Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 31
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 PM
Colorado State
8-7,0-2Mountain West
70
vs
78
San Jose State
11-4,2-0Mountain West
1
2
F
San Jose St.
33
45
78
Colorado St.
36
34
70
Rams Drop Home Conference Opener to SJSU
12/31/2022 5:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stevens' double-double goes for naught
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – If there was a single issue at play the approach could be simpler. That's just not the case for Colorado State at this point.
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For the first time since the 2019-20 season, Colorado State's men's basketball team has opened Mountain West play at 0-2 after Saturday's 78-70 loss at Moby Arena to a San Jose State squad the Rams had never lost to before in 23 prior contests.
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It came in a game where the Rams only had two turnovers and dished out 20 assists. Those are great numbers. So was a double-digit lead in the later stages of the first half. But the Rams are also giving up too many 3-pointers to the opposition and sustaining play – be it on offense or defense – has been an issue for a team now 8-7 as the calendar is about to flip.
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If there is one thing, to point guard Isaiah Stevens, it's something which covers everything.
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"For me, I think it's just the consistency," the senior said. "We've shown it in spurts and flashes, but we all know these games are played for 40 minutes, so we have to be more consistent for longer stretches or else the result's not going to change. We have to continue to buy in for longer periods of time."
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CSU head coach Niko Medved sees his point, but he also knows it goes deeper.
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Colorado State came out feisty, led by Steven's ability to drive the lane and create baskets. He hit his first four shots of the game and the Rams built as much as a 14-point lead. However, Stevens was the only consistent scorer as the Spartans bounced in and out of man and zone defense.
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Then they countered offensively after a slow start, hitting 8-of-15 3-pointers in the opening half, with Omari Moore hitting all four of his attempts, matching his scoring average of 14 by the break. The Spartans closed the half on a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to three at half.
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It lit their fire, and Medved wondered why it didn't do the same for his squad.
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"I don't know why, but probably the biggest disappointment was our spirit at times," he said. "They made a run at the end of the first half, and for whatever reason, we came out in the second half, and we didn't have a lot of juice. I don't know why. We try to pump them up at halftime, but I didn't think we did, and finally we kind of got out of it a little bit, but we needed to play with a lot more spirit and a lot more focused."
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When a team hits a run – and they all generally do – there has to be a response, the more immediate the better. Colorado State's were delayed, while the Spartans stuck with the plan. The lead changed hands seven times, but SJSU took the last tie – 57-all with 5:27 remaining – and delivered a 7-0 spurt as Sage Tolbert hit a 3 and then a driving dunk to put his squad in front for good and a 2-0 start to league play.
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In the past two games, Colorado State has allowed 28 3-pointers to the opposition. That is concerning to Medved. He said the New Mexico game as a different type of beast, but Saturday, Colorado State's defensive breakdowns allowed the Spartans – particularly Moore who scored 29 – to get into a rhythm.
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The Rams didn't handle screens well in those instances, and in short, he felt they started to take the lazy way out.
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"It's a mindset thing, and it's got to change," Isaiah Rivera said. "That's unacceptable. We can't talk about it; we have to be about it."
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Which was a phrase Medved would use too.
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The Rams had four players in double figures, led by Stevens' 24 points, which along with 10 assists gave him the seventh double-double of his career. Patrick Cartier had 12, and John Tonje and Rivera 10 each, but it all came as the Rams shot 40 percent overall, just 30.4 from deep.
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They've had injury and illness issues which haven't allowed to practice as a team once this year, yet Stevens noted nobody is going to feel sorry for them in that respect, so there's no need to schedule a pity party.
Â
Medved noted it's the same roster which won a tough game on the road at St. Mary's. They have been off to start conference play, but he hasn't lost hope.
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"I believe in this group," he said. "I think we can be good. I do. I think we can be good, and I think we can compete with anyone in our league, but thinking it … You've got to be able to do it."
Â
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For the first time since the 2019-20 season, Colorado State's men's basketball team has opened Mountain West play at 0-2 after Saturday's 78-70 loss at Moby Arena to a San Jose State squad the Rams had never lost to before in 23 prior contests.
Â
It came in a game where the Rams only had two turnovers and dished out 20 assists. Those are great numbers. So was a double-digit lead in the later stages of the first half. But the Rams are also giving up too many 3-pointers to the opposition and sustaining play – be it on offense or defense – has been an issue for a team now 8-7 as the calendar is about to flip.
Â
If there is one thing, to point guard Isaiah Stevens, it's something which covers everything.
Â
"For me, I think it's just the consistency," the senior said. "We've shown it in spurts and flashes, but we all know these games are played for 40 minutes, so we have to be more consistent for longer stretches or else the result's not going to change. We have to continue to buy in for longer periods of time."
Â
CSU head coach Niko Medved sees his point, but he also knows it goes deeper.
Â
Colorado State came out feisty, led by Steven's ability to drive the lane and create baskets. He hit his first four shots of the game and the Rams built as much as a 14-point lead. However, Stevens was the only consistent scorer as the Spartans bounced in and out of man and zone defense.
Â
Then they countered offensively after a slow start, hitting 8-of-15 3-pointers in the opening half, with Omari Moore hitting all four of his attempts, matching his scoring average of 14 by the break. The Spartans closed the half on a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to three at half.
Â
It lit their fire, and Medved wondered why it didn't do the same for his squad.
Â
"I don't know why, but probably the biggest disappointment was our spirit at times," he said. "They made a run at the end of the first half, and for whatever reason, we came out in the second half, and we didn't have a lot of juice. I don't know why. We try to pump them up at halftime, but I didn't think we did, and finally we kind of got out of it a little bit, but we needed to play with a lot more spirit and a lot more focused."
Â
When a team hits a run – and they all generally do – there has to be a response, the more immediate the better. Colorado State's were delayed, while the Spartans stuck with the plan. The lead changed hands seven times, but SJSU took the last tie – 57-all with 5:27 remaining – and delivered a 7-0 spurt as Sage Tolbert hit a 3 and then a driving dunk to put his squad in front for good and a 2-0 start to league play.
Â
In the past two games, Colorado State has allowed 28 3-pointers to the opposition. That is concerning to Medved. He said the New Mexico game as a different type of beast, but Saturday, Colorado State's defensive breakdowns allowed the Spartans – particularly Moore who scored 29 – to get into a rhythm.
Â
The Rams didn't handle screens well in those instances, and in short, he felt they started to take the lazy way out.
Â
"It's a mindset thing, and it's got to change," Isaiah Rivera said. "That's unacceptable. We can't talk about it; we have to be about it."
Â
Which was a phrase Medved would use too.
Â
The Rams had four players in double figures, led by Stevens' 24 points, which along with 10 assists gave him the seventh double-double of his career. Patrick Cartier had 12, and John Tonje and Rivera 10 each, but it all came as the Rams shot 40 percent overall, just 30.4 from deep.
Â
They've had injury and illness issues which haven't allowed to practice as a team once this year, yet Stevens noted nobody is going to feel sorry for them in that respect, so there's no need to schedule a pity party.
Â
Medved noted it's the same roster which won a tough game on the road at St. Mary's. They have been off to start conference play, but he hasn't lost hope.
Â
"I believe in this group," he said. "I think we can be good. I do. I think we can be good, and I think we can compete with anyone in our league, but thinking it … You've got to be able to do it."
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Team Stats
SJSU
CSU
FG%
.456
.400
3FG%
.481
.304
FT%
.722
.833
RB
42
27
TO
11
2
STL
0
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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