‘That’s the way we have to play to give us a chance to win,’ said Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy after the game. While it wasn’t a pretty game, in particularly in the second half, it was one that saw the Rams grab their third road win of the year and end a two game losing streak as they beat Utah State 64-56 Saturday night.
‘There’s only 8 of us so we have to play tight, we have to play strong, we have to play together and we have to play for everybody,’ said senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo after the game.
Omogbo had one of the best games of his career finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds for his tenth double-double of the season. He also went 6-7 from the free throw line and hit his last four to help seal the game in the final 90 seconds.
The free throws were the difference in the game. Colorado State (12-8, 4-3 MWC) went 12-17 from the charity stripe which included making their last six in the final two minutes while the normally solid Utah State (8-10, 2-5 MWC) team went 9-17 from the line.
Colorado State never trailed in the game and led by as many as 15 in front of a raucous crowd at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. However the Rams poor clock management, bad shot selection and turnovers allowed Utah State to come within striking distance in the last few minutes of the game but the aforementioned poor Utah State free throw shooting and some solid Rams defense sealed the victory for Larry Eustachy’s bunch.
‘Kind of looked like a circus out there about the last 30 seconds,’ said Eustachy, ‘but we’ll learn from that last 30 seconds.’
Colorado State will have to learn quick as they face San Jose State Wednesday night at Moby Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be seen on Root Sports.