FORT COLLINS — Colorado State moved to 16-1 on Tuesday night, taking down the Nevada Wolf Pack 77-66 at Moby Arena.
It wasn’t always pretty. The Rams looked sluggish offensively in the first half, as Nevada did a nice job of keeping CSU out of the paint and the Rams struggled to knock down open looks. The Rams would finish with 32 points scored in the paint, however, 22 of it came after halftime. Over the first 20 minutes of action the Rams missed 20 of their first 30 attempts from the floor. They really forced some tough jump shots and passes in the process. And UNR’s height seemed to really give the Green & Gold trouble in general.
Part of the problem for the Rams on offense was that Isaiah Stevens struggled to knock down his looks. CSU’s junior point guard missed his first five shots in the game and although you could argue that he may have forced one or two of them, they were the types of jump shots that we are used to seeing him convert on a consistent basis. But that’s really just one example in what was a flustering performance on offense for CSU, at least in the first half.
Coming out of the break CSU looked like a completely different team. The Rams hit four consecutive shots from the floor and a 10-5 run out of the gate resulted in a timeout from the Wolf Pack after just 2 minutes of play. Then, from that point on, we saw the type of offensive production that has become synonymous with Moby Arena this season. After shooting 33.3 percent in the first half, the Rams shot a blistering 68 percent from the floor in the second.
“I’m just so proud of these guys. That’s as good of a win as we’ve had all season,” head coach Niko Medved said postgame. “You know, two guys down, they really found a way to respond like they always do.”
Stevens definitely was a factor in helping elevate the offense down the stretch. The shots that didn’t fall for him early all seemed to for him in the second half, and when it was all said and done, No. 4 had 16 points, five rebounds and an assist.
Chandler Jacobs was great in the victory as well, at one point scoring 7 consecutive points to help spark the Rams on that early run. He finished with 14 points and five boards in another strong start for the Dallas Baptist-transfer.
The star of the show, of course, was David Roddy, CSU’s junior guard/forward just seemed to be everywhere in this one. He drew a couple of big-time charges in key moments and also recorded a steal on defense. Roddy had 18 points and six assists on offense, both of which paced the Rams. He did his part on the glass too, recording a team-high eight rebounds on Tuesday night. It was the type of dominant showing that Roddy has become known for in the Mountain West and the fans ate up every single moment of it. On multiple occasions chants of “Roddy, Roddy, Roddy” echoed off the walls of Moby Arena, and for good reason, the junior was tremendous.
Finally, James Moors came up clutch on the defensive end in a season-high 26 minutes of action. With Dischon Thomas in foul trouble for much of the night, Moors had to step up and fill a significantly larger role on a night when it was desperately needed. The big man from New Zealand was up for the task.
Next up: The Rams will look to win their 17th game of the season when UNLV comes to town on Friday night.
