Colorado State men's basketball unable to shock Wichita State

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State had a chance to knock off a traditionally solid non-conference foe in consecutive games. But turnovers and three-point shooting proved to be critical in an 82-67 loss to visiting Wichita State. The Rams fell to 6-2 on the season.

The Shockers, who Larry Eustachy called the best team that will come to Moby Arena this season, have been an NCAA tournament team the last five seasons, including a Final Four team in 2013.

For a good chunk of the first half, it looked as though the Rams may pull off the upset as they held a four-point lead with 5:29 to go until halftime. CSU got a balanced scoring attack in the opening 20 minutes. Devocio Butler, J.D. Paige and Prentiss Nixon combined for 20 of the team’s 31 first half points.

The first half highlight had to be Butler’s half-court buzzer-beating three that banked off the backboard to cut Wichita State’s lead to 34-31.

With 16:18 remaining in the game, the Rams had what would be their final lead of the game at 42-41. Wichita State took control from that point, particularly with their sharp shooting from beyond the arc. The Shockers couldn’t miss from deep, going 13-of-27.

“We were told to contest hard,” said J.D. Paige. “We contested a lot of those three’s, but they made a lot of shots.”

It wasn’t just one or two guys though for Gregg Marshall’s squad. Ten different players tallied points, four of which got into double figures.

The Rams, on the other hand, saw three players reach at least 10 points. Nixon, who came into the game struggling to find his shot, finally found his stroke from outside. CSU’s point guard went 5-of-6 from three as well as the free-throw line on the way to a 20-point performance.

Paige totaled 17 points, while Butler finished with a dozen. Emmanuel Omogbo came up one point short of a double-double as the senior finished with nine points and 14 boards.

In addition to the hot shooting by Wichita State, turnovers also plagued CSU. Eustachy’s bunch turned it over 19 times which led to 25 points for the Shockers. The Rams managed just 12 points off 13 turnovers by Wichita State.

“Eighty percent of our concern going into that game was not turning the ball over,” Eustachy said postgame. “Because they can make you pay and they did with 25 points. So you look at our two losses and we’ve had a total of 39 turnovers. And I think we got away with who we were. And I think the crowd had a lot to do with it.”

Though it wasn’t the result Eustachy hoped for, he’s still pleased with where his team is headed.

“It was a great week,” said Eustachy. “If you could flip-flop it where you lose to Colorado and you beat a perennial power club in Wichita State, I’d take it the way the week went. But we had a great win and we had a great teaching session today and we played hard. We just met our match.”

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Prentiss Nixon – He made some huge shots, several of which kept CSU in the game. He had a pair of rebounds and assists to go with his 20 points.

BY THE NUMBERS

44 – The number of bench points scored by Wichita State reserves. The Rams put together a mere 14 points by their bench players. The 30-point difference is indicative of the Shockers’ depth.

48 – The percent Wichita State shot from beyond the arc. CSU shot a solid 39 percent, but couldn’t keep up in this one.

12 – The number of assists the Rams had total. The green and gold had only three in the first half.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Rams will be back in action Tuesday at Moby Arena against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.