Colorado State men’s basketball shared the wealth in a 93-79 win over Cal Poly Wednesday in Moby Arena. Coming off two solid wins, the Rams looked prime for yet another home victory. The transfer players have picked up head coach Ali Farokhmanesh’s system quickly, and the team has seen some chemistry through just three weeks.
And they came through, pushing CSU to 3-0 on the young season despite only leading 37-35 in total rebounds. With Rashaan Mbemba failing to make an appearance so far, CSU’s frontcourt could use that boost.
But last year, Nique Clifford came through in critical moments. So far this season, it’s whoever’s hot.
CSU stretches the floor
Coming into the game, the Rams were shooting 44% from beyond the arc, which was lower due to a middling 3-point performance in their last game against Omaha.
In CSU’s season opener against Incarnate Word and again against the Mustangs, shots from beyond the arc found their mark.
Josh Pascarelli and Brandon Rechsteiner contributed the most with 6-of-13 and 3-of-9 3-point shooting respectively. And the winning difference came down to 3-pointers as both teams tied with 26 points in the paint.
Jase Butler pops off the bench
The sophomore transfer out of Washington made his mark Wednesday and was a key factor in the Rams’ success.
Off the bench, Jase Butler contributed a season-high 13 points along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals off 20 minutes.
After the game against UNO, Farokhmanesh mentioned wanting to get the bench more involved after a starter-dominated showing against UIW.
And Butler provided just that in secondary rotations and came through on both sides of the ball, leading CSU’s bench 33-23 over the Mustang’s bench.
Rams share the ball
CSU relied on depth once again, as Farokhmanesh has emphasized unselfishness in this year’s system.
Last game, it was Kyle Jorgensen. Wednesday, Pascarelli popped.
But four Rams also contributed double-digit points in the win: Pascarelli, Booth, Butler and Rechsteiner. With Jorgensen fouling out with over 12 minutes left in the game and Nikola Djapa following suit, CSU needed others to step up.
And CSU ended the game with 25 assists, compared to CPU’s 13, to put it all together off 49% shooting from the field.
Booth, Rechsteiner, Mciver, Kiudulas break cold spell
After bringing its tempo back under control just before break, CSU stumbled out of the gates into the second half.
To the Rams’ benefit, a quick sequence of Brandon Rechsteiner, Jojo McIver and Augustinas Kiudulas yielded nine straight points and retention of the lead.
Carey Booth also sunk a 3 for CSU’s first points after halftime, while the team sniped 19-of-20 free throws to finish the game. The Rams picked up the efficiency in transition and matched the pace of a quick Mustangs team.
And from there, it was all Rams until the buzzer.
Up next
CSU faces off against Loyola Chicago in its first road test of the season at 3 p.m. Sunday in Chicago, Illinois.
And from there it was all Rams, as they maintained the lead for the rest of the half and, consequently, the entirety of the game.
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Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on social media @michaelfhovey.
