Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, November 9
Fort Collins, CO
4:00 p.m.
Colorado State
2-0,0-0Mountain West
97
vs
74
Omaha
0-3,0-0Summit League
1
2
F
Omaha
38
36
74
Colorado St.
48
49
97
Rams Find Multiple Options in Victory
11/9/2025 7:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jorgensen resets career mark in scoring
After Kyle Jorgensen scored a career-best 15 points in a season-opening win over Incarnate Word, first-year Colorado State coach Ali Farokhmanesh had plenty of nice things to say about the true sophomore and his improvement over the offseason.
After Sunday's 97-74 victory over Omaha, where Jorgensen upped the ante in a 25-point performance accentuated by nine rebounds, Farokhmanesh is willing to update his vocabulary accordingly.
"If that career high just keeps going up, I'll add whatever I need to. But, yeah, he played great," Farokhmanesh said. "Their ball-screen coverage, we thought we could get him shots, and we did. We talk about this all the time. It's not the amount of shots that you shoot. It's how efficient you are, and you scored 25 points on 12 shots only. That's impressive. That's hard to do.
"I think that's what we've always been good at here, is the level of efficiency that they score the ball with. Kyle could have shot 10 more shots if he wanted to, the way he was playing the game, but that's why he's such a good teammate, too. He didn't force a single shot. Honestly, there wasn't a shot they shot all night that I have any qualms about. He probably should have shot some more, to be honest."
The coach warned his team Omaha would be ready for the environment at Moby Arena, particularly with a trio of players returning for a program which won regular season and tournament titles in the Summit League a year ago. The Mavericks were not easy to chase away due to Tony Osburn's 3-point barrage, but with a late surge the Rams entered the break with a 48-38 edge. After extending the lead to 14 in the second half, the Mavericks made another push, only for the Rams to push back harder.
It was in the second half when Jorgensen added 15 to reach his career night. He's starting because Rashaan Mbemba is injured. He's excelling through a mix of attitude and amplifying lessons learned as a freshman.
"I would just say mostly physicality, just being able to get to my spot and get to where I want to go," he said. "I've always been a pretty good finisher, but it's kind of that strength aspect that hasn't been there. So, this offseason, the healthy offseason really helped with just my confidence overall, too. Being able to go to work every day and just trust myself."
He was 8-of-12 from the floor, hitting two of his five 3-point attempts, and after missing his first free throw in the game, made his next seven. Of his rebounds, three came on the offensive glass as the Rams had more offensive boards (14) than the guest had on the defensive glass (13).
Farokhmanesh noted the improvement may seem striking to some who only see it on game days. For him, it's been gradual and consistent, a bit more here, a tad added there as the summer days blended into the school year.
"I think he just showed up every day, and I think it's as simple as that. The consistency with how he showed up to practice, how he showed up to the weight room, how he took care of his nutrition," Farokhmanesh said. "It's those 1% differences that you don't necessarily see unless you're with somebody for every single day. It's kind of like watching your kids grow up a little bit. Like you guys all see it probably more drastically. We don't notice it because I'm with him every single day. But then when these performances happen the way they do, it's just a credit to him showing up every single day and sticking with it."
Not that he wasn't good last year – he was the conference freshman of the week his first week of play. This opening week, his play may garner even more notice.
He also figured he had a role to fill.
"Honestly, with Rashaan going down, it's hard not to be aggressive. He's such a big, aggressive guy, and he's the leader," Jorgensen said. "He leads that. That's what he brings to the table, aggressiveness, rebounding, like that toughness. And so, when he went down, I mean, obviously, I had that mindset coming in already, but I knew I had to pick it up and kind of set that tone too, just because I know we're not going to have him on the floor.
"We miss him dearly, and I can't wait for him to come back, but we've got to have the next-guy mentality, and that's what I've done."
Colorado State is playing with the mentality it could be any guy. After five scored in double figures on opening night, four did against Omaha. Josh Pascarelli had 15, coming out quick, and Carey Booth and Augustinas Kiudulas each scored 13. For Kiudulas, his effort was off the bench, making 9-of-12 free throws. Booth's came in the form of a double-double as he pulled down 11 points.
Farokhmanesh put 10 players on the floor, and eight of them logged at least 15 minutes. He believes they have depth, and the players believe it too. Not just that, but versatility and a willingness to let the game flow to whoever it flows to that night.
"Everyone's doing something different, like, really great qualities for everyone," Pascarelli said. "JoJo (McIver) comes in the game, gives us a spark with his defense and his pressure. Jace (Butler), same thing. And it's just like everyone just keeps coming in, and they're not ready for the second unit. You can't beat them."
Hard to topple a team when it is sharing the ball the way the Rams have early, and the willingness the team has to adapt on both ends of the floor. They've used a lot of players, which will continue, and the cohesiveness should continue to grow on an altered roster.
Pascarelli said it can only get better, particularly when everyone knows they'll get a chance. Sunday, it was Jorgensen's.
"You know, that goes back to that depth part. When JoJo comes in and when Auggie comes in, even like guys like Nikola (Djapa), Jace, they come in and bring that effort and bring that mentality, you know, to keep pushing it mentality," Jorgensen said. "It's hard not to have fun in a system like this when everyone's sharing the ball. Like Josh said, everyone's getting quality shots. You know, it's not just one guy just going at it the whole time.
"You know, everyone's getting good shots. And when you play in a system like this, it's hard not to have fun."
After Sunday's 97-74 victory over Omaha, where Jorgensen upped the ante in a 25-point performance accentuated by nine rebounds, Farokhmanesh is willing to update his vocabulary accordingly.
"If that career high just keeps going up, I'll add whatever I need to. But, yeah, he played great," Farokhmanesh said. "Their ball-screen coverage, we thought we could get him shots, and we did. We talk about this all the time. It's not the amount of shots that you shoot. It's how efficient you are, and you scored 25 points on 12 shots only. That's impressive. That's hard to do.
"I think that's what we've always been good at here, is the level of efficiency that they score the ball with. Kyle could have shot 10 more shots if he wanted to, the way he was playing the game, but that's why he's such a good teammate, too. He didn't force a single shot. Honestly, there wasn't a shot they shot all night that I have any qualms about. He probably should have shot some more, to be honest."
The coach warned his team Omaha would be ready for the environment at Moby Arena, particularly with a trio of players returning for a program which won regular season and tournament titles in the Summit League a year ago. The Mavericks were not easy to chase away due to Tony Osburn's 3-point barrage, but with a late surge the Rams entered the break with a 48-38 edge. After extending the lead to 14 in the second half, the Mavericks made another push, only for the Rams to push back harder.
It was in the second half when Jorgensen added 15 to reach his career night. He's starting because Rashaan Mbemba is injured. He's excelling through a mix of attitude and amplifying lessons learned as a freshman.
"I would just say mostly physicality, just being able to get to my spot and get to where I want to go," he said. "I've always been a pretty good finisher, but it's kind of that strength aspect that hasn't been there. So, this offseason, the healthy offseason really helped with just my confidence overall, too. Being able to go to work every day and just trust myself."
He was 8-of-12 from the floor, hitting two of his five 3-point attempts, and after missing his first free throw in the game, made his next seven. Of his rebounds, three came on the offensive glass as the Rams had more offensive boards (14) than the guest had on the defensive glass (13).
Farokhmanesh noted the improvement may seem striking to some who only see it on game days. For him, it's been gradual and consistent, a bit more here, a tad added there as the summer days blended into the school year.
"I think he just showed up every day, and I think it's as simple as that. The consistency with how he showed up to practice, how he showed up to the weight room, how he took care of his nutrition," Farokhmanesh said. "It's those 1% differences that you don't necessarily see unless you're with somebody for every single day. It's kind of like watching your kids grow up a little bit. Like you guys all see it probably more drastically. We don't notice it because I'm with him every single day. But then when these performances happen the way they do, it's just a credit to him showing up every single day and sticking with it."
Not that he wasn't good last year – he was the conference freshman of the week his first week of play. This opening week, his play may garner even more notice.
He also figured he had a role to fill.
"Honestly, with Rashaan going down, it's hard not to be aggressive. He's such a big, aggressive guy, and he's the leader," Jorgensen said. "He leads that. That's what he brings to the table, aggressiveness, rebounding, like that toughness. And so, when he went down, I mean, obviously, I had that mindset coming in already, but I knew I had to pick it up and kind of set that tone too, just because I know we're not going to have him on the floor.
"We miss him dearly, and I can't wait for him to come back, but we've got to have the next-guy mentality, and that's what I've done."
Colorado State is playing with the mentality it could be any guy. After five scored in double figures on opening night, four did against Omaha. Josh Pascarelli had 15, coming out quick, and Carey Booth and Augustinas Kiudulas each scored 13. For Kiudulas, his effort was off the bench, making 9-of-12 free throws. Booth's came in the form of a double-double as he pulled down 11 points.
Farokhmanesh put 10 players on the floor, and eight of them logged at least 15 minutes. He believes they have depth, and the players believe it too. Not just that, but versatility and a willingness to let the game flow to whoever it flows to that night.
"Everyone's doing something different, like, really great qualities for everyone," Pascarelli said. "JoJo (McIver) comes in the game, gives us a spark with his defense and his pressure. Jace (Butler), same thing. And it's just like everyone just keeps coming in, and they're not ready for the second unit. You can't beat them."
Hard to topple a team when it is sharing the ball the way the Rams have early, and the willingness the team has to adapt on both ends of the floor. They've used a lot of players, which will continue, and the cohesiveness should continue to grow on an altered roster.
Pascarelli said it can only get better, particularly when everyone knows they'll get a chance. Sunday, it was Jorgensen's.
"You know, that goes back to that depth part. When JoJo comes in and when Auggie comes in, even like guys like Nikola (Djapa), Jace, they come in and bring that effort and bring that mentality, you know, to keep pushing it mentality," Jorgensen said. "It's hard not to have fun in a system like this when everyone's sharing the ball. Like Josh said, everyone's getting quality shots. You know, it's not just one guy just going at it the whole time.
"You know, everyone's getting good shots. And when you play in a system like this, it's hard not to have fun."
Team Stats
OMA
CSU
FG%
.424
.547
3FG%
.361
.379
FT%
.733
.848
RB
21
43
TO
7
11
STL
8
3
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballColorado State Basketball (M): Ali Farkohmanesh Post-Game (Omaha)
Sunday, November 09
Colorado State Basketball (M): Josh Pascarelli (L), Kyle Jorgensen (R) Post-Game (Omaha)
Sunday, November 09
Colorado State Basketball (M): Brandon Rechsteiner (L) & Kyle Jorgenson (R) Post-Game (Incarnate Word)
Monday, November 03
Colorado State Basketball (M): Ali Farokhmanesh Post-Game (Incarnate Word)
Monday, November 03