Colorado State grinds out crucial upset at Saint Mary's

Isaiah Stevens reminded folks why he’s one of the most respected point guards in the country on Sunday night. 

With the Rams missing two key guards, Tavi Jackson and Jalen Lake, both of which play at least 25 minutes a night, the senior point guard played 39 minutes in a true road environment and finished with a game-high 23 points in Colorado State’s 62-60 win at Saint Mary’s. 

After struggling uncharacteristically in CSU’s tough night in Boulder, Stevens’ ability to create for both himself and others proved to be huge in what was a tight game that came down to the final seconds. 

Stevens drilled multiple mid-range jumpers with a defender in his face. He dished out a game-high five assists and only had one turnover as well. Funny enough, the headiest play he made on Sunday might have actually been intentionally missing a free throw with one second left, because it prevented Saint Mary’s from being able to draw up an inbound play and potentially drawing a foul or making a flukey shot at the buzzer. All game long though he played with the type of poise and assertiveness that we’ve all become accustomed to seeing. 

Along with Stevens, John Tonje was able to provide a spark on both ends. The senior from Omaha, Nebraska was second on the squad in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. His impact defensively was even more noteworthy though as he was constantly flying around the floor and using his hands to disrupt passing lanes. On at least three occasions he was able to deflect a pass with just pure effort and hustle. And while those plays don’t always go in the scorebook as turnovers, the disruptive pressure made things a lot more challenging on the Gaels. 

Eventually that defensive pressure from Tonje, and CSU as a whole, really impacted Saint Mary’s ability to get in any type of consistent rhythm offensively. Even despite being in the double bonus for the final minutes, CSU played phenomenal team defense down the stretch and held the Gaels scoreless from the floor over the final 4:09. 

While there are some things that still need to be cleaned up — the Rams allowed 15 offensive rebounds which resulted in 18 second-chance points for SMC — to pull out this type of win, while shorthanded, is a testament to the heart of this group. There is nothing more challenging than beating a true quality opponent in their own building. And for CSU to take down an experienced squad that was just one week removed from beating San Diego State, it genuinely took 40 minutes of gritty, hard-nosed defense. 

We’ll see if CSU can build off of its last two showings, one of which was a record-setting offensive performance and the other, a defensive masterclass. But regardless of whether the Rams end up finding a way to go dancing or not this spring, it’s clear that it’s still far too early to write this group off. 

It’s been an up and down start to the 2022-23 campaign. Finding a way to steal a neutral site game against USC on Wednesday night would be a really nice way to close out the non-conference slate before hitting the road for an extremely challenging Mountain West opener in the Pit.