The machine works best when every piece is involved.
Tuesday night epitomized that for Colorado State men’s basketball, who was able to get a 78-68 victory over Radford to finish out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
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Following two tough losses to Colorado and VCU, the Rams needed something to lift their spirits before taking on Nevada in CSU’s first conference game of the year.
Although Nique Clifford continued to struggle shooting the basketball, scoring just seven points on 3-of-8 shooting overall and 1-of-5 from 3, the rest of the Rams found a rhythm.
Almost every time Clifford has had a down game offensively this season, the Rams have lost. He’s done everything for CSU, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. That, however, was not the case against Radford with Keshawn Williams, Rashaan Mbemba and Kyan Evans all putting up career highs in a CSU uniform.
While Clifford certainly has to be better, there’s hope that once his offense returns to form, the Rams can continue to get everyone involved.
“We’re going to need to get more balance that way on the offensive end,” coach Niko Medved said. “Nique and (Jalen Lake) had been kind of carrying the load early and it was nice to see us be able to have the numbers we did offensively without those guys scoring.”
Mbemba and Williams both strung together their best performances in a two-game stretch in each of their CSU careers. Mbemba finished with 16 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal, while Williams finished with 16 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting.
Although each guy is tasked with something different, their contributions are vital in each contest. For Mbemba, as a 6-foot-7 250 pound post guy, his job is to be the enforcer down low. It became evident in his absences how important he is to the team.
At the beginning of the year, he missed time, and the Rams missed him on the court. At other moments, he’s been held out of practice due to illness and whatever other issues he’s dealt with. Finally, over the past several games it’s felt like he has been starting to find a rhythm. Tuesday night could be just the very beginning.
“We play off each other,” Mbemba said. “It was a night for us today, but the next day it might be a night for me or Kyan. We just have a lot of guys who can step up, and I think it showed today.”
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Although hesitant to take the praise for himself, there is no denying what he can do for the spacing on the court. CSU has been good in transition all year long, but they’ve really struggled out of half-court sets, especially with Mbemba out.
When that part of the game is effective, it makes getting out on the run that much better for CSU, and that’s where Williams thrives.
Williams is the first player off the bench for the Rams. If the Rams build a lead, Williams is tasked at defending that lead. If the Rams are down when it’s time for Williams to come in, he has to find a way to erase the deficit.
Mbemba is the enforcer. Williams is the energizer.
“Coach gave us our roles at the beginning of the year,” Williams said. “He told me that, ‘hey when you come in, I need you to be a spark plug. I need you to provide energy.’ Anything else that comes after that is just a plus.”
The extra effort from the Rams’ complimentary pieces wasn’t purview to just Mbemba and Williams. Every single Ram who saw the floor laced the nylon at least once, along with good efforts in every other aspect of the game. Playing like that will be necessary if the Rams want to see success in Mountain West play.
The beginning of the conference slate can be an important one. The players no longer have classes or homework. They spend more time together and spend a lot more time on basketball. While the non-conference stretch certainly left something to be desired, these next couple of weeks could be sink or swim for a CSU team that has lofty aspirations.
“The team that can kind of make hay in these next three weeks, and that was starting with last week and finals, and in here now is a huge deal,” Medved said. “Because you don’t have class, you’re together all the time, you’re practicing and can maybe get some extra film work in.”
“You can take care of yourself a little bit more, and you can narrow your focus in on hoops and the team. And I think the teams that can do that are the ones that will be playing their best when it matters the most. And do I think we’ve made improvement since that finals week? Yes. But we’ve got to keep going because I think (these next couple of weeks) are going to be huge.”
That all starts with a date against Nevada on Saturday. At this point, the Rams are viewed more as a middle of the pack Mountain West team, while Nevada is viewed more in contention for the title.
While the result of one game isn’t likely to mean much come March, it can go a long way toward finding the footing that CSU hasn’t quite had this year. But for that to happen, the Rams must continue to share the wealth across the board.
“I think we knew — or I knew — it was going to be a little choppy early with this group with so many new faces and young guys trying to figure it out,” Medved said. “I think they’re improving. I thought we got a lot better in finals week — I think they’re going to continue improving. … I think hopefully, knock on wood, we’re in a better play than we’ve been all year.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
