LAS VEGAS — When the lights were brightest, CSU delivered.
Behind a stifling defensive effort and a shooting turnaround, Colorado State men’s basketball claimed its first Mountain West Tournament title since 2003, avenging past heartbreak in the championship round. The Rams rode out a surprising spark from the bench and won 69-56 against Boise State Saturday.
While Nique Clifford put up more than 20 points yet again, the backups made it all possible. CSU forced the Broncos into the largest deficit they faced all tournament — and never let up.
Key Takeaways:
3-point dominance: CSU’s redemption came with the MW finals record for 3-pointers made — previously 11 — despite a rough stretch of shooting early on. The gameplan was sound, but the Rams were simply making it rain in Thomas and Mack.
Bench sparks: Bowen Born and Ethan Morton provided the momentum early off Born’s impeccable 3-of-3 3-point shooting in the first half and a couple statement drives from Morton. In what was a up-and-down — but mainly up — half for CSU, the tipoff yielded six straight misses.
That surge subsided late in the first half, but contributions from the bench continued into the midway point in the second. At one point, the Rams had a greater number of players with at least one three than BSU had 3-pointers in total.
Extra passes: One of the things the Rams stayed consistent in was efficiently pinging the ball. Aside from their sloppy start to the game, CSU made the right number of passes in the right amount of time to keep the ball moving. This led to several open looks from the perimeter that the Rams eventually started sinking.
Blitz out of halftime: BSU is known for coming out firing in the second half, but CSU knew that and brought another barrage of 3’s. This time, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson sank his first two following break, leading to hits from Kyan Evans and Clifford to repel the Broncos takeover at the time. CSU continued to move well off the ball and picked from a decent shot selection.
Coming into the game, BSU was known for guarding closer to the interior, and it excelled in taking away 2-pointers. CSU knew that from the start — it just took some time to capitalize. Some Rams — like Rashaan Mbemba and Crocker-Johnson — have a tendency to neglect kickouts when in the paint, but that wasn’t the case Saturday.
First half inefficiencies: Neither team found scoring consistency early on, and it led to 37% shooting from the field for CSU and 33.3% for BSU in the first half. The Broncos, in particular, saw plenty of open looks from CSU throughout the beginning but really couldn’t hit. Pearson Carmichael and Andrew Meadow tied for the team lead in points with five apiece, and Degenhart was largely lacking.
CSU, on the other hand, had a combined 2-of-15 from starters Clifford, Evans and Crocker-Johnson. In each previous tournament win for the Rams, at least two starters provided some stability. That was not the case against the Broncos.
Tyson Degenhart: An ultimately disappointing final run for the Bronco star. His dedication to his team and passion for the game wasn’t enough to dig BSU out of an early hole. For whatever it’s worth, he was the only player on his team with double-digit points.
Up next: With the net cut down and the trophy in hand, CSU cemented itself among the conference’s best. Now, the Rams await Selection Sunday, where they’ll find out their next destination on the road to March Madness.
Reach Michael Hovey at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @michaelfhovey.
