Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, January 31
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
10-13,2-8Mountain West
71
vs
83
UNLV
15-7,4-6Mountain West
1
2
F
UNLV
39
44
83
Colorado St.
30
41
71
Rams Fall at Home to UNLV
1/31/2023 10:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Team battling demons of four-game skid
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Each game is its own entity.
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Play one at a time. Don't look ahead. Even one possession at a time. Easier said than done, especially when things are piling up. One way or the other.
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Yet at the moment, it's a downward trend for Colorado State's men's basketball team, Tuesday's 83-71 loss to UNLV at Moby Arena extending a losing skid to four straight, the second such run of the season. That's hard to keep out of your head.
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"Yeah, that's something we have to fight off. We have to continue to know every day is a new day," John Tonje said. "Best we can, try to make every play and not think about what happened on the last one."
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With the loss, Colorado State slid to 10-12 overall, 2-8 in Mountain West play. There are eight games remaining in the regular season, so opportunity awaits. As head coach Niko Medved said, his team is trying to get better, looking to make the right play, hit the easy baskets.
Â
It's just not happening right now, and little openings are being taken advantage of by opponents.
Â
The Rams didn't have a ton of turnovers, but when they did cough it up, it went downhill fast, with the Rebels scoring 14 fast-break points. It helped spark what really was the beginning of the end, and it came at the close of the first half. A tight game was tilted in UNLV's favor with a couple of bad turnovers. With just under a minute remaining, it was compounded when a crucial stop was met with an unnecessary outlet pass, which resulted in a foul, a three-point play for UNLV and an injury to Jalen Lake, who never returned.
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Down nine at the break, UNLV started the second half on a bit of a run and the distance started to grow with missed open shots. At periods, the Rams looked tentative on offense, a vibe Medved really wants to fend off.
Â
"For sure. I think those plays that all standout where again they're questioning themselves. Maybe they had a shot blocked or they missed an easy one, and several guys I thought missed them," he said. So, what do you do? You start to get tentative, and you start kinda questioning yourself. You can't play like that. You have to play aggressive.
Â
"Again, it's very easy to say. It's very, very difficult to do in the heat of the moment when things are going fast."
Â
A few other key factors developed because of the style. UNLV is a good offensive rebounding team, and it went hard to the glass, with the Rebels turning 12 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points. Then there was the bench, with the Rebels getting 33 from reserves, the Rams just two.
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Hard to fathom in some regards a game where Isaiah Stevens has 18 points and seven assists and Tonje, Patrick Cartier and Isaiah Rivera each have 17 points and it comes up short.
Â
Nothing is easy about putting a bad series of plays or games in the rearview mirror.
Â
"That's probably human nature a little bit there, right?" Stevens said. "It's something you have to work past, and that's when you have to lean on your teammates, lean on your coaching staff and just try to stay connected as best as possible."
Â
UNLV built up a 22-point advantage with 7:45 remaining, then the Rams had a flash of strong play. With less than 2 minutes on the clock, the deficit was eight. But on this night, there wouldn't be any magic at the end, as there was in Las Vegas. The hole was too deep.
Â
Again, the Rams go home asking why those stretches are not more frequent and how they can increase those strong runs.
Â
"That's just the reoccurring theme all year. We show it in stretches," Tonje said. "We're a really good team in stretches, but it's about consistency. Hopefully we can turn it around and make sure we can be that team that goes on the run in the second half all the time."
Â
All of them are young men, so Medved knows a stretch in a game or in a season can add weight to the shoulders. He said he's learned to deal with those emotions after all these years on the bench. But for his team, he sees some of it is new for a lot of them, and life teaches hard lessons.
Â
So, he finds the time when a pat on the back is needed and when tough love comes into play.
Â
"One thing I do know is momentum and confidence is a really, really funny thing," he said. "It's difficult for all of us, and it's very difficult for young people when they go through things they haven't ever seen in their life before, and trying to work through that is hard."
Â
Saturday's game at home with Utah State is its own beast, one easier slayed if the Rams don't carry a second into the arena.
Â
Â
Play one at a time. Don't look ahead. Even one possession at a time. Easier said than done, especially when things are piling up. One way or the other.
Â
Yet at the moment, it's a downward trend for Colorado State's men's basketball team, Tuesday's 83-71 loss to UNLV at Moby Arena extending a losing skid to four straight, the second such run of the season. That's hard to keep out of your head.
Â
"Yeah, that's something we have to fight off. We have to continue to know every day is a new day," John Tonje said. "Best we can, try to make every play and not think about what happened on the last one."
Â
With the loss, Colorado State slid to 10-12 overall, 2-8 in Mountain West play. There are eight games remaining in the regular season, so opportunity awaits. As head coach Niko Medved said, his team is trying to get better, looking to make the right play, hit the easy baskets.
Â
It's just not happening right now, and little openings are being taken advantage of by opponents.
Â
The Rams didn't have a ton of turnovers, but when they did cough it up, it went downhill fast, with the Rebels scoring 14 fast-break points. It helped spark what really was the beginning of the end, and it came at the close of the first half. A tight game was tilted in UNLV's favor with a couple of bad turnovers. With just under a minute remaining, it was compounded when a crucial stop was met with an unnecessary outlet pass, which resulted in a foul, a three-point play for UNLV and an injury to Jalen Lake, who never returned.
Â
Down nine at the break, UNLV started the second half on a bit of a run and the distance started to grow with missed open shots. At periods, the Rams looked tentative on offense, a vibe Medved really wants to fend off.
Â
"For sure. I think those plays that all standout where again they're questioning themselves. Maybe they had a shot blocked or they missed an easy one, and several guys I thought missed them," he said. So, what do you do? You start to get tentative, and you start kinda questioning yourself. You can't play like that. You have to play aggressive.
Â
"Again, it's very easy to say. It's very, very difficult to do in the heat of the moment when things are going fast."
Â
A few other key factors developed because of the style. UNLV is a good offensive rebounding team, and it went hard to the glass, with the Rebels turning 12 offensive boards into 20 second-chance points. Then there was the bench, with the Rebels getting 33 from reserves, the Rams just two.
Â
Hard to fathom in some regards a game where Isaiah Stevens has 18 points and seven assists and Tonje, Patrick Cartier and Isaiah Rivera each have 17 points and it comes up short.
Â
Nothing is easy about putting a bad series of plays or games in the rearview mirror.
Â
"That's probably human nature a little bit there, right?" Stevens said. "It's something you have to work past, and that's when you have to lean on your teammates, lean on your coaching staff and just try to stay connected as best as possible."
Â
UNLV built up a 22-point advantage with 7:45 remaining, then the Rams had a flash of strong play. With less than 2 minutes on the clock, the deficit was eight. But on this night, there wouldn't be any magic at the end, as there was in Las Vegas. The hole was too deep.
Â
Again, the Rams go home asking why those stretches are not more frequent and how they can increase those strong runs.
Â
"That's just the reoccurring theme all year. We show it in stretches," Tonje said. "We're a really good team in stretches, but it's about consistency. Hopefully we can turn it around and make sure we can be that team that goes on the run in the second half all the time."
Â
All of them are young men, so Medved knows a stretch in a game or in a season can add weight to the shoulders. He said he's learned to deal with those emotions after all these years on the bench. But for his team, he sees some of it is new for a lot of them, and life teaches hard lessons.
Â
So, he finds the time when a pat on the back is needed and when tough love comes into play.
Â
"One thing I do know is momentum and confidence is a really, really funny thing," he said. "It's difficult for all of us, and it's very difficult for young people when they go through things they haven't ever seen in their life before, and trying to work through that is hard."
Â
Saturday's game at home with Utah State is its own beast, one easier slayed if the Rams don't carry a second into the arena.
Â
Team Stats
UNLV
CSU
FG%
.475
.440
3FG%
.407
.294
FT%
.636
.815
RB
36
32
TO
8
12
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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Monday, August 04