Saturday afternoon was a special kind of day for Colorado State Rams men’s basketball.
First and foremost, the Rams were in Wichita, Kansas playing in the Intrust Bank Arena against the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big-12. But, on top of all the cards being stacked against them already, CSU found out they were going to be playing without leading scorer Gian Clavell, who broke his non-shooting hand in practice on Thursday.
And while playing sans Clavell on short notice could have killed the team’s morale, instead, the Rams played their hearts out against the Wildcats as neither team was able to run away with the game. But, without Clavell, the offense struggled mightily and CSU lost 61-56.
To start the game, both teams were ice cold. The Rams couldn’t score until nearly five minutes in, when Joe De Ciman nailed a 3-pointer. It was clear they missed their leading scorer. Their frigid shooting continued – going 9-30 (30 percent) from the field in the first half – but four of those buckets came from downtown and helped keep CSU in the contest. At halftime, the Rams trailed 25-29 to the Wildcats as K-State turned the ball over 10 times.
In the second half, both the Rams and Wildcats were as cold as ice once again on this mid-December afternoon; they went a combined 0-16 from the field at one point as Kansas State took the 38-30 lead. K-State would push that lead to as much as 13 points but Colorado State wouldn’t quit. They fought stalwartly and trailed by only four points when Emmanuel Omogbo made a jumper with 1:11 to go. But, after a stop, freshman Prentiss Nixon missed a jumper. With only 28 seconds to play, CSU didn’t know if they should foul or not, allowing 10 seconds to run off. Justin Edwards went 1-2 and the Wildcats won the game.
STAR OF THE GAME
Prentiss Nixon deserves credit for his great play on Saturday. While he came off the bench, like usual, he seemed to be asked to carry the team on the offensive end. Nixon scored a career-high 11 points, including his 3-pointer with 4:17 to play which brought the game to within two points. He also showed off his high basketball IQ by drawing three charges and stepping in for a smart foul on a Wildcats fastbreak.
PLAY OF THE GAME
The play of the game was the rebound by Kamau Stokes with only 28 seconds to go. If the Rams grab that ball, they would have had another chance to make it a two-point game late. Instead, Stokes’ rebound and pass out to Edwards was key.
TURNING POINT
The turning point came mid-way through the second half, as the Rams trailed by 13 points but then went on an 11-1 run to trail by only three. John Gillon’s 3-pointer helped, but Tiel Daniels’ seven points during that stretch – including 5-6 on free throws – were the main reason CSU was able to come as close as they did.
BY THE NUMBERS
K-State had only one 3-point make until 3:45 left in regulation. They finished the contest a terrible 2-13 (15.4 percent) from downtown.
Colorado State could make only 29.3 percent (17-58) from the floor Saturday. It was a horrendous shooting effort and many of those attempts were airballs.
But, the Wildcats controlled the paint, out-scoring CSU 30-16. The Rams also lost the rebounding battle 36-37.
When it was all said and done, both Joe De Ciman and John Gillon fouled out of the contest.
Emmanuel Omogbo led the team with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Daniels, who was shooting 42.9 percent from the free throw line on the season, went an amazing 8-10 on Saturday.
LASTING IMPACT
For Colorado State, this is their fifth loss in six games. The biggest notable is losing Gian Clavell for the season. Without Clavell, the offense fell flat on its face; how will they respond?
WHAT’S NEXT
Next up, 6-5 Colorado State faces 3-10 USC Upstate. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. MT on Monday, Dec. 21.
