LAS VEGAS — Colorado State men’s basketball used to lose games like these.

The shots weren’t falling early, the offense stalled for stretches that felt longer than they probably were and Fresno State spent most of the first half looking like the more comfortable team on the floor. Yet by the time the clock dipped toward the final few minutes Wednesday night inside Thomas & Mack Center, the Rams were still right where these games usually land in March, hanging around within a couple possessions and waiting to see which team blinked first.

From there, CSU steadied itself.

One play turned into another, and eventually enough of them stacked together for the Rams to slip past FSU 67-63 in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament, sending the No. 7 seed into Thursday’s quarterfinal against No. 2 San Diego State.

And somehow the score never stretched too far away.

By halftime, FSU led only 32-27, which felt strange considering how uneven CSU’s first twenty minutes had been. The Rams were shooting poorly, the spacing felt cramped at times and several possessions ended before the offense could really breathe. Still, the deficit never grew large enough to break the game open.

Green jerseys dotted sections around Thomas & Mack Center, too, something the players noticed even while the offense struggled to settle in early. While playing in unfamiliar territory on the road and in a game that doesn’t allow for a next time.

“I saw a lot of Rams fans there; shout-out to them for showing out to the game,” Carey Booth said. “It’s great to get out there, see the fans, see the rims, see the ball go in. It’s definitely an advantage to play a game early.”

Early on, though, FSU looked far more comfortable.

Reserve forward Gasper Kocevar checked in and immediately started scoring, piling up 14 first-half points without missing a shot. Every time CSU looked ready to chip away at the deficit, another basket seemed to appear.

Jake Heidbreder added another 12 for the Bulldogs, slipping through gaps in the defense and giving FSU just enough offense to keep the Rams chasing.

Meanwhile CSU kept searching for rhythm.

It started rough.  And then the Rams turned it over on the opening possession, a couple open 3’s bounced out and for a while the offense kept running into that same awkward pause where everyone looked half ready to attack and half ready to swing the ball somewhere else.

“But as far as this game goes, we said it was going to be tough,” head coach Ali Farokhmanesh said. “I think the first games are always the hardest. It takes a minute to adjust to the atmosphere, to everything that’s going on, the pageantry of being in a tournament. It took us a little bit of time, but I think this team, I think it showed its growth throughout the year.”

The adjustment showed up gradually in the second half, and it started on the defensive end.

CSU pushed higher into the ball and started crowding passing lanes that had been comfortable earlier in the night. Guards stepped into actions sooner, and the Bulldogs suddenly looked less certain about where the next pass should go.

The possessions felt different.

Midway through the second half, Jevin Muniz jumped a pass stole the ball before pushing in transition. Another scramble followed moments later and suddenly the Rams had some momentum swinging. Muniz kept the ball moving, finding an open teammate before pulling up for a contested three on the next possession.

“I mean, that’s what we talk about, the winning plays,” Booth said. “We like to see a guy diving on the floor for a ball. It gives everyone energy. I say it was the turning point in the game for us. If that play doesn’t happen, I don’t know if we win. I feel like it was as impactful as any shot or any rebound.”

That sequence didn’t fix every offensive issue CSU had run into earlier in the night, but it did reconnect the Rams with the way they prefer to play. When the ball moves and possessions stretch a little longer, the offense usually finds the right shooter eventually.

Wednesday night that shooter was Jase Butler.

The sophomore finished with 20 points, a career-high six three-pointers and nine rebounds, several of those baskets arriving after the ball had already worked its way around the floor.

“I got a lot of my 3’s off kickouts from offensive rebounds from my teammates,” Butler said. “We do a lot of drills in practice just trying respace and get open, and my teammates found me. Credit to them. I just had the confidence to make the open shot.”

The confidence has grown steadily over the season.

Earlier in the year it wasn’t entirely clear where the offense would come from after Nique Clifford left. Some nights it looked like Kyle Jorgensen might take that step forward. Other games leaned toward Brandon Rechsteiner knocking down a couple 3’s in a row or Josh Pascarelli heating up from deep.

It never really settled on one answer. And instead different players have stepped into that space depending on how the game unfolds.

While Pascarelli playing just a limited 11 minutes, Booth did exactly that Wednesday, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds while continuing to grow into a larger role late in the season. His movement around the rim has become more instinctive and the timing of his cuts has started to show up more often when the offense opens space.

Muniz influenced the game in his usual way too.

The Mountain West regular-season leader in assists finished with seven more while guiding the offense through stretches where patience mattered more than speed.

“I think we’ve all just bought in on helping each other,” Butler said. “Like, it’s a team sport. I feel like selfishly earlier to start the season,
not helping each other out. I think that’s honestly been the biggest growth to this point. We’re all flying around and just trying to make the next play for each other.”

Even with those contributions the closing minutes stayed tense.

Heidbreder finished with a game-high 26 points while playing the full 40 minutes for FSU, and firest-year forward DeShawn Gory added 12 points with 10 rebounds while continuing to pressure the Rams inside.

For long stretches the Bulldogs looked like the more efficient team. But the smaller details leaned toward CSU.

The Rams grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and finished with fewer turnovers, quietly creating extra possessions throughout the night. Those chances kept the game close long enough for the offense to settle, and when the ball found Butler late, the approach never changed.

“Zero hesitation,” Farokhmanesh said. “Zero hesitation with everything he did. We ran an action for him that we haven’t ran for him all year. Obviously he knows the play, but hadn’t run it for him all year, and he drills that big three for us. I think that put us up three at that point. Then we ran that last possession when we ran, it was a play we ran before, and he drove it and made the play off it.”

Farokhmanesh has watched that confidence build since the summer, when Butler arrived in Fort Collins still figuring out how he fit into the offense.

Now the growth is easier to see.

“It’s awesome to see Jase from June to now how much confidence he has,” Farokhmanesh said. “He’s earned all of it, and there’s a reason why he’s in the position he is. He works his tail off. He’s one of the hardest workers on our team. I think everyone can see it. He’s one of the hardest playing guys, not only on our team, but I think in this whole league.”

And that difference reflected a larger  theme for the rest of the team.

“We don’t win this game in November,” Farokhmanesh said.

Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey.

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