FORT COLLINS – Larry Eustachy called last year’s loss to Northern Colorado the worst loss he’s experienced in his time at Colorado State. But he and the Rams got the best of the Bears on Saturday with a 76-54 victory at Moby Arena.
CSU, now 8-2, played a bit of a lackluster first half. The green and gold shot 38 percent in the opening 20 minutes and took way too many 3-point shots. Eustachy’s bunch made just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.
The Bears, on the other hand, used their three-point shooting to stay in the game. UNC went 6-of-17 from deep in the first half, with three of the makes coming from Chaz Glotta.
Despite holding a 25-18 rebounding edge at halftime, CSU went into the locker room leading just 34-33.
But CSU got back to what they’ve done so well in second halves of several games this season: getting the ball inside and wearing teams out with a balanced scoring attack.
Nico Carvacho, J.D. Paige, Devocio Butler and Gian Clavell all got into double-figures. Butler, who came off the bench, led the team with 19 points.
“I just play in the flow of the game,” said Butler. “I take what I can get. I’m not trying to force anything.”
In his season debut, Clavell went 5-of-12 from the field and finished with 15 points. The senior guard from Puerto Rico was reinstated Friday from a suspension stemming from an arrest in early November.
Eustachy spoke to Clavell’s impact postgame.
“I thought it was great the way the fans received him,” Eustachy said. “Even neater was how this family of our team has held together and how they embraced him. We move forward.”
There’s no doubting that the Rams benefitted from Clavell’s absence from a development standpoint. As opposed to counting on a 20-point scorer, CSU made a trend of putting a different leading scorer on the stat sheet seemingly every game.
“We grew a lot just by having extra minutes,” said Eustachy. “I just love the way that there is not jealously on this team, from what I can see. Anthony Bonner would not have appeared if Gian (Clavell) were playing. Look at J.D. Paige and the player that he is becoming. We had 30 minutes for other guys to play. We are eight bad minutes away from being undefeated. That is pretty impressive from a fairly young team.”
One of the players who’s shown major strides is Carvacho. The Rams’ center notched his first collegiate double-double, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes.
“He’s an absolute, professional prospect,” Eustachy said of his freshman big man. “He may not be here four years. I think he’s that good. Usually when you’re that big, you’re playing because you’re that big. If he was 5-9, he would play. He’s got major upside.”
By game’s end, the Rams overmatched the Bears in a number of categories. CSU outscored UNC in the paint 34-18 and got 19 second-chance points. Maybe most impressively though, CSU bench players accounted for 41 points in yet another team-effort win.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Butler – Eustachy has turned him into the team’s sixth man and Butler hasn’t disappointed. His team-leading 19 points came from inside, outside and in transition.
Carvacho – He went 5-of-6 from the field and made a matchup nightmare for UNC.
BY THE NUMBERS
34 – The number of three-point attempts by the Bears. UNC made only 10 of them and just four in the second half
2:22 – The amount of time the game was tied. CSU was in control for the remaining 37:38
30 – Free throws attempted by the Rams, compared to just 14 for the Bears
WHAT’S NEXT
The Rams will have a full week off before making their way down to Denver for a meeting with Kansas State at Pepsi Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
