dazzling 31-point performance.

So, yeah, it had been awhile since he was that hot.

"Probably at Omaha Central. I think you mentioned that, so I think that's the answer you wanted to get, so, yeah, Omaha Central," he said, referring back to his high school days. "I feel like my teammates and coaches gave me confidence today. Yeah, we went with the smaller approach for defensive reasons, but I feel like things really opened up offensively."

Understatement. He hit 10-of-14 from the floor, made 3-of-7 3s and drained all eight of his shots from the charity stripe.

And really, it wasn't all him, though it just seemed that way at times.

This was not a cupcake game to enter the season. Oral Roberts was a Sweet 16 team a season ago. There was no easing into the contest for the Rams, a team with such high expectations on the season they couldn't wait to hit the floor.

The two teams exchanged blows early, then the Rams started throwing daggers in the second half. It was Tonje, for sure. It was also Dischon Thomas, the man who started on the bench with the defensive move, who produced his first double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Consider this: The Rams scored 109 points in a game where Kendle Moore (ankle injury) was limited to eight minutes of play, David Roddy sat for a spell with back spasms and scored seven and Adam Thistlewood took just one shot on the night (he made it).

And the Rams were worried about Oral Roberts' offense.

"We did that tonight with the way they play, and they kind of have a funky lineup, so that's what we did," Medved said of the lineup adjustment. "But the guys responded. Defensively, I thought we mixed up some coverages on Max, especially late in the first half. I'll say this: There's two ways this team scores. They score at the free throw line and making 3s, and we took them out of both of those."

The Rams scored every way imaginable, and received contributions from all over. Newcomer Chandler Jacobs hit all six of his shots from the floor and finished with 15, and Isaiah Stevens started slow but finished with 13 points and six assists. The Rams had 20 assists on the night to just five turnovers, and two of them came on the first possession.

But this is a team Medved felt had multiple scoring options, and Thomas, even without starting, is one of them. He looks bigger, because he is, and he's using the size to his advantage on both ends of the floor.

"I've been working on getting stronger; that's been my main focus, so just weight room, I can feel it out there," Thomas said. "That's probably been my biggest issue is just getting stronger, so, work heavily on that and the confidence part."

The Rams wanted a tough opener, and when the game was finally secured in the summer, they celebrated a bit in the offices. Hard to find a matchup like that to draw fans back who have been away for a year to see a team which finished fourth in the NIT a year ago and is pushing for more.

The fans came. They saw. The Rams conquered.

Afterward, Medved was still trying to process it all. The Rams were confident, no doubt. But to win so convincingly, well, they didn't really see that coming.

Or did they?

"Part of me wants to say we put in the work for this, so this is not a surprise, but it was a great way to end the game," Thomas said.

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