Colorado State University Athletics
The Dish: Roddy Stands Tall in Marquee Matchup
1/12/2022 9:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Even in foul trouble, junior finds way to shine
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – With 6:09 remaining in the game, David Roddy picked up his fourth foul. About a minute earlier, Utah State's Justin Bean had done the same.
Two of the Mountain West's marquee players – were down to the wire and the game was the same. Neither coach flinched. They couldn't, not in a tight ball game Wednesday night at Moby Arena.
"I think you're thinking in that moment, OK, do we get him out? It's like, no," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "We really needed him the way that game was going. He's such a difficult matchup. He was scoring and drawing help, and he probably couldn't be as physical as he wanted to defensively."
Roddy was on the floor when the 77-72 victory was assured, the Rams improving to 12-1 overall, 2-1 in conference play. He didn't just survive those final minutes, but helped the Rams thrive, going on a personal 5-0 run right after the Aggies had seized the lead with 4:37 remaining.
Roddy knew he had to adjust. He was assigned to Bean defensively most of the evening, an assignment which doesn't come with aid from teammates. The idea was to keep Bean – who entered leading the league in scoring (20 points per game) and rebounding (10.4) – from doing that kind of damage.
Roddy, averaging 19.5 and 7.7 himself, was anticipating the matchup.
"That's just my competitive nature. I signed up to be in that position, so I was proud of myself for trying to keep him off the glass for most of the game. I'm proud of myself and my teammates for that. It's a lot of 10-foot zone, one-on-one TFZ in practice; we've been adding that to our practice ever since this summer. Just working on staying on the ground and letting him shoot his fadeaways if he wants, but have a late contest."
Bean wasn't a true thorn, as he's proven to be in the past. He did score 14 points, but it came on 4-of-11 shooting, but he did get to the line, hitting 6-of-7. He finished with six rebounds, just one off the offensive glass.
On the other side, Roddy was himself, even after a very slow start. He didn't score until nearly 15 minutes had passed in the game, but from there on, he made a difference. He led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 9-of-13 from the floor, pulling down six rebounds.
"It's really tough," Roddy said of playing with four fouls. "I've been in that position multiple times in my career here at CSU, so I just wanted to stay in front of them. Sometimes you might have to let go of an open layup as I did with Sean Bairstow. You just try to stay … Just be careful, pretty much, and play my game on offense."
His second 3 of the game was key, because it came from the top of the key right after Utah State, which had trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, took the lead off a Bean second-chance basket. Then Roddy blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound, came down the floor and hit a jumper in the paint.
Stars are expected to shine. Roddy did.
"I think he knew that, hey, I really have to have my 'A' game here today on both ends of the floor," Medved said. "I thought he stepped up to it."
The Aggies were able to trim into the lead when the clock wasn't moving, with CSU committing 12 fouls to put the guests in the double bonus with the final 10 minutes still to play. It wasn't ideal, as Utah State hit 16-of-19 from the line in the second half alone, big points in a comeback attempt as the clock stood idle.
In crunch time, the Rams did the same. Chandler Jacobs hit four in a row, then Isaiah Stevens iced the win with two in the final seconds.
Coming off a loss on the road to San Diego State where the Rams had just 11 bench points, Jacobs did that all on his own in the game, and freshman Jalen Lake did the same. Jacobs' free throws were huge, but so too was the spark Lake gave in the first half when the Rams were not shooting well.
The team was just 1-of-7 from deep when he splashed the first of his three treys, then he followed up by creating a turnover which led to a Stevens' layup on the other end, tying the game at 10. The arena erupted, and while neither offense never really did in the game, the Rams had some momentum.
Not only that, but they feel the best is yet to come. A 24-day layoff didn't help, but the Rams won't look back. Just forward.
"I think the thing with the layoff is we don't make that excuse. We have a good team, we have good players and we work hard," Jacobs said. "We're going to get in shape. We're going to be fine. I think the confidence booster is we know we haven't hit our stride. It's early in conference, only three games into conference, so we have a lot more games left to play."
A stretch where Medved said there will be peaks and valleys. That's the nature of any basketball season, he said, but it is encouraging to think about the possibilities. The Rams weren't at their best, but they were victorious.
Two of the Mountain West's marquee players – were down to the wire and the game was the same. Neither coach flinched. They couldn't, not in a tight ball game Wednesday night at Moby Arena.
"I think you're thinking in that moment, OK, do we get him out? It's like, no," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "We really needed him the way that game was going. He's such a difficult matchup. He was scoring and drawing help, and he probably couldn't be as physical as he wanted to defensively."
Roddy was on the floor when the 77-72 victory was assured, the Rams improving to 12-1 overall, 2-1 in conference play. He didn't just survive those final minutes, but helped the Rams thrive, going on a personal 5-0 run right after the Aggies had seized the lead with 4:37 remaining.
Roddy knew he had to adjust. He was assigned to Bean defensively most of the evening, an assignment which doesn't come with aid from teammates. The idea was to keep Bean – who entered leading the league in scoring (20 points per game) and rebounding (10.4) – from doing that kind of damage.
Roddy, averaging 19.5 and 7.7 himself, was anticipating the matchup.
"That's just my competitive nature. I signed up to be in that position, so I was proud of myself for trying to keep him off the glass for most of the game. I'm proud of myself and my teammates for that. It's a lot of 10-foot zone, one-on-one TFZ in practice; we've been adding that to our practice ever since this summer. Just working on staying on the ground and letting him shoot his fadeaways if he wants, but have a late contest."
Bean wasn't a true thorn, as he's proven to be in the past. He did score 14 points, but it came on 4-of-11 shooting, but he did get to the line, hitting 6-of-7. He finished with six rebounds, just one off the offensive glass.
On the other side, Roddy was himself, even after a very slow start. He didn't score until nearly 15 minutes had passed in the game, but from there on, he made a difference. He led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 9-of-13 from the floor, pulling down six rebounds.
"It's really tough," Roddy said of playing with four fouls. "I've been in that position multiple times in my career here at CSU, so I just wanted to stay in front of them. Sometimes you might have to let go of an open layup as I did with Sean Bairstow. You just try to stay … Just be careful, pretty much, and play my game on offense."
His second 3 of the game was key, because it came from the top of the key right after Utah State, which had trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, took the lead off a Bean second-chance basket. Then Roddy blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound, came down the floor and hit a jumper in the paint.
Stars are expected to shine. Roddy did.
"I think he knew that, hey, I really have to have my 'A' game here today on both ends of the floor," Medved said. "I thought he stepped up to it."
The Aggies were able to trim into the lead when the clock wasn't moving, with CSU committing 12 fouls to put the guests in the double bonus with the final 10 minutes still to play. It wasn't ideal, as Utah State hit 16-of-19 from the line in the second half alone, big points in a comeback attempt as the clock stood idle.
In crunch time, the Rams did the same. Chandler Jacobs hit four in a row, then Isaiah Stevens iced the win with two in the final seconds.
Coming off a loss on the road to San Diego State where the Rams had just 11 bench points, Jacobs did that all on his own in the game, and freshman Jalen Lake did the same. Jacobs' free throws were huge, but so too was the spark Lake gave in the first half when the Rams were not shooting well.
The team was just 1-of-7 from deep when he splashed the first of his three treys, then he followed up by creating a turnover which led to a Stevens' layup on the other end, tying the game at 10. The arena erupted, and while neither offense never really did in the game, the Rams had some momentum.
Not only that, but they feel the best is yet to come. A 24-day layoff didn't help, but the Rams won't look back. Just forward.
"I think the thing with the layoff is we don't make that excuse. We have a good team, we have good players and we work hard," Jacobs said. "We're going to get in shape. We're going to be fine. I think the confidence booster is we know we haven't hit our stride. It's early in conference, only three games into conference, so we have a lot more games left to play."
A stretch where Medved said there will be peaks and valleys. That's the nature of any basketball season, he said, but it is encouraging to think about the possibilities. The Rams weren't at their best, but they were victorious.
Players Mentioned
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