A game that should have been forgettable became unforgettable.
Coming into the game against Tennessee State men’s basketball, Colorado State was favored to win by more than 20 points. Instead, it took a monumental effort from Nique Clifford, Jalen Lake and Kyle Jorgensen to narrowly squeak by the Tigers 87-79 in overtime.
Ad
Clifford’s 31 points on the night was a career high for him, one which he added 13 rebounds to for his second double-double of the season. Clifford went 11-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3.
With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Clifford popped the clutch. He went 6-of-8 from the field, scoring 14 of the Rams last 23 points and was the only person to hit a jump shot in those final 10 minutes.
“(Clifford) just willed us to win,” coach Niko Medved said. “He played 42 minutes tonight. (It) was just unreal. What he did on the glass — making shots and plays when we needed him to — he was awesome.”
Not only does Clifford have to stuff the stat sheet if the Rams want to be competitive by the time Mountain West play rolls around, but he has to impact the game beyond the box score as well.
With just over six minutes on the clock, Jorgensen turned the ball over, leading to an easy layup on the other end. That brought the Rams lead to just five, and Jorgensen to the bench.
Right before Jorgensen was benched in regulation, he hung his head knowing he had hurt the Rams in a big way. That moment provided the perfect opportunity for Clifford to show his improvement as a leader on the team.
“I just told him to ‘just keep playing man, next play,’” Clifford said. “‘You’re going to make mistakes.’ We all made mistakes in the game, so the mindset’s got to be (on the) next play. And I think he did a really good job showing a lot of maturity as a freshman to be able to move on from those mistakes and continue to play.”
With three more turnovers and an impressive last-second 3 from TSU’s Aaron Nkrumah, the Tigers were able to tie it and force overtime. Rashaan Mbemba was dealing with an injury and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson fouled out, so Medved’s only choice was to turn back to the true freshman.
“I’m sure he was disappointed at some of the turnovers and critical situations and stuff,” Medved said. “But I believe in that guy, and sometimes you’ve just got to get that kind of experience to (get) through it.”
Ad
Medved hasn’t been shy about praising the 6-foot-9, 225 pound forward out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, even comparing him to another CSU big man who had played in his true freshman season out of Minneapolis after the game against North Dakota.
In overtime, Jorgensen showed why.
Tied at 72, Jorgensen hit two free throws in the pressure cooker to give CSU a two-point lead.
Not even a minute later, he stole the ball and made a layup to extend the Rams lead to four.
Immediately after, TSU’s Knute Wood hit a 3 to bring the game to 76-75, but Jorgensen responded with a 3 of his own; one that ultimately put the game out of reach as the Rams would go on to knock down eight out of their last nine free throws.
“It’s important to remember this is the first close college basketball game (Jorgensen’s) ever played in,” Medved said. “Him experiencing those things, having to make decisions with the ball in your hands and all that stuff, he’ll grow a ton from it.”
Lake himself had a career-scoring night, finishing with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting and going 3-of-8 from 3.
On a night where the CSU offense had large slumps, Lake found his spots and became the Rams’ ol’ reliable. Lake said the game was one the team can learn from. Even though the outcome wasn’t what the Rams had hoped for, a Friday night in Moby can be hard to beat.
“It’s always great when Moby is rocking,” Lake said. “We feed off their energy, and it helps us and our confidence. And I thought they really stepped up in overtime too. Everybody was on their feet, so that really got us going.”
Although the game was far from perfect, CSU came out with the win. Early November games aren’t meant to be nail-biters, but it’s always better to learn the lessons in games that end in victory.
“I guess we got the early season dramatic game out of the way early,” Medved said. “I don’t know if I can handle 28 or 29 more in the regular season, but it kind of lets you know we’re in it.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
