Colorado State University Athletics
Wednesday, February 18
Las Vegas, NV
9:00 p.m.
Colorado State
16-10,7-8Mountain West
91
at
86
UNLV
13-13,8-7Mountain West
1
2
F
Colorado St.
47
44
91
UNLV
39
47
86
Rams Hit Jackpot on Marathon Day
2/19/2026 1:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Rams overcome travel issues, earn road win
LAS VEGAS – The day started and ends in Fort Collins for Colorado State men's basketball, but in the 20 hours in-between CSU went to Las Vegas and picked up a 91-86 win at UNLV Wednesday night. The win marked the first time in program history winning at UNLV in back-to-back years.
How It Happened
The story of the game didn't start at tip-off, but 24 hours earlier, when a mechanical issue with the team plane forced the Rams to leave Fort Collins on game day morning instead of the usual night before. The team adapted to its situation, getting into its normal routine once arriving in Las Vegas around 10:00 a.m. PT.
Inside the Thomas and Mack Center, Colorado State jumped out to an 11-2 lead as UNLV found themselves in foul trouble early, putting CSU in the bonus just six minutes into the game.
Despite the foul trouble, the Rebels fought their way back into the game taking the lead with a 9-0 run near the midway point of the half to go up 17-13.
The teams played within a possession until Colorado State's offense started clicking late in the half going on a 21-8 run over a six-minute span. Jevin Muniz led the charge in the run scoring 11 of his 20 points during it. CSU finished the first half shooting 62.5% from the field and making 15 of its 19 free throw attempts
In the second half, the Rams offense was humming again. Brandon Rechsteiner led that charge with 12 points in the half as he and Muniz hit a pair of 3s to put the Ram up by 15 with 7:09 remaining.
It was not an easy final seven minutes for CSU who saw its lead dwindle to a single possession inside the final minute. The Rebels had the chance to tie the game inside 20 seconds, but Kimani Hamilton stepped out of bounds just before attempting the game-tying shot. The Rams salted away the victory at the free throw line.
Game Notes
- The win was the second straight in Vegas for CSU, a feat that had never been achieved.
- CSU now has won four straight against the Reblels overall.
- Jevin Muniz finished with a CSU-career-high 20 points to lead the Rams. He added in four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
- Kyle Jorgensen recorded a career-high seven assists. That came alongside his eight points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
- Brandon Rechsteiner finished the night with 18 points, 12 of those coming in the second half. He also had four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
- The Rams finished the night with 22 assists. It is the sixth time this season eclipsing the 20-assists mark.
- Rashaan Mbemba was the final Ram in double figures scoring with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
- Darnez Slater played a huge 18 minutes for CSU with Josh Pascarelli injured and Jojo McIver out due to illness. He had nine points, two assists, two steals, a block and rebound.
- CSU had its second-lowest turnover mark of the season with seven.
What's Ahead
Colorado State hosts San Diego State at 4:00 p.m. in the program's annual Orange Out game, going to the Colorado A&M Aggie roots.
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How It Happened
The story of the game didn't start at tip-off, but 24 hours earlier, when a mechanical issue with the team plane forced the Rams to leave Fort Collins on game day morning instead of the usual night before. The team adapted to its situation, getting into its normal routine once arriving in Las Vegas around 10:00 a.m. PT.
Inside the Thomas and Mack Center, Colorado State jumped out to an 11-2 lead as UNLV found themselves in foul trouble early, putting CSU in the bonus just six minutes into the game.
Despite the foul trouble, the Rebels fought their way back into the game taking the lead with a 9-0 run near the midway point of the half to go up 17-13.
The teams played within a possession until Colorado State's offense started clicking late in the half going on a 21-8 run over a six-minute span. Jevin Muniz led the charge in the run scoring 11 of his 20 points during it. CSU finished the first half shooting 62.5% from the field and making 15 of its 19 free throw attempts
In the second half, the Rams offense was humming again. Brandon Rechsteiner led that charge with 12 points in the half as he and Muniz hit a pair of 3s to put the Ram up by 15 with 7:09 remaining.
It was not an easy final seven minutes for CSU who saw its lead dwindle to a single possession inside the final minute. The Rebels had the chance to tie the game inside 20 seconds, but Kimani Hamilton stepped out of bounds just before attempting the game-tying shot. The Rams salted away the victory at the free throw line.
Game Notes
- The win was the second straight in Vegas for CSU, a feat that had never been achieved.
- CSU now has won four straight against the Reblels overall.
- Jevin Muniz finished with a CSU-career-high 20 points to lead the Rams. He added in four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
- Kyle Jorgensen recorded a career-high seven assists. That came alongside his eight points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
- Brandon Rechsteiner finished the night with 18 points, 12 of those coming in the second half. He also had four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
- The Rams finished the night with 22 assists. It is the sixth time this season eclipsing the 20-assists mark.
- Rashaan Mbemba was the final Ram in double figures scoring with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
- Darnez Slater played a huge 18 minutes for CSU with Josh Pascarelli injured and Jojo McIver out due to illness. He had nine points, two assists, two steals, a block and rebound.
- CSU had its second-lowest turnover mark of the season with seven.
What's Ahead
Colorado State hosts San Diego State at 4:00 p.m. in the program's annual Orange Out game, going to the Colorado A&M Aggie roots.
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Team Stats
CSU
UNLV
FG%
.593
.517
3FG%
.350
.391
FT%
.741
.739
RB
29
29
TO
7
8
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballColorado State Basketball (M): Ali Farkohmanesh Post-Game (Wyoming)
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Colorado State Basketball (M): Kyle Jorgensen Post-Game (Air Force)
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