Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, February 9
Fort Collins, CO
7:30 PM
Colorado State
19-5,7-4Mountain West
66
vs
47
San Jose State
8-16,1-10Mountain West
1
2
F
San Jose St.
19
28
47
Colorado St.
38
28
66
First-Half Surge Vaults Rams to Victory
2/9/2024 10:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Defensive effort take hold against San Jose State
Unlike a wife, the final score will forget.
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Win comfortably – like Colorado State's men's basketball team did Friday night against San Jose State at Moby Arena – and all ills from the past are forgotten.
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Start the game 1-of-5 from the field with a turnover mixed in and a 66-47 final doesn't care. Let the past be the past. It happened. Move on.
Â
Let bygones be bygones and become baskets. Forgive and forget amid a stellar defensive performance and the shooting stroke returning to form, the essence of a 19-4 separating run in the first half. Let the bench get involved, get out and run and roll to a fourth consecutive victory to move to 19-5 overall, 7-4 in Mountain West play.
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It's all good. The Rams were for the most part on Friday, as one would expect a conference challenger should be at home against a team sharing the cellar.
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Even a sluggish offensive second half – it was the first time in conference play the Rams didn't surpass their first-half tally -- wasn't cause for alarm with the way the Rams played defensively. For much of the game, it was accomplished with a physical mentality and forcing the Spartans to take contested attempts late in the shot clock much of the game.
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"I think it starts with transition defense; it's huge," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Taking them out of their early actions that they like to run, and hopefully you're making them play in a one-on-one situation or an isolation situation at the end of the clock, and I thought we were able to do that a ton tonight. That is the goal. It's difficult to score that way over and over. I thought our guys did a really good job. Their communication was good."
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There was no need to push anybody to the couch when the Rams were pushing folks around in the paint.
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Colorado State limited San Jose State to just 19 first-half points, matching a season low first accomplished in the win over Creighton. The Spartans shot just 32.8 percent from the field in the game, a mere 27.6 percent in the first 20 minutes.
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Medved said the inside presence came more defensively than offensively, but Joel Scott likes the message the team is sending.
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"A big part of our identity is to try to be physical on the defensive end and hold teams under those marks, and tonight we got that done," Joel Scott said. "In the second half, our offense wasn't quite clicking the way we want it to – they threw us off a bit with that zone – but our defense held strong. We forced them into tough shots late in the shot clock, and that's what got us the chance to run a little bit more and get our offensive flowing a little bit."
Â
The Rams did most of their damage in the paint, holding a 38-22 edge there, and the bench performance was strong, both facets led by the play of Mbemba.
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The backup post matched a career best with 13 points, making all five of his shots from the field. He had 10 of those in the first half and accomplished it all in less than 15 minutes of work. A confidence boost for him, for sure, saying it was just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities presented.
Â
"It shows we prepared for the team, and the better we are prepared, the more confident we are in the game … I have no rush doing anything," Mbemba said, adding three rebounds. "It comes with the flow of the game. It means a lot because we won the game. We won the right thing operation-wise.
Â
"I have restricted minutes, so I always try to do everything I can when I come in on the court. It worked out today, because obviously, we won the game."
Â
Because of the work inside, the Rams didn't have to rely on the perimeter, making 6-of-17 3s. Scott aided the paint disparity by contributing 12 points, the only Ram with 10 attempts in the game. Nique Clifford worked his way to a double-double with 11 each of points and rebounds, while Isaiah Stevens fell a point short of one with nine points and 11 assists.
Â
The final result was what the Rams wanted. It was impressive, because once they built a strong lead, they kept a double-digit advantage.
Â
The start was what it was in both halves, but at the end of the night, the desired result was produced, and nothing is ever wrong with a win.
Â
Â
Win comfortably – like Colorado State's men's basketball team did Friday night against San Jose State at Moby Arena – and all ills from the past are forgotten.
Â
Start the game 1-of-5 from the field with a turnover mixed in and a 66-47 final doesn't care. Let the past be the past. It happened. Move on.
Â
Let bygones be bygones and become baskets. Forgive and forget amid a stellar defensive performance and the shooting stroke returning to form, the essence of a 19-4 separating run in the first half. Let the bench get involved, get out and run and roll to a fourth consecutive victory to move to 19-5 overall, 7-4 in Mountain West play.
Â
It's all good. The Rams were for the most part on Friday, as one would expect a conference challenger should be at home against a team sharing the cellar.
Â
Even a sluggish offensive second half – it was the first time in conference play the Rams didn't surpass their first-half tally -- wasn't cause for alarm with the way the Rams played defensively. For much of the game, it was accomplished with a physical mentality and forcing the Spartans to take contested attempts late in the shot clock much of the game.
Â
"I think it starts with transition defense; it's huge," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Taking them out of their early actions that they like to run, and hopefully you're making them play in a one-on-one situation or an isolation situation at the end of the clock, and I thought we were able to do that a ton tonight. That is the goal. It's difficult to score that way over and over. I thought our guys did a really good job. Their communication was good."
Â
There was no need to push anybody to the couch when the Rams were pushing folks around in the paint.
Â
Colorado State limited San Jose State to just 19 first-half points, matching a season low first accomplished in the win over Creighton. The Spartans shot just 32.8 percent from the field in the game, a mere 27.6 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Â
Medved said the inside presence came more defensively than offensively, but Joel Scott likes the message the team is sending.
Â
"A big part of our identity is to try to be physical on the defensive end and hold teams under those marks, and tonight we got that done," Joel Scott said. "In the second half, our offense wasn't quite clicking the way we want it to – they threw us off a bit with that zone – but our defense held strong. We forced them into tough shots late in the shot clock, and that's what got us the chance to run a little bit more and get our offensive flowing a little bit."
Â
The Rams did most of their damage in the paint, holding a 38-22 edge there, and the bench performance was strong, both facets led by the play of Mbemba.
Â
The backup post matched a career best with 13 points, making all five of his shots from the field. He had 10 of those in the first half and accomplished it all in less than 15 minutes of work. A confidence boost for him, for sure, saying it was just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities presented.
Â
"It shows we prepared for the team, and the better we are prepared, the more confident we are in the game … I have no rush doing anything," Mbemba said, adding three rebounds. "It comes with the flow of the game. It means a lot because we won the game. We won the right thing operation-wise.
Â
"I have restricted minutes, so I always try to do everything I can when I come in on the court. It worked out today, because obviously, we won the game."
Â
Because of the work inside, the Rams didn't have to rely on the perimeter, making 6-of-17 3s. Scott aided the paint disparity by contributing 12 points, the only Ram with 10 attempts in the game. Nique Clifford worked his way to a double-double with 11 each of points and rebounds, while Isaiah Stevens fell a point short of one with nine points and 11 assists.
Â
The final result was what the Rams wanted. It was impressive, because once they built a strong lead, they kept a double-digit advantage.
Â
The start was what it was in both halves, but at the end of the night, the desired result was produced, and nothing is ever wrong with a win.
Â
Team Stats
SJSU
CSU
FG%
.328
.490
3FG%
.286
.353
FT%
.500
.833
RB
34
34
TO
12
11
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ Men's BasketballG
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