Rams Beat UMKC, Improve to 4-0 for Third Straight Season

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FORT COLLINS – Physical. Rough. Balanced. Colorado State basketball knew they'd have to exhibit those things to come out with a win against UMKC.

With that style of play, sometimes the flow of an offense can be thrown off, something the Rams aren't akin to doing. The first three minutes or so of the game were business as usual. Then the physicality gave rise to an influx of foul calls (11 in the first 10 minutes), which meant any momentum for either team was brought to a halt.

But the Rams managed to make do, coming away with an 84-61 victory over the Roos, jump-started by a 15-2 run early in the second half. The fact the team was able to survive the choppy, physical nature of the game was encouraging to head coach Niko Medved.

More impressive was their ability to keep up with a rebound-minded opponent like UMKC. Getting boards has been a bit of a struggle early this season, and though they were outrebounded 31-26, there was still much to be happy about.

"Probably the biggest stat tonight we were concerned about was the defensive rebounding," Medved said. "I thought we did a good job there. I thought for the most part, we did a good job on the defensive glass. We had some sloppy turnovers but nothing crazy, and we found a way to get out of here with a win."

Certainly, a tone that the Rams knew they needed to set early in the game. In some ways, they were able to announce their presence.

Patrick Cartier did so in his own way, scoring a wide-open 3, a layup and taking a charge all in the first two minutes of the game, verbally letting the defense know he was there to play. Cartier said he couldn't repeat what was said to the defender who sagged off him on his early 3.

"We knew what type of game it was going to be," Cartier said. "It was going to be a kind of grimy type of game with how physical they are and how much they like to crash the offensive glass. I was happy I was able to get going early.

"It was weird, obviously there were a lot of ticky-tack calls and it was really choppy, but we just have to stay locked in and focus on the game plan. Every time the whistle blows, we just have to get in the huddle and talk about our points of emphasis, stuff like that. (Being physical) was one of coach's main challenges to us. We see teams later on in the season like San Diego State, which has those types of bigs who are really physical on the inside. I thought we did an OK job of matching that tonight."

The weirdness extended to a few aspects of the game. Nique Clifford got into early foul trouble, making way for Javonte Johnson to score his first points for the Rams. He had seven on the night, five of which came in his first five minutes after coming in for Clifford.

The transfer from New Mexico has vast experience as a starter but has not complained about his relative lack of play for Medved so far. There's a lot of depth on the wing for CSU, making playing time hard to come by.

"I'm proud of Javonte, you know, he hasn't had an opportunity, but he has not moped in practice, he's practiced hard and had a really good practice yesterday," Medved said. "Like I always say, when an opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare, and he was ready. Tonight, Nique Clifford picks up two fouls, we put (Johnson) in the game and he made an instant impact."

Another oddity was Isaiah Stevens' performance, scoring six points to go along with four assists. The last time he scored in the single digits was in 2021 — the first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament against Michigan.

An off night of sorts, but for a team to win by more than 20 when the star player has a down game isn't a bad problem to have. For Josiah Strong, who went 2-of-4 from 3 after not hitting from downtown previously this season, it speaks to the type of team they've built and the connection they've made.

"In comparison to where we were last year, this group, we're pretty connected on and off the court," Strong said. "And I think it shows when you've got a guy like (Isaiah Stevens) tonight, he took five shots, and he can easily go out there and do otherwise. But we all like playing together and playing to win, and I think our connectivity is going to carry us through the season, for sure."

The Rams will travel to Kansas City for the Hall of Fame Classic, where they'll play Boston College Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. and either Creighton or Loyola Chicago Thursday.

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