Patrick Cartier stands out in road loss to San Jose State

Colorado State struggled to get much of anything going on the offensive end in Tuesday’s 63-46 loss at San Jose State.

As a team the Rams shot just 37% from the floor (19 of 52) and finished with more turnovers (13) than assists (8). Going up against the lengthy Spartans lineup, CSU just really seemed out of sorts offensively for the vast majority of the night, especially when faced with any type of on-ball pressure. 

The Spartans racked up nine steals in the win and consistently found ways to disrupt CSU’s ball handlers. If it weren’t for the empty gym, it almost would have felt like the Rams were playing San Diego State with the way that SJSU’s defensive activity seemed to overwhelm them. 

In the end, despite hanging around for the first 35 minutes or so, the Rams simply could not score consistently enough to pull out the road upset. And after trailing by 1 with 12:57 to play, and by 4 with 8:48 to go, CSU was outscored 15-2 over the final 4:42 as the Rams closed the game just 1-of-11 from the floor. 

For SJSU, after losing 17 straight to CSU at one point, the Spartans were able to secure their first-ever season sweep of the Rams. Their turnaround under Tim Miles remains one of the best stories in college basketball. 

Here are some takeaways from the late-night matchup on CBS Sports Network. 

Cartier stood out

Patrick Cartier has been one of the most efficient post scorers in the country this season and the former Division II All-American put on a clinic in the paint in this one despite the final outcome. 

Cartier started the night by making CSU’s first three field goals of the game. After first finishing on a pair of post-up opportunities, the power forward made an open three to get the momentum rolling. And from there, Cartier never really seemed to be phased by a physical Spartan defense that gave the rest of the Rams fits in the half-court sets. 

Just like he did in the first half, Cartier opened the second half with a couple of impressive finishes down low. And just like he did in the first half, Cartier scored the first seven points of the second for the Green & Gold. 

In total the former Hillsdale College star finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. He paced the Rams in rebounds with six as well. Despite his best efforts though, it was not enough to lead CSU past San Jose State on their home floor. 

Spartans sparked by Cardenas 

The Spartans initially went up with an impressive shooting performance from deep. Led by Alvaro Cardenas, who hit three of five 3-point attempts in the first half, SJSU shot 39% from beyond the arc and really put pressure on CSU to respond. 

Fortunately for the Rams, while Cardenas did find his stroke early on, the Spartans did cool off as the half went on, which allowed CSU to hang around. 

The other big key to hanging around was holding Omari Moore to just 6 points on 2-of-10 shooting over the first 20 minutes. Had SJSU’s star point guard also found his rhythm out of the gate, things very easily could have spiraled out of control for a CSU team that made just two of its final 14 attempts from the floor in the first half. 

Key timeout 

After the Rams had gone six and a half minutes without recording a field goal in the first half, Isaiah Stevens finally ended the drought from the floor with a mid-range jump shot to pull the Rams within two possessions of the Spartans (25-19). 

However, prior to Stevens making the jumper, the Rams first were able to keep the possession alive with a pair of offensive rebounds: one from Isaiah Rivera and the other from Patrick Cartier. And while it was not a textbook example of what you’d want an offensive possession to look like — a perfect scenario would have been Cartier cashing the open three from the top of the key — it was a great example of hustle from the team after a really tough stretch. 

After Stevens made the field goal for just his 5th point of the night, Niko Medved immediately called a timeout, presumably to encourage his squad for their efforts on the sequence and to emphasize the importance of closing strong. 

With where the Rams were at in the game, the potential to tie or maybe even steal a slim lead was still on the table. But more than anything, CSU needed to ensure that after hanging around, they didn’t finish the final couple of minutes poorly and go down double digits at the break. 

Not enough gas 

The Rams did look like they had an opportunity to make the Spartans sweat in the second half. 

CSU responded well coming out of the break and traded shots with SJSU for roughly the first 10 minutes of the final period. 

But after limiting Omari Moore’s impact for much of the game, the lethal scorer was able to spark the Spartans’ final run with a pair of massive threes over the course of a minute. And once SJSU went back up double digits with about three and a half minutes to go, it was all but over the visiting Rams, who were pretty much running on fumes by then. 

Disappointing finish

Closing games has been an issue for CSU throughout this difficult season. The Rams blew chances to beat Air Force and San Diego State at Moby Arena earlier this winter. They ultimately blew a shot to earn a nice road win on Tuesday as well.

It’s admirable how this group continues to battle in spite of everything that’s gone wrong. But their inability to execute in the most crucial situations is a part of what has caused this team to come up short of expectations.

Next Up 

The Rams will look to close out a tough regular season on Senior Night against New Mexico this Friday. Tip-off is slated for 9:00 p.m. MT.