Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, March 14
Las Vegas, NV
7:00 PM
Colorado State
24-9,10-8Mountain West
85
vs
78
Nevada
26-7,13-5Mountain West
1
2
F
Colorado St.
43
42
85
Nevada
33
45
78
Rams Take out Second-Seeded Nevada
3/14/2024 10:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Complete game comes with five in double figures
LAS VEGAS – Maybe not the style of play exactly, but the performance was exactly what the team needed.
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In Thursday's quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament against No. 23 Nevada – the top seed in the draw – Colorado State's men's basketball team executed better than it has as of late, and did it across the board, in an 85-78 victory.
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The Rams' stars shined. The bench was clutch. The persistence was precise in a game which was marred by whistles throughout. There were 26 fouls called in the first half, leaving multiple players on both sides in foul trouble, a theme creating a storyline to follow for both coaches.
"When we were playing our best basketball early in the season, that's kind of what you saw from this group. That's kind of what we do, and that's what happened tonight," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Again, we share the ball. We move. We get multiple guys that can score, and that makes you harder to defend. Obviously, I think we have the best guard in the country (Isaiah Stevens), so that helps a lot. It makes me look like I know what I'm doing at times because he's so great, and he's such a great -- he just buys in. He's the one that sets the table. He's the one that buys into playing this way and playing unselfish. He encourages the other guys to keep staying aggressive.
"When you have leadership like that, that sets the tone."
Colorado State played on and played through. By the end of the night, the Rams had Joel Scott and Patrick Cartier on the bench having fouled out, Tavi Jackson saddled with four. Nevada's Nick Davison also exited with a fifth in a game where 50 fouls were called.
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For those who remained, the idea of playing tight defense and staying on the floor require extra care. The athletic Nique Clifford made his presence known on both ends, skying high for dunks, rebounds and even one of his blocked shots.
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He has the ability to impact a game in so many different ways. Against the Wolf Pack, he chose all of the above. He stuffed his stat sheet with 14 points. He led the team with 10 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. He also contributed five assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
"He just is so versatile on both ends of the floor. He is one of those guys that can come out of nowhere and make a play," Medved said. "This time of year you've got to make plays if you want to win, and he sure made a lot of them tonight."
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Stevens was savvy with his decision making as the offense clicked. Medved said he told his veteran playmaker at the pregame meal not to look at the bench because he wasn't going to call any plays. The reason being he wanted his team fast, and letting Stevens run the show without looking to the side would allow him to cut loose.
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Stevens would score 15 in the game and delivered seven assists.
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Not to be left out, the Rams' bench played a huge role. For the second game in a row, a reserve provided an early spark in the game, with Jalen Lake producing 15 first-half points on perfect shooting, including a pair of 3s. He finished with a team-best 16, his final point  being the team's final point.
"Yeah, for sure I would say that was probably the most complete game I've played in a while. Just continued to stay consistent knowing that my teammates have the belief in me, knowing the coaching staff have belief in me," Lake said. "That gives me the confidence, so it was great to see some shots go down on the offensive side and then sticking with it on defense as well."
For the second night in a row, Joe Palmer produced clutch play, adding 12 points to follow a 14-point effort from the opening round. It was the second time this season for him to have back-to-back games in double figures, the first occurring before the calendar flipped.
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Everything added up to what has made the Rams a good team this season, one which now has 24 victories – the second-most in a season in Medved's six-year tenure – and has reached the tournament semifinal for the second time in three seasons.
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There have been alterations made throughout the season, but this was the best the Rams have looked in some time.
"I think it's been a while. Particularly on offense," Medved said. "It's been a weird season that way that the first couple of months of the season we were one of the best offenses in the country. Then we struggled a lot just shooting the ball.
"I think all the other metrics offensively we were pretty good, but our defense took a massive jump. You know, tonight it was interesting. I told the guys; I'm not going to call any plays. We're just going to go."
The Rams are now 12-0 on the season when scoring more than 80 points. They did so in large part by shooting clean across the charts – 50.0 percent from the floor, 35.0 behind the arc and 73.3 at the line. The Rams had five players in double figures for the first time since Feb. 3, when they did so against Fresno State.
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Defensively, they forced a clean Nevada team into 15 turnovers, 11 in the first half. While Jarod Lucas finished with 18 points, both Clifford and Lake took turns trying to make him take tough shots. He just happens to make those too.
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When Clifford was finally able to swat away a 3 on the wing, that felt rather good.
"Yeah, it always feels good to get a block on somebody. Like Lake was saying, he's a good player," Clifford said. "He can really shoot it. You just have to be dialed in and make it tough on him, try to make him shoot as tough of shots as possible, and I feel like we did that for the most part, but he's a tough shot maker, so credit to him."
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Having lost the two regular-season matchups (creating a three-game losing skid to Nevada), the Rams were more than happy to exact a bit of revenge. The Rams held a 15-point margin with 12:33 remaining in the game, and while the Wolf Pack never made it a one-possession game, every time they made a charge, the Rams had an answer.
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They also have a berth in the conference semifinals. And even Medved let slip he believes an upcoming invite to the NCAA Tournament and a return to the style of play which made them such a national darling earlier in the season.
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In Thursday's quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament against No. 23 Nevada – the top seed in the draw – Colorado State's men's basketball team executed better than it has as of late, and did it across the board, in an 85-78 victory.
Â
The Rams' stars shined. The bench was clutch. The persistence was precise in a game which was marred by whistles throughout. There were 26 fouls called in the first half, leaving multiple players on both sides in foul trouble, a theme creating a storyline to follow for both coaches.
"When we were playing our best basketball early in the season, that's kind of what you saw from this group. That's kind of what we do, and that's what happened tonight," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Again, we share the ball. We move. We get multiple guys that can score, and that makes you harder to defend. Obviously, I think we have the best guard in the country (Isaiah Stevens), so that helps a lot. It makes me look like I know what I'm doing at times because he's so great, and he's such a great -- he just buys in. He's the one that sets the table. He's the one that buys into playing this way and playing unselfish. He encourages the other guys to keep staying aggressive.
"When you have leadership like that, that sets the tone."
Colorado State played on and played through. By the end of the night, the Rams had Joel Scott and Patrick Cartier on the bench having fouled out, Tavi Jackson saddled with four. Nevada's Nick Davison also exited with a fifth in a game where 50 fouls were called.
Â
For those who remained, the idea of playing tight defense and staying on the floor require extra care. The athletic Nique Clifford made his presence known on both ends, skying high for dunks, rebounds and even one of his blocked shots.
Â
He has the ability to impact a game in so many different ways. Against the Wolf Pack, he chose all of the above. He stuffed his stat sheet with 14 points. He led the team with 10 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. He also contributed five assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals.
"He just is so versatile on both ends of the floor. He is one of those guys that can come out of nowhere and make a play," Medved said. "This time of year you've got to make plays if you want to win, and he sure made a lot of them tonight."
Â
Stevens was savvy with his decision making as the offense clicked. Medved said he told his veteran playmaker at the pregame meal not to look at the bench because he wasn't going to call any plays. The reason being he wanted his team fast, and letting Stevens run the show without looking to the side would allow him to cut loose.
Â
Stevens would score 15 in the game and delivered seven assists.
Â
Not to be left out, the Rams' bench played a huge role. For the second game in a row, a reserve provided an early spark in the game, with Jalen Lake producing 15 first-half points on perfect shooting, including a pair of 3s. He finished with a team-best 16, his final point  being the team's final point.
"Yeah, for sure I would say that was probably the most complete game I've played in a while. Just continued to stay consistent knowing that my teammates have the belief in me, knowing the coaching staff have belief in me," Lake said. "That gives me the confidence, so it was great to see some shots go down on the offensive side and then sticking with it on defense as well."
For the second night in a row, Joe Palmer produced clutch play, adding 12 points to follow a 14-point effort from the opening round. It was the second time this season for him to have back-to-back games in double figures, the first occurring before the calendar flipped.
Â
Everything added up to what has made the Rams a good team this season, one which now has 24 victories – the second-most in a season in Medved's six-year tenure – and has reached the tournament semifinal for the second time in three seasons.
Â
There have been alterations made throughout the season, but this was the best the Rams have looked in some time.
"I think it's been a while. Particularly on offense," Medved said. "It's been a weird season that way that the first couple of months of the season we were one of the best offenses in the country. Then we struggled a lot just shooting the ball.
"I think all the other metrics offensively we were pretty good, but our defense took a massive jump. You know, tonight it was interesting. I told the guys; I'm not going to call any plays. We're just going to go."
The Rams are now 12-0 on the season when scoring more than 80 points. They did so in large part by shooting clean across the charts – 50.0 percent from the floor, 35.0 behind the arc and 73.3 at the line. The Rams had five players in double figures for the first time since Feb. 3, when they did so against Fresno State.
Â
Defensively, they forced a clean Nevada team into 15 turnovers, 11 in the first half. While Jarod Lucas finished with 18 points, both Clifford and Lake took turns trying to make him take tough shots. He just happens to make those too.
Â
When Clifford was finally able to swat away a 3 on the wing, that felt rather good.
"Yeah, it always feels good to get a block on somebody. Like Lake was saying, he's a good player," Clifford said. "He can really shoot it. You just have to be dialed in and make it tough on him, try to make him shoot as tough of shots as possible, and I feel like we did that for the most part, but he's a tough shot maker, so credit to him."
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Having lost the two regular-season matchups (creating a three-game losing skid to Nevada), the Rams were more than happy to exact a bit of revenge. The Rams held a 15-point margin with 12:33 remaining in the game, and while the Wolf Pack never made it a one-possession game, every time they made a charge, the Rams had an answer.
Â
They also have a berth in the conference semifinals. And even Medved let slip he believes an upcoming invite to the NCAA Tournament and a return to the style of play which made them such a national darling earlier in the season.
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Team Stats
CSU
Nevada
FG%
.500
.479
3FG%
.350
.333
FT%
.733
.730
RB
33
31
TO
9
15
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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