Carvacho Leads CSU to Victory with Monster Game

Anthony Masinton-Bonner and J.D. Paige get buckets. Both guards were huge in leading the Rams in a comeback win in Moby against Sam Houston State on Saturday. But there is no doubt about it: the Rams’ offense runs through Nico Carvacho. Carvacho had a monster game with 20 points and 19 rebounds in his highest scoring game of the season so far, and his fourth double-double in a row. His effort helped the Rams slough off a sloppy start and take care of business against the Sam Houston State Bearcats in a 71-65 victory.

Colorado State struggled to find a rhythm early in the game. They topped their season average in turnovers in the first half alone. The Bearcats were able to take advantage of the sloppy play for the Rams, and went on a 10-0 run to push them into a double-digit lead. It appeared that the Rams looked lost early in the first half. To make matters worse, Carvacho got into foul trouble early with 3 fouls in the first half.

Despite a sloppy first half, the Rams were able to settle into a rhythm. Colorado State found success by finding Carvacho off a pick-and roll or in the post. Carvacho opened up the Bearcat defense by forcing Sam Houston to collapse on him, leading to open looks for other Rams scorers. J.D. Paige and Anthony Masinton-Bonner led the Rams in a huge 10-0 run to take the lead in the second half.

CSU also tightened things up defensively, forcing contested shots. Sam Houston was unable to find an answer to the defensive pressure that CSU applied in the second half. They often settled for contested jumpers, and gave up turnovers. The Rams used the defensive pressure to pull themselves back into the game, and to a victory.

Colorado State evens its record to 5-5 on the season, stopping a four-game losing skid. The Rams look to move back into positive territory against the South Dakota Coyote (4-5). They will tip off Sunday, Dec 16^th at 2:00 PM MST.