Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, January 23
Fort Collins, CO
8:00 p.m.
Colorado State
12-8,3-6Mountain West
61
vs
65
Utah State
16-3,7-2Mountain West
1
2
F
Utah St.
25
40
65
Colorado St.
35
26
61
Rams Turnover Chance for Big Win
1/23/2026 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Aggies rally for victory at Moby Arena
Sometimes you have to give it time. To let things change. To develop.
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To get healthy.
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Colorado State's men's basketball team has waded through a lot of that already, particularly in the first stages of Mountain West play. And while the Rams had one of the best teams in the league on the ropes at Moby Arena, one major last hurdle has to be cleared to get to where they want.
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It's not escaping them, or their coach.
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"Let's start with the turnovers," Ali Farokhmanesh has he sat down to address the media. "It's what I've said for the last two days, it's the turnovers. So that's what bit us in the foot. For basically 30 minutes and 23 seconds, you're pretty much dominating the game because you're up double digits most of the time. But when you give that many pick-sixes to that team specifically, they convert them better than anybody in the country."
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The Rams turned the ball over a season-high 21 times on Friday night in a 65-61 loss, dropping them to 12-8 overall, 3-6. This was the fourth game of the campaign where Colorado State has committed 15 turnovers or more.
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A major step forward was there for the taking. Giving it way made it hurt more.
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"Whenever you're turning the ball over, it's bad," guard Josh Pascarelli said. "You're always mad about it, but we've really got to work on that. We did take some really good steps. The last time we got embarrassed on TV by them, and we were up for 32 minutes. It didn't lead to the win, but I'm proud of what we did."
Â
What kept the Rams in front most of the night was shooting hot enough to counterbalance the opportunities they were giving away. They shot 68.4 percent in the first half as Kyle Jorgensen – injured in the last meeting a month prior – came out with a vengeance.
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He made the first four 3-pointers he took and scored 19 by halftime. Pascarelli was in double figures by the break with 10. That was the margin the Rams led by with only three players having scored at that point – Rashaan Mbemba adding six.
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After each successive 3, Jorgensen was amped up that much more. The end just didn't feel as good as the start.
Â
"I would say there's a couple of factors, man. Obviously, they embarrassed us," he said. "It was embarrassing. Nobody wants to feel like that, how we felt after that game. And I think we did a great job of bringing the fight early and not shying away from the physicality that they have and really, really sticking it to them. We had them on ropes the whole game.
Â
"It comes down to taking care of the ball, and I take full pride in that. I had six turnovers. That's just unacceptable, especially in a game like this, a huge game that would have obviously had a huge comeback in our conference run."
Â
Farokhmanesh has used five different lineups in conference play, in large part due to injuries to Jorgensen and Mbemba. Now that both are healthy and no longer on minute restrictions, the Rams simply don't have depth there, they have an altered starting five with both on the floor.
Â
Jorgensen finished with 24 and a career-best five 3s made, while Mbemba added 10. Farokhmanesh likes the versatility it brings not just to the starting group, but also to the matchups coming off the bench.
Â
Jorgensen is perfectly fine sharing the floor with his guy.
Â
"We work hard together every day, and I'm excited. We worked side by side a lot last year, so we got to really understand each other's games, and I think one thing that we do so well is just playing so well off each other," Jorgensen said. "We're both physical, and we play with a lot of motion, and we really want to win.
Â
"So, playing with him, it makes my life a lot easier, probably his life and a lot of the guards' lives, too. I'm just excited that we can have everyone back."
Â
The Rams cooled off a bit from the field but still were able to keep an edge. Then they cooled off considerably down the stretch – the Rams made just two of their final 12 stops. The turnovers, however, kept coming.
Â
Not all miscues are equal, and many the Rams were giving up were of the devastating variety, at midcourt where it led the Aggies to fastbreak layups. The 40 points they scored in the paint weren't all from hard work, it was getting easy lanes to the basket after picking a pocket at the midline.
Â
"I'm guessing that 16 to 18 of those were off pick-sixes. But I'll also give credit, their bigs played well. Gary Clark and (Karson)Â Templin go 10-for-13, so they played well, and I think they weren't just layups. I thought they made some tough floaters and some tough shots that they typically don't make. So, you've got to give them some credit too.
Â
"I thought their bigs did play well for them. I thought we did a great job on their guards, but I thought their bigs were a big difference in this game. But yeah, the 40 points probably was a little skewed based on some of those pick-sixes."
Â
Utah State took the lead for the first time at 53-51 on a 3 from Elijay Perryman on the fast break, then took it for good when Clark made a jumper with 6:33 remaining. In the final three minutes, the Rams turned it over three more times.
Â
To the team, it was the obvious factor, and it has been more times than they'd like.
Â
"I thought sometimes we almost made the pressure pressure us more than what the pressure was doing to us, if that makes sense," Farokhmanesh said. "But we got to get better from it and control the ball and control what we can control because I thought we kind of just gave them three pick-sixes in that one stretch when you're up eight or 10.
Â
"I can't remember what it was, but they were really just unforced errors. I didn't think it was much of what they did. I thought it was just kind of some tough decisions."
Â
As was the case at the end of Friday.
Â
Â
To get healthy.
Â
Colorado State's men's basketball team has waded through a lot of that already, particularly in the first stages of Mountain West play. And while the Rams had one of the best teams in the league on the ropes at Moby Arena, one major last hurdle has to be cleared to get to where they want.
Â
It's not escaping them, or their coach.
Â
"Let's start with the turnovers," Ali Farokhmanesh has he sat down to address the media. "It's what I've said for the last two days, it's the turnovers. So that's what bit us in the foot. For basically 30 minutes and 23 seconds, you're pretty much dominating the game because you're up double digits most of the time. But when you give that many pick-sixes to that team specifically, they convert them better than anybody in the country."
Â
The Rams turned the ball over a season-high 21 times on Friday night in a 65-61 loss, dropping them to 12-8 overall, 3-6. This was the fourth game of the campaign where Colorado State has committed 15 turnovers or more.
Â
A major step forward was there for the taking. Giving it way made it hurt more.
Â
"Whenever you're turning the ball over, it's bad," guard Josh Pascarelli said. "You're always mad about it, but we've really got to work on that. We did take some really good steps. The last time we got embarrassed on TV by them, and we were up for 32 minutes. It didn't lead to the win, but I'm proud of what we did."
Â
What kept the Rams in front most of the night was shooting hot enough to counterbalance the opportunities they were giving away. They shot 68.4 percent in the first half as Kyle Jorgensen – injured in the last meeting a month prior – came out with a vengeance.
Â
He made the first four 3-pointers he took and scored 19 by halftime. Pascarelli was in double figures by the break with 10. That was the margin the Rams led by with only three players having scored at that point – Rashaan Mbemba adding six.
Â
After each successive 3, Jorgensen was amped up that much more. The end just didn't feel as good as the start.
Â
"I would say there's a couple of factors, man. Obviously, they embarrassed us," he said. "It was embarrassing. Nobody wants to feel like that, how we felt after that game. And I think we did a great job of bringing the fight early and not shying away from the physicality that they have and really, really sticking it to them. We had them on ropes the whole game.
Â
"It comes down to taking care of the ball, and I take full pride in that. I had six turnovers. That's just unacceptable, especially in a game like this, a huge game that would have obviously had a huge comeback in our conference run."
Â
Farokhmanesh has used five different lineups in conference play, in large part due to injuries to Jorgensen and Mbemba. Now that both are healthy and no longer on minute restrictions, the Rams simply don't have depth there, they have an altered starting five with both on the floor.
Â
Jorgensen finished with 24 and a career-best five 3s made, while Mbemba added 10. Farokhmanesh likes the versatility it brings not just to the starting group, but also to the matchups coming off the bench.
Â
Jorgensen is perfectly fine sharing the floor with his guy.
Â
"We work hard together every day, and I'm excited. We worked side by side a lot last year, so we got to really understand each other's games, and I think one thing that we do so well is just playing so well off each other," Jorgensen said. "We're both physical, and we play with a lot of motion, and we really want to win.
Â
"So, playing with him, it makes my life a lot easier, probably his life and a lot of the guards' lives, too. I'm just excited that we can have everyone back."
Â
The Rams cooled off a bit from the field but still were able to keep an edge. Then they cooled off considerably down the stretch – the Rams made just two of their final 12 stops. The turnovers, however, kept coming.
Â
Not all miscues are equal, and many the Rams were giving up were of the devastating variety, at midcourt where it led the Aggies to fastbreak layups. The 40 points they scored in the paint weren't all from hard work, it was getting easy lanes to the basket after picking a pocket at the midline.
Â
"I'm guessing that 16 to 18 of those were off pick-sixes. But I'll also give credit, their bigs played well. Gary Clark and (Karson)Â Templin go 10-for-13, so they played well, and I think they weren't just layups. I thought they made some tough floaters and some tough shots that they typically don't make. So, you've got to give them some credit too.
Â
"I thought their bigs did play well for them. I thought we did a great job on their guards, but I thought their bigs were a big difference in this game. But yeah, the 40 points probably was a little skewed based on some of those pick-sixes."
Â
Utah State took the lead for the first time at 53-51 on a 3 from Elijay Perryman on the fast break, then took it for good when Clark made a jumper with 6:33 remaining. In the final three minutes, the Rams turned it over three more times.
Â
To the team, it was the obvious factor, and it has been more times than they'd like.
Â
"I thought sometimes we almost made the pressure pressure us more than what the pressure was doing to us, if that makes sense," Farokhmanesh said. "But we got to get better from it and control the ball and control what we can control because I thought we kind of just gave them three pick-sixes in that one stretch when you're up eight or 10.
Â
"I can't remember what it was, but they were really just unforced errors. I didn't think it was much of what they did. I thought it was just kind of some tough decisions."
Â
As was the case at the end of Friday.
Â
Team Stats
USU
CSU
FG%
.500
.512
3FG%
.250
.476
FT%
.800
.700
RB
22
30
TO
10
21
STL
11
5
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballColorado State Basketball (M): Ali Farokhmanesh Post Game (Utah State)
Friday, January 23
Colorado State Basketball (M): Josh Pascarelli (L) & Kyle Jorgensen (R) Post Game (Utah State)
Friday, January 23
Colorado State Basketball (M): Ali Farokhmanesh Post-Game (Air Force)
Tuesday, January 20
Colorado State Basketball (M): Jace Butler (L) and Josh Pascarelli (R) Post-Game (Air Force)
Tuesday, January 20