Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, December 28
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
7-6,1-1Mountain West
68
vs
76
New Mexico
10-3,2-0Mountain West
1
2
F
New Mexico
41
35
76
Colorado St.
25
43
68
Win vs Loss: What Tips the Scale
12/28/2024 3:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CSU men’s basketball now 1-1 in conference play
FORT COLLINS – Winning them is a great challenge.
However, keeping with the energy and playing aggressive even when faced with a familiar enemy is of utmost importance.
Coming off a win against Nevada on the 21st, Colorado State lost its conference home opener hosting New Mexico. The game ended 76-68 on Saturday as the team awaits their next road game against San Jose State on the 31st.
"It was obviously disappointing today," coach Niko Medved said. "It was a great opportunity for us coming off the win at Nevada, playing an excellent team here at home. We weren't able to assert ourselves at all for any long period of time. We made a run in the first half and then after that, all the things we wanted to do weren't able to do."
The game seemed to be made by the second half. Holding on to the lead for only 26 seconds throughout the entire game, the Rams were being out played.
By the end, CSU shot 26% from 3 and had 17 turnovers, leading to a season-high for the statistic.
But with losses come new points of focus needed to be corrected before the Rams venture deeper into conference play.
"They sped us up a little bit, especially in the first half," Nique Clifford said. "We had way too many turnovers over the course of the game and so they just pressured us, and we needed to be more physical. Play at our pace, and when we did, we got really good looks, not all of them failed."
Getting into the position of taking shots and getting rebounds becomes a familiar tune for the team.
One player who showed out with his contribution was sophomore Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. One rebound away from a double-double, the young player continues to be an important playmaker for the team.
"Every game I expect to go hard," Crocker-Johnson said. "I mean, sometimes rebounds will be there for me, sometimes I have to go get them, but it really depends on how the ball comes my way. Basically, I have to be more consistent on getting more rebounds and that higher number."
Staying consistent is a goal for everyone on the team. Consistency in play, in energy and in their defensive strategy.
For Medved, consistency will be the saving grace of conference play with the Mountain West comprising of many difficult teams. After all, playing a team known by the other has its advantages and disadvantages.
In that scope, not a single point was scored until four minutes into the game.
"There was kind of a lid on the basket for both teams," Medved said. "Both teams know each other so well they come out with a game plan. That was the case for both teams for a little bit. But I think sometimes what happens is you let your frustration on offense start to affect your defense. Then, we played with less force on offense and that frustration really hurt us."
Ending the game on a 9-0 run, the Rams held some form of redemption at the end. Getting 11 points off the fast break and 35 rebounds, their effort was not entirely enough to redeem the game.
Remembering the losses as well as the wins rounds out a team for success. And the season continues. One loss does not define a team.
"I think Ethan (Morton) said it best in the locker room after the game," Clifford said. "It's a long season, you can't hang your head after one loss. You have to learn from it and move on to the next game. Of course it's frustrating and we didn't play as good as we know we could play. So, we have to take the things we didn't do well and apply it to the next game. It's a long season, and we're going to bounce back."
However, keeping with the energy and playing aggressive even when faced with a familiar enemy is of utmost importance.
Coming off a win against Nevada on the 21st, Colorado State lost its conference home opener hosting New Mexico. The game ended 76-68 on Saturday as the team awaits their next road game against San Jose State on the 31st.
"It was obviously disappointing today," coach Niko Medved said. "It was a great opportunity for us coming off the win at Nevada, playing an excellent team here at home. We weren't able to assert ourselves at all for any long period of time. We made a run in the first half and then after that, all the things we wanted to do weren't able to do."
The game seemed to be made by the second half. Holding on to the lead for only 26 seconds throughout the entire game, the Rams were being out played.
By the end, CSU shot 26% from 3 and had 17 turnovers, leading to a season-high for the statistic.
But with losses come new points of focus needed to be corrected before the Rams venture deeper into conference play.
"They sped us up a little bit, especially in the first half," Nique Clifford said. "We had way too many turnovers over the course of the game and so they just pressured us, and we needed to be more physical. Play at our pace, and when we did, we got really good looks, not all of them failed."
Getting into the position of taking shots and getting rebounds becomes a familiar tune for the team.
One player who showed out with his contribution was sophomore Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. One rebound away from a double-double, the young player continues to be an important playmaker for the team.
"Every game I expect to go hard," Crocker-Johnson said. "I mean, sometimes rebounds will be there for me, sometimes I have to go get them, but it really depends on how the ball comes my way. Basically, I have to be more consistent on getting more rebounds and that higher number."
Staying consistent is a goal for everyone on the team. Consistency in play, in energy and in their defensive strategy.
For Medved, consistency will be the saving grace of conference play with the Mountain West comprising of many difficult teams. After all, playing a team known by the other has its advantages and disadvantages.
In that scope, not a single point was scored until four minutes into the game.
"There was kind of a lid on the basket for both teams," Medved said. "Both teams know each other so well they come out with a game plan. That was the case for both teams for a little bit. But I think sometimes what happens is you let your frustration on offense start to affect your defense. Then, we played with less force on offense and that frustration really hurt us."
Ending the game on a 9-0 run, the Rams held some form of redemption at the end. Getting 11 points off the fast break and 35 rebounds, their effort was not entirely enough to redeem the game.
Remembering the losses as well as the wins rounds out a team for success. And the season continues. One loss does not define a team.
"I think Ethan (Morton) said it best in the locker room after the game," Clifford said. "It's a long season, you can't hang your head after one loss. You have to learn from it and move on to the next game. Of course it's frustrating and we didn't play as good as we know we could play. So, we have to take the things we didn't do well and apply it to the next game. It's a long season, and we're going to bounce back."
Team Stats
UNM
CSU
FG%
.492
.450
3FG%
.467
.261
FT%
.778
1.000
RB
32
35
TO
12
17
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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Monday, August 04
Behind the White Board - Ken DeWeese
Monday, August 04