Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Laramie, WY
2:00 PM
Colorado State
79
at
63
Wyoming
Rams Respond In Every Way in Rivalry Win
1/18/2025 5:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Clifford produces eighth double-double of season
In the buildup to the game, Wyoming first-year coach Sundance Wicks gave his team a bit of a history lesson, as like him, most of them hadn't played the rivalry game with Colorado State.
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Wicks' point was to show his team the games are battles down to the end, with particular interest given to last year's contest at the Arena Auditorium, where the Cowboys posted a wild rally in the final stages of regulation and eventually posted a win in overtime. A team going nowhere beat a team headed to the NCAA Tournament, the results which build on the lore of rivalry games.
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History tells everybody the games at the AA are tight: Of the previous 13 games held at the facility, all but one was decided by nine or fewer points.
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On Saturday, Colorado State coach Niko Medved filled the role of guest lecturer, reminding all in attendance that regardless of expected outcomes, there are outliers. Saturday's 79-63 victory was a prime example.
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Forget what happened last year, even last week. Let others talk, you play. Right the wrongs you can, and at the end of the day the Rams produced a third Mountain West road win, one more than they had all of last season.
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"Ultimately, it's part of the fun of college athletics. We talked about that," Medved said, his team now 11-7 overall, 5-2 in conference play. "We talk about how much it means to fans, to legacies. A guy like Jalen Lake has been up here and hasn't won. At the end of the day, the game is settled on the court. The players decide this stuff. I just thought we didn't want to focus on (the talk), we just wanted to focus on what we had to do."
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First off was establish what they felt was an advantage inside. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson took that upon himself, getting good early looks near the basket and cashing them all in. Wyoming adjusted, and while his opportunities were more limited down the stretch, he finished with 11 points after hitting his first four shots.
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In the game, Colorado State scored 38 points in the paint, which would help set up some things outside, and the physical approach was for both sides of the floor.
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"Me and coach had a conversation before the game, be the more physical person the court, just dominate any way," Crocker-Johnson said. "Just getting those easy opportunities to set the tone was good.
Â
"We knew our game plan was to not let them get easy 3s, no easy looks and make everything difficult. Tonight, we just executed our game plan keep playing the way were supposed to play and eventually play good ball."
From Clifford's perspective, Crocker-Johnson's early play set a tone the team followed. In the first half, the Rams used it to pave the way to a double-digit lead, though it was one the Cowboys would trim to eight by the break.
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The Rams would eventually work their way back up to a lead in the teens, and just as it appeared the game was in their flow, the host took advantage of CSU mistakes and Obi Agbim hit a 3 (part of a 26-point night) to cut the lead to 3 with 13:58 remaining.
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Forget historical perspective. Medved and the Rams wanted a rewrite.
Â
"It's happened this year. Teams are going to make runs. In the timeout, we had two really sloppy turnovers, they made a 3, but I thought the mindset was great," Medved said. "Nique right there said, 'hey man, alright, no more runs, this is our run here.' I thought we came out and did that and realized the home team wasn't going to lay over."
Â
The Rams' answer was a 12-2 run to restore what they built, and advantage they would play with the remainder of the game. Clifford played a big role, as has been the case this season, posting his eight double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, adding a team-best five assists for good measure.
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The amazing comeback put forth by Wyoming a year ago was not to be repeated.
Â
"We owed them from last year, so we had to come out and get this one," Clifford said. "A lot of people were telling me before the game, we just want to come out and prove people wrong."
Â
It was just one of a multitude of responses. Not just the run or history, but the last time out. The bench didn't contribute in a road loss at San Diego State but came back with 22 points on Saturday as Bowen Born scored eight, Ethan Morton seven.
Â
And Lake got his first win in Laramie, scoring 10 points.
Â
"Coach was saying they were talking and everything," Crocker-Johnson said. "We just had to stay together, and the more together team will win the game."
Â
Another aspect of the history lesson.
Â
Â
Wicks' point was to show his team the games are battles down to the end, with particular interest given to last year's contest at the Arena Auditorium, where the Cowboys posted a wild rally in the final stages of regulation and eventually posted a win in overtime. A team going nowhere beat a team headed to the NCAA Tournament, the results which build on the lore of rivalry games.
Â
History tells everybody the games at the AA are tight: Of the previous 13 games held at the facility, all but one was decided by nine or fewer points.
Â
On Saturday, Colorado State coach Niko Medved filled the role of guest lecturer, reminding all in attendance that regardless of expected outcomes, there are outliers. Saturday's 79-63 victory was a prime example.
Â
Forget what happened last year, even last week. Let others talk, you play. Right the wrongs you can, and at the end of the day the Rams produced a third Mountain West road win, one more than they had all of last season.
Â
"Ultimately, it's part of the fun of college athletics. We talked about that," Medved said, his team now 11-7 overall, 5-2 in conference play. "We talk about how much it means to fans, to legacies. A guy like Jalen Lake has been up here and hasn't won. At the end of the day, the game is settled on the court. The players decide this stuff. I just thought we didn't want to focus on (the talk), we just wanted to focus on what we had to do."
Â
First off was establish what they felt was an advantage inside. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson took that upon himself, getting good early looks near the basket and cashing them all in. Wyoming adjusted, and while his opportunities were more limited down the stretch, he finished with 11 points after hitting his first four shots.
Â
In the game, Colorado State scored 38 points in the paint, which would help set up some things outside, and the physical approach was for both sides of the floor.
Â
"Me and coach had a conversation before the game, be the more physical person the court, just dominate any way," Crocker-Johnson said. "Just getting those easy opportunities to set the tone was good.
Â
"We knew our game plan was to not let them get easy 3s, no easy looks and make everything difficult. Tonight, we just executed our game plan keep playing the way were supposed to play and eventually play good ball."
From Clifford's perspective, Crocker-Johnson's early play set a tone the team followed. In the first half, the Rams used it to pave the way to a double-digit lead, though it was one the Cowboys would trim to eight by the break.
Â
The Rams would eventually work their way back up to a lead in the teens, and just as it appeared the game was in their flow, the host took advantage of CSU mistakes and Obi Agbim hit a 3 (part of a 26-point night) to cut the lead to 3 with 13:58 remaining.
Â
Forget historical perspective. Medved and the Rams wanted a rewrite.
Â
"It's happened this year. Teams are going to make runs. In the timeout, we had two really sloppy turnovers, they made a 3, but I thought the mindset was great," Medved said. "Nique right there said, 'hey man, alright, no more runs, this is our run here.' I thought we came out and did that and realized the home team wasn't going to lay over."
Â
The Rams' answer was a 12-2 run to restore what they built, and advantage they would play with the remainder of the game. Clifford played a big role, as has been the case this season, posting his eight double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, adding a team-best five assists for good measure.
Â
The amazing comeback put forth by Wyoming a year ago was not to be repeated.
Â
"We owed them from last year, so we had to come out and get this one," Clifford said. "A lot of people were telling me before the game, we just want to come out and prove people wrong."
Â
It was just one of a multitude of responses. Not just the run or history, but the last time out. The bench didn't contribute in a road loss at San Diego State but came back with 22 points on Saturday as Bowen Born scored eight, Ethan Morton seven.
Â
And Lake got his first win in Laramie, scoring 10 points.
Â
"Coach was saying they were talking and everything," Crocker-Johnson said. "We just had to stay together, and the more together team will win the game."
Â
Another aspect of the history lesson.
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Players Mentioned
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