CSU drops second game against Boise State

The following is a guest post from Lute Moss.

After pretty much dominating the first matchup against Boise State from start to finish,

Colorado State failed to replicate that success just two days later. CSU started this one

off competitively, clinging to a one point lead heading into halftime, but the wheels fell

off in the second half as Boise State pulled away, leading by as much as 23 points at

one point.

After bullying the Broncos inside in their first matchup, the Rams relied on their outside

game to keep them in this one early on. Adam Thistlewood was on fire in the first half,

scoring 18 points on six 3 pointers. He ended the game with a career high 24 points.

Despite the hot shooting from Thistlewood, and despite leading at half, the game had an

ominous feel to it as Boise State looked like the more prepared team this time around.

Niko Medved’s star sophomores David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens didn’t play up to the

high standards Ram fans have grown accustomed to. After destroying BSU inside in the

first matchup with 27 points and 15 rebounds, Roddy could only muster 16 and 8 in this

one, on 6-13 shooting and only 1-3 from beyond the arc. Stevens contributed 17 points,

9 rebounds, and 8 assists, but failed to take care of the ball with 7 turnovers. While the

Rams were able to overcome high turnover numbers in the first game against Boise

State, this game proved that lack of execution to be detrimental, as they committed 18

TO’s this time around.

Stevens backcourt partner Kendle Moore, the Rams most accurate marksman this year,

failed to deliver on that title with only 3 points on 1-5 shooting, 1-4 from 3. The

Freshman big man James Moors out of New Zealand also faded into the background

with 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in his 17 minutes on the floor. CSU’s normally

fluid offense only allowed for 9 total shots from the bench unit. In fact, Thistlewood,

Roddy, and Stevens ended up taking 41 of the total 58 shot attempts on Friday night.

While you want your best players taking the majority of the shots, I’m sure Niko Medved

would like to see a more balanced attack from his team. With that being said, credit the

Boise State defense, they showed a lot of urgency on that end of the floor.

Speaking of Boise State, outside of their terrific team defense, the Broncos efficiency on

the offensive end proved why they’re the best team in a loaded Mountain West

Conference this year. They ended up shooting 42.9% from 3 and 52.7% overall. Marcus

Shaver Jr. was the best player on the court Friday night with 21 points on 8-13 shooting,

2-4 from 3. Abu Kigab had 17 points and 7 rebounds, while the Junior guard out of

Dallas, TX, Devonaire Doutrive contributed off the bench with 13 points on a perfect

shooting night from the field.

Overall, Colorado State lost a great opportunity Friday night to not only have a terrific

shot at a Mountain West title, but cement themselves as a surefire NCAA tournament

team. Despite this disappointing result, the Rams have gone 3-3 against SDSU, Utah

State, and Boise State, and are sitting in 3rd place in the Mountain West with a 9-3

record, 12-4 overall. Not bad for the 11th youngest team in the entire country. With 9

games left to play, CSU will have to be close to perfect the rest of the way to have a

shot at the Mountain West title. Same if they want to make the tournament. With their

hardest competition behind them, and an uber-talented young group, that seems like a

realistic outcome.

CSU now heads to Laramie, Wyoming for a 2 game set against the Cowboys starting

Feb. 4th. This should be a good matchup, as one of the best rivalries in the Mountain

West never fails to bring the intensity.

Meanwhile, Boise State heads to Nevada to face the Wolfpack, before finishing off their

conference schedule against UNLV, Utah State, and SDSU.

With a month left, we’ve got some exciting basketball yet to be played in the Mountain

West. Stay tuned!