Recap: Rams too sloppy in first half, comeback bid falls short in 84-80 loss to Boise State

Boy, oh Boise.

On Saturday night, the Colorado State Rams men’s basketball team was bucked by the Boise State Broncos at every turn in the first half, but, even though the green and gold went wild in the second half to come back, they fell short and lost 84-80.

In the first half, CSU’s 10 turnovers led to 16 points for Boise State and the home team led 42-28 at halftime. Tiel Daniels was working his opponents inside the paint with brute toughness and Antwan Scott scored in a variety of ways as each had 10 points, but Anthony Drmic scored 14 of his own as his Broncos led by 14 at the break.

But, just like that, the Rams were down only eight points. Scott nailed a 3-pointer and then so did Joe De Ciman; timeout Boise just 1:50 into the second half. Then, with CSU trailing by 10, Scott was called for a flagrant foul for intentionally fouling a Boise’s James Webb, giving the Broncos two free throws and the ball. Both were missed from the line and Boise missed a shot attempt so the foul – which could have turned the momentum – didn’t hurt the Rams. In fact, a 12-4 run to start the second half brought CSU to within six points. A little later, thanks to Scott’s superb play, Colorado State trailed by only five points.

Boise pushed their lead back to 12 points in a hurry but the Rams fought stalwartly and were down by only five once again with with a 6-0 run as they hit 6-7 of their 3-point attempts to start the half. After Boise pushed their lead back to 11, Colorado State went on a 9-0 run to close to within two points with only 6:32 to play.

From there on out it was a close contest, and when Richardson scored a layup, CSU was down only two once again with 1:24 left in regulation. But, after the Rams got the ball back, Richardson was bumped – no foul was called – and he was called for a double dribble. Boise answered with a score late in the shot clock and they held on to win.

STARS OF THE GAME

For Boise, the stars were Drmic and James Webb III. Drmic’s been a Rams killer for years and played lights-out again against Colorado State on Saturday, scoring 24 points. His drawing of the charge on Antwan Scott late was wonderfully timed. Webb scored a game-high 28.

For the Rams, Antwan Scott was on fire all night long; he scored a Rams career-high with 24 points on 6-12 (50 percent) shooting. Four of those came from downtown where he also shot 50 percent (4-8).

PLAY OF THE GAME

Scott drove in transition and Drmic got into his way, still moving when the two made contact. But Scott was called for an offensive foul, with 3:20 to play and Colorado State trailing by five. If Scott goes to the line – like he should have – and makes both free throws, the Rams would have been down by only three.

TURNING POINT

The game’s first turning point came in the first half when the Rams went through a 3:54 scoring drought.

But the second turning point was led by Antwan Scott’s stellar scoring and the Rams went on a 9-0 run to bring the game to within two points with 6:32 to go.

BY THE NUMBERS

Fred Richardson played eight minutes in the first half – and his first game action since the Nov. 27 game against Portland – which tied his total for the entire season. Richardson finished with 10 points on 4-5 shooting in 24 total minutes played.

When it was all said and done, Colorado State turned the ball over 16 times which resulted in 29 points for Boise, in a four point game.

CSU shot a terrible 38.5 percent in the first half and made an incredible 63 percent of their shots in the second.

The Rams out-rebounded the Broncos 37-29, but Boise State out-scored CSU 38-22 inside the painted area.

Boise State has now won 16 straight games at home and it appears their basketball court is just as difficult to play on as the blue turf of their football field.

LASTING IMPACT

For CSU, their first Mountain West game of the season results in a loss. The Rams fall to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in the Mountain West. Fred Richardson was the Rams’ x-factor, playing for the first time in nearly six weeks, and he provided a spark on both ends of the floor Colorado State needed. His effort should be used consistently the rest of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT

Colorado State (8-6, 0-1 MW) hosts the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (9-5, 0-1 MW) at 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday, Jan. 6.