Colorado State wins thriller at UNLV: Stevens sinks game-winner

Seemingly down on their luck and not far from making a sad trip back to Fort Collins, the Colorado State Rams pulled off what most of us only dream of, an epic comeback in Las Vegas.

Trailing UNLV, 70-67, with 2.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Isaiah Rivera threw a 50 foot pass to Isaiah Stevens who was able to jump, catch the ball and position himself for an attempt, before making an insane 3-pointer over a pair of Rebel defenders to force overtime. 

Isaiah Stevens remains that dude pic.twitter.com/XWODZNFvx6

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) January 15, 2023

Then in the extra period, trailing by 2 points with less than 5 seconds to go, Stevens once again delivered for the Green & Gold with a stepback three to put CSU up 82-81, a score that would hold in the end. 

Stevens finished with a team-high 33 points and a big reason why was that he knocked down a career-high eight threes in the win. For a Rams team that has been streaky offensively this season, his shot making was really big in an atmosphere that has historically not been very kind to CSU. The win over UNLV is first for the Rams at the Thomas and Mack Center since 2017. It gets the Rams a little bit of payback too after being swept by the Rebels a season ago.

With 1,535 points in his career, Stevens is now fifth all-time at CSU in scoring. After dishing out nine more assists, he’s just 13 shy of the program record as well. While there have been some bumps in the road for the senior from Allen, TX, this season, when his team needed him the most, Stevens put together one of the all-time great performances by a Ram. It’s probably the best showing from a CSU player in a true road environment since Gian Clavell went off for 37 in a win over San Diego State at Viejas Arena in 2017. 

While this game will largely be remembered for Stevens’ heroics, it took a quality performance from the entire lineup. Jalen Lake (13), John Tonje (12) and Patrick Cartier (10) all finished with double-digit scoring figures. James Moors dang near recorded a double-double off the bench with nine points, nine boards. And although he did not have any points in the win, ‘Riv’ summoned his inner high school quarterback on the assist to Stevens at the end of regulation. It was a pass that would have made Clay Millen proud. Rivera was a workhorse defensively too with a couple of blocks and a steal. 

Ultimately the Rebels did score 81 points, however, 11 were produced in overtime, so to hold UNLV to 70 in regulation in their own building was a big win for CSU’s defense. Things were not perfect on that end but the Rams consistently gave the right effort and worked to make things tough on UNLV.

The fact that CSU managed to score 12 in OT, after playing such a grueling game, is also a testament to their heart. As was the effort on the glass, which was desperately needed in a game as tight as this one. After getting punked on the boards in the heartbreaking loss to Air Force earlier this week, the Rams really bought in as a group in this one and narrowly out-rebounded the Rebels 39-38 on their own floor.

Next Up

The road only gets more difficult from here. Coming off of the big win, CSU has the pleasure of hosting a San Diego State squad that will be eager to get back on track after losing to New Mexico on Saturday. 

After the way that the Rams lost to the Falcons at home though, it would not have been surprising if CSU got blown out in this type of game. UNLV has been a thorn in the side of the Rams for a couple of years now. It’s also just human nature after that type of a letdown. 

Nevertheless, instead of sulking and letting one poor performance compound into another one, CSU came out and earned one of the signature conference wins of Medved’s tenure. 

Maybe this was the game that the Rams needed to spark some type of run. They clearly have talent. You don’t beat Saint Mary’s or UNLV on the road without it. It’s been the consistency that has been missing. 

We’ll see if the Rams come out hungry once again on Wednesday night.