Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, February 4
Fort Collins, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado State
10-14,2-9Mountain West
79
vs
88
Utah State
19-5,8-3Mountain West
1
2
F
Utah St.
33
55
88
Colorado St.
32
47
79
Exchange Rate Doesn't Favor Rams in Loss
2/4/2023 9:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Utah State's 3-pointers sink team in Fight Like a Ram game
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – If a team wants to take a tight basketball game, shooting 70.4 percent from the field in the second half would be a good start.
Colorado State's men's basketball team did that Saturday night at Moby Arena against Utah State as the Rams took part in an annual emotional outing for them, the Fight Like a Ram contest where they team with UCHealth and play for local cancer patients, exchanging their family name for one of a cancer warrior on their back of their jersey.
It's an exchange they take pride in making every season.
But the exchanges they were making on the court didn't add up in the Rams' favor, as the Aggies shot 46.2 percent from the 3-point arc, tying an opponent record for most 3s made at Moby with 18 in an 88-79 win.
Colorado State slips to 10-14 on the season, 2-9 in Mountain West play while Utah State remains in the hunt for a top seed in the conference tournament at 19-5, 8-3.
Some nights, you have to give credit where it's due. Yes, the Aggies lead the nation in 3-point percentage, but they were better than normal on this night and shot for a larger volume.
"I feel like you have to," Isaiah Stevens said. "Most of the guys on their team shot a pretty high percentage from there, too. I wish we would have run them off the 3 a little bit better. We had good vision on a lot of these guys that are running around, but they took them and made them tonight."
Shorthanded already, head coach Niko Medved's team opened the game a bit shorter on the bench with ailments to Jalen Lake and Tavion Jackson. There were six scholarship players unavailable for the game.
It meant Trace Young, a junior walk-on was going to have to give the team some minutes, which he did. He's played 11 all season; he played seven on the night.
"I was proud of Trace stepping up tonight. That was big time to see," James Moors said. "He's been with us for three years now, and he took his opportunity tonight. Even though it's gutting losing all these games, I was proud for how we competed tonight."
It also meant Medved and his staff and to get even more creative, and he did in a new way.
They played zone defense. And not just a little bit.
"I've been a head coach for a decade," Medved said. "I've never opened up a game in a zone in my life. This is the first time I've ever done that, so yes, this is more zone than I've ever played in a basketball game in my life."
The Rams did it to try to slow down the Aggies' shooting pace, but also to keep out of foul trouble against a team which has a tendance to earn free throws. Utah State came out firing anyway, building a 13-2 lead, but the Rams answered with a 16-0 to jump in front for a spell. At halftime, they trailed just 33-32.
Medved has a saying – like the 3, love the 2 – and the Rams did. They shot 55.2 percent in the game and held a 16-point advantage in the paint. What didn't work was seven offensive boards by USU led to 13 second-chance points and the Rams were cold from deep until the end, finishing just 3-of-17 on their attempts.
In the second half, the Aggies were blazing from behind the arc, making 12-of-21, a 57.1 percent clip. Steven Ashworth, the top sniper in the league, hit 8-of-17 from deep to finish with 26 points, while teammate Taylor Funk hit 5-of-9 to close with 21.
Moors scored 13 coming off the bench and pulled down seven rebounds. Stevens had 25 in the game with eight assists, and John Tonje had 20. But as Stevens noted, 3 is more than 2 in any sport.
"They've got really good shooters," Medved said. "Steven Ashworth is really hard to stop when he gets going, but it's a combination of that and some defensive errors."
The season has led to some strong emotions for the team, none that carry the same weight as what they experience in this game. They meet the patients they represent, and after a tough loss, they were back on the floor talking with them all some more, expressing hope to them in their fight along with some hugs.
As much as they want to play well in these games, it's not always the case. Medved is older, but the game hits his heart just the same.
"There's no question about that. I think it's hard to understand when you're a young person," he said. "First of all, this is one of the best things we do. This is so awesome. This is so meaningful to our program and to these young people, and I know it's really meaningful for these cancer warriors and their families. It is emotional. They get an opportunity to meet them and hear their stories and people who are fighting for their lives. You're wearing that name on your jersey.
"That's a difficult thing to process. Everyone takes that a little bit differently. Not everybody plays well in these situations, even though you want to. You know what? That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's bigger than that."
Colorado State's men's basketball team did that Saturday night at Moby Arena against Utah State as the Rams took part in an annual emotional outing for them, the Fight Like a Ram contest where they team with UCHealth and play for local cancer patients, exchanging their family name for one of a cancer warrior on their back of their jersey.
It's an exchange they take pride in making every season.
But the exchanges they were making on the court didn't add up in the Rams' favor, as the Aggies shot 46.2 percent from the 3-point arc, tying an opponent record for most 3s made at Moby with 18 in an 88-79 win.
Colorado State slips to 10-14 on the season, 2-9 in Mountain West play while Utah State remains in the hunt for a top seed in the conference tournament at 19-5, 8-3.
Some nights, you have to give credit where it's due. Yes, the Aggies lead the nation in 3-point percentage, but they were better than normal on this night and shot for a larger volume.
"I feel like you have to," Isaiah Stevens said. "Most of the guys on their team shot a pretty high percentage from there, too. I wish we would have run them off the 3 a little bit better. We had good vision on a lot of these guys that are running around, but they took them and made them tonight."
Shorthanded already, head coach Niko Medved's team opened the game a bit shorter on the bench with ailments to Jalen Lake and Tavion Jackson. There were six scholarship players unavailable for the game.
It meant Trace Young, a junior walk-on was going to have to give the team some minutes, which he did. He's played 11 all season; he played seven on the night.
"I was proud of Trace stepping up tonight. That was big time to see," James Moors said. "He's been with us for three years now, and he took his opportunity tonight. Even though it's gutting losing all these games, I was proud for how we competed tonight."
It also meant Medved and his staff and to get even more creative, and he did in a new way.
They played zone defense. And not just a little bit.
"I've been a head coach for a decade," Medved said. "I've never opened up a game in a zone in my life. This is the first time I've ever done that, so yes, this is more zone than I've ever played in a basketball game in my life."
The Rams did it to try to slow down the Aggies' shooting pace, but also to keep out of foul trouble against a team which has a tendance to earn free throws. Utah State came out firing anyway, building a 13-2 lead, but the Rams answered with a 16-0 to jump in front for a spell. At halftime, they trailed just 33-32.
Medved has a saying – like the 3, love the 2 – and the Rams did. They shot 55.2 percent in the game and held a 16-point advantage in the paint. What didn't work was seven offensive boards by USU led to 13 second-chance points and the Rams were cold from deep until the end, finishing just 3-of-17 on their attempts.
In the second half, the Aggies were blazing from behind the arc, making 12-of-21, a 57.1 percent clip. Steven Ashworth, the top sniper in the league, hit 8-of-17 from deep to finish with 26 points, while teammate Taylor Funk hit 5-of-9 to close with 21.
Moors scored 13 coming off the bench and pulled down seven rebounds. Stevens had 25 in the game with eight assists, and John Tonje had 20. But as Stevens noted, 3 is more than 2 in any sport.
"They've got really good shooters," Medved said. "Steven Ashworth is really hard to stop when he gets going, but it's a combination of that and some defensive errors."
The season has led to some strong emotions for the team, none that carry the same weight as what they experience in this game. They meet the patients they represent, and after a tough loss, they were back on the floor talking with them all some more, expressing hope to them in their fight along with some hugs.
As much as they want to play well in these games, it's not always the case. Medved is older, but the game hits his heart just the same.
"There's no question about that. I think it's hard to understand when you're a young person," he said. "First of all, this is one of the best things we do. This is so awesome. This is so meaningful to our program and to these young people, and I know it's really meaningful for these cancer warriors and their families. It is emotional. They get an opportunity to meet them and hear their stories and people who are fighting for their lives. You're wearing that name on your jersey.
"That's a difficult thing to process. Everyone takes that a little bit differently. Not everybody plays well in these situations, even though you want to. You know what? That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's bigger than that."
Team Stats
USU
CSU
FG%
.509
.552
3FG%
.462
.176
FT%
.800
.857
RB
31
26
TO
12
8
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballColorado State Basketball (M): Season 1 - Ep. 1
Sunday, August 10
Ramily - CSU Men's Basketball
Tuesday, August 05
Ram Line - Shoot Around with Josh Pascarelli & Darnez Slater (MBB)
Monday, August 04
Behind the White Board - Ken DeWeese
Monday, August 04