Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 11
Fort Collins, CO
2:00 PM
Colorado State
10-6,4-1Mountain West
84
vs
62
UNLV
9-7,3-2Mountain West
1
2
F
UNLV
35
27
62
Colorado St.
46
38
84
Rams Build Way to Three-Game Streak
1/11/2025 4:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mbemba reaches career best with 22
Keep building. During workouts. Take it into games.
Colorado State is just going with the flow it has started to create, to be a bit more connected, a tad more precise, a measure of increased efficiency and resiliency each time on the court. What the Rams have built after Saturday's 84-62 win over UNLV at Moby Arena is a three-game win streak in Mountain West play.
The team now sits at 10-6 overall, 4-1 in the conference standings, moving a step head of the Rebels with the outcome.
The first half was an offensive flurry, the second 20 minutes settling into more of a defensive tone the Rams would like to set. They established Rashaan Mbemba in the paint early, and throughout the game, Nique Clifford read what the team needed from him in the moment.
And after entering the week as the worst shooting team in the league behind the arc, they have found their stroke from deep these past two games at home.
"All the things we work on at practice are starting to translate and show. We're starting to play better together," Clifford said. "Just trusting each other, knowing each other's strengths. That takes time, especially with a whole new group that we had coming in this summer. From then to where we are now. It's crazy."
Each victory in the streak has been marked by at least a 20-point margin of victory. They're not only taking advantage of matchups, they're making the most of opportunities to put teams away when.
The victories have been a bit louder than they might have expected, but gaining a voice has been part of the uptick in performance.
"It's connectivity, but also just like we get our game so comfortable, but we're also holding each other accountable for things we don't do," Mbemba said. "It also makes us get better. The coaches don't have to step in for everything."
Mbemba finished the night with a career-best 22 points, getting three early buckets down low as the game started, then proceeded to plant himself in position throughout the afternoon. His transition from role player to starter hit a snag with an injury which kept him out of games early, even limited at practice at time.
The compliment to it all was the team's ability to spread out the UNLV defense by hitting 8-of-12 from 3 in the first half as Kyan Evans set a tone with two early strikes, finishing 12-of-24 in the game.
It allowed the Rams to build a double-digit cushion heading into the break, one they maintained most of the early going of the second half when the scoring pace slowed down. About the midpoint, UNLV hit a spurt where it had cut the lead down to six points, leading Medved to all a timeout.
Coming out, Clifford knew the assignment. He started a 7-0 run for the Rams with an assist to Ethan Morton, then came back with a 3 and a layup to set the tone back in the host's favor.
"I knew we just needed to end their run right there," Clifford said. "They had a little bit of momentum there, so I was just going to try to come out and set the tone any way I could, whether that's defensively or if we needed a bucket. Just trying to read and feel the game. It just happened to go my way, and I made the right play, and we started to rally from there, so it was a good little stretch."
CSU coach Niko Medved equated the first half to an "NBA pick-up game" with the free-flowing offense. What set the Rams up for success was getting back to their defensive roots, limiting the Rebels to just 31.3 percent from the field in the second half.
It wasn't so much a change in approach as a rededication to task.
"At some point, some team had to make the decision they were going to play some defense," Medved said. "Coming out of halftime, I thought that's what we did. We fouled a little bit early, but I thought we played a little more physical. Once our defense started to settle in, I thought that's what turned it."
This has been a good little stretch, each leg of it a bit different than the previous because contributions have come across the board depending on what the opponent dictates.
Saturday, both Mbemba and Clifford finished with 22 points as Clifford stretched out his stat line with a career-best seven assists, adding five rebounds and turning the ball over just once. Jalen Lake heated up in the second half to the tune of 13, leading the Rams with six rebounds as they held the edge on the glass (35-28). Evans closed with 11.
The next stretch takes the team on the road, with a Tuesday date at San Diego State, traditionally one of the tougher places to play. The team won't feel welcome in Laramie, Wyo., a few days later.
Medved's plan was to enjoy this win with a steak, then get ready.
Also stick to the plan of getting better because the Rams aren't the only team improving.
"To be honest, other than CU, we've played pretty good away from here," Medved said. "We know how hard it's going to be, but we're up to the challenge. We'll go fight and then move on to the next one. I really like how this team is coming together. I like how we're wired. We just have to keep getting better because everyone else will too."
Colorado State is just going with the flow it has started to create, to be a bit more connected, a tad more precise, a measure of increased efficiency and resiliency each time on the court. What the Rams have built after Saturday's 84-62 win over UNLV at Moby Arena is a three-game win streak in Mountain West play.
The team now sits at 10-6 overall, 4-1 in the conference standings, moving a step head of the Rebels with the outcome.
The first half was an offensive flurry, the second 20 minutes settling into more of a defensive tone the Rams would like to set. They established Rashaan Mbemba in the paint early, and throughout the game, Nique Clifford read what the team needed from him in the moment.
And after entering the week as the worst shooting team in the league behind the arc, they have found their stroke from deep these past two games at home.
"All the things we work on at practice are starting to translate and show. We're starting to play better together," Clifford said. "Just trusting each other, knowing each other's strengths. That takes time, especially with a whole new group that we had coming in this summer. From then to where we are now. It's crazy."
Each victory in the streak has been marked by at least a 20-point margin of victory. They're not only taking advantage of matchups, they're making the most of opportunities to put teams away when.
The victories have been a bit louder than they might have expected, but gaining a voice has been part of the uptick in performance.
"It's connectivity, but also just like we get our game so comfortable, but we're also holding each other accountable for things we don't do," Mbemba said. "It also makes us get better. The coaches don't have to step in for everything."
Mbemba finished the night with a career-best 22 points, getting three early buckets down low as the game started, then proceeded to plant himself in position throughout the afternoon. His transition from role player to starter hit a snag with an injury which kept him out of games early, even limited at practice at time.
The compliment to it all was the team's ability to spread out the UNLV defense by hitting 8-of-12 from 3 in the first half as Kyan Evans set a tone with two early strikes, finishing 12-of-24 in the game.
It allowed the Rams to build a double-digit cushion heading into the break, one they maintained most of the early going of the second half when the scoring pace slowed down. About the midpoint, UNLV hit a spurt where it had cut the lead down to six points, leading Medved to all a timeout.
Coming out, Clifford knew the assignment. He started a 7-0 run for the Rams with an assist to Ethan Morton, then came back with a 3 and a layup to set the tone back in the host's favor.
"I knew we just needed to end their run right there," Clifford said. "They had a little bit of momentum there, so I was just going to try to come out and set the tone any way I could, whether that's defensively or if we needed a bucket. Just trying to read and feel the game. It just happened to go my way, and I made the right play, and we started to rally from there, so it was a good little stretch."
CSU coach Niko Medved equated the first half to an "NBA pick-up game" with the free-flowing offense. What set the Rams up for success was getting back to their defensive roots, limiting the Rebels to just 31.3 percent from the field in the second half.
It wasn't so much a change in approach as a rededication to task.
"At some point, some team had to make the decision they were going to play some defense," Medved said. "Coming out of halftime, I thought that's what we did. We fouled a little bit early, but I thought we played a little more physical. Once our defense started to settle in, I thought that's what turned it."
This has been a good little stretch, each leg of it a bit different than the previous because contributions have come across the board depending on what the opponent dictates.
Saturday, both Mbemba and Clifford finished with 22 points as Clifford stretched out his stat line with a career-best seven assists, adding five rebounds and turning the ball over just once. Jalen Lake heated up in the second half to the tune of 13, leading the Rams with six rebounds as they held the edge on the glass (35-28). Evans closed with 11.
The next stretch takes the team on the road, with a Tuesday date at San Diego State, traditionally one of the tougher places to play. The team won't feel welcome in Laramie, Wyo., a few days later.
Medved's plan was to enjoy this win with a steak, then get ready.
Also stick to the plan of getting better because the Rams aren't the only team improving.
"To be honest, other than CU, we've played pretty good away from here," Medved said. "We know how hard it's going to be, but we're up to the challenge. We'll go fight and then move on to the next one. I really like how this team is coming together. I like how we're wired. We just have to keep getting better because everyone else will too."
Team Stats
UNLV
CSU
FG%
.417
.566
3FG%
.294
.500
FT%
.636
.800
RB
28
35
TO
10
13
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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/ 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