Sometimes, it’s as simple as putting the ball in your best players’ hands.
Colorado State men’s basketball did just that, leading to a second-half outburst in the Rams’ 78-67 win over the University of Idaho.
The Rams start 2-0 after beating two Big Sky opponents in Idaho and Montana State. In both of their early season wins, the Rams got big contributions from their top returners from the 2025-26 season — and it was especially needed Friday after the Vandals kept the game close throughout.
“I was really proud of the guys for the way they fought,” head coach Ali Farokhmanesh said. “It was up and down that first half, and we really didn’t follow the game plan defensively to start. … I thought we did a better job defensively from guarding the three in the second half, and then we just started trusting the offense.”
CSU did not lead at all in the first half, until Carey Booth hit a buzzer-beater corner triple to give the Rams a 36-33 lead heading into the break.
Idaho was giving CSU trouble with its consistent perimeter shooting, hitting five threes in the first half while maintaining a consistent one-to-seven point lead throughout the majority of the half following an 11-4 start to the night.
The Vandals’ main weapon was junior guard Kase Wynott, who finished the night with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field. The Rams were given a scare by trailing the entirety of the first 20 minutes, but turned it around in the final 20.
“Montana State pressured us pretty heavy, and we should have just driven it and we did that in the second half more,” Farokhmanesh said. “(Idaho) started out like that. We got a lot of stops and we weren’t running offense. … I thought we really settled in and I thought you saw that with Kyle (Jorgensen) and Jase (Butler) in the second half.”
Two of the most important returning players on this year’s team are forward Kyle Jorgensen and guard Jase Butler — and they proved exactly why Friday.
The duo led the charge for CSU in the second half, finishing with a statline of 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting for Jorgensen, alongside a stuffed statsheet for Butler, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Butler took initiative as a ball handler, driving hard-nosed to the rim and both drawing fouls and finishing through contact for three-point plays. Jorgensen was as physical as Ram fans have seen him Friday, playing in the post and scoring all eight of his field goals from the paint.
“This is a game where they played me one-on-one, and they’re telling me at the first play of the game ‘Come on man, score on me,’” Jorgensen said. “So it kind of lit the fire (under me) a little bit. I thought if I made a couple threes, I would have had a better night, but sometimes the shot doesn’t fall so I just played my way to the paint and played out of that.”
Jorgensen has been a threat from the perimeter and the paint in his first two seasons, but in his junior season the forward may see more usage in the post, especially during the team’s nonconference schedule.
“He is crafty in (the paint),” Farokhmanesh said. “He can score over both shoulders, he’s got fadeaways that come out of it — he’s a good player.”
Butler is also taking on a new obligation this season as a primary ball handler and more of a point guard, and it’s led to the junior taking initiative in many areas of his game. Through the first two games, the 6-foot-4 Butler has averaged 15.5 points, eight rebounds and six assists — numbers that stand out for the swiss army knife.
“That was my challenge for (Butler) this year, is to be the all around guy,” Farokhmanesh said. “He’s done that the last two games; from the assists, from the rebounds, when his number is called to score he’s making plays. He’s consistent with what he does every game, so it’s easy to be consistent when you get into the games. It doesn’t matter if the lights are on, how he shows up with his habits, that’s the recipe for success.”
CSU led 61-60 at the 7:01 mark of the second half, and it looked like the team was in for a nail-biter. However, after that point, the Rams went on a 10-0 scoring run to inflate their lead to 11 over the next two and a half minutes.
This was sparked by three-pointers from Booth and guard Justin Menard, as well as physical layups by Jorgensen. However, it was Menard who got the Moby Arena crowd going following his transition three to push the lead to nine — as he brought the energy CSU was looking for all night.
“(Justin) has got some moxie to him,” Farokhmanesh said. “You got to let your players play sometimes, and I thought that’s just what it was. That run was just them playing; trusting each other, moving the ball. … I think Justin’s going to be a crowd favorite just because he’s got that kind of juice.”
Finishing off the night with a bang was the athletic Booth, who blew by his defender on the perimeter after some shifty dribbling moves and proceeded to combine his 6-foot-10 frame and his high vertical to emphatically dunk the ball and put the final nail in the coffin with 31 seconds remaining.
“When I was a freshman, my coach was like ‘Well there’s seven seconds on the shot clock, whatever you work on in the driveway by yourself, that’s the move you go to’” Booth said. “So I just went between, behind, hezi and then the lane was open so I just dunked it.”
Booth was excellent from distance Friday, shooting 50% from beyond the arc — three three-pointers on six attempts. The true versatility of Booth’s game was on display, and the senior’s superstar moments continue to peek through time and time again.
“Last year was a lot about changing my shot diet a little bit,” Booth said. “My first two years, I shot a lot of threes and it wasn’t really working for me field goal percentage wise. Now in my second year here being more comfortable, and obviously I know I’m confident in my shots”
CSU will stay in town as the prepare to host another Big Sky opponent in Portland State at 7:00 p.m. on Nov, 11 at Moby Arena.
“We’re playing three really high level Big Sky teams to open up the season,” Farokhmanesh said. “I’m already thinking about Portland State — they’re coming on Wednesday and it’s going to be a dog fight on Wednesday too.”
Reach Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on social media @DImsirpasic.
