Colorado State (1-0) started off the 2023-24 season with an 81-73 victory over Louisiana Tech (0-1) on Monday night.
Things were not always easy for the Rams in this one. CSU looked like a roster with multiple new rotational members in the early stages of the matchup. And to LTU’s credit, they did a good job of being physical and really mucking up the flow of the game.
Fortunately for Ram Nation, after trailing by as much as 11 in the early stages of the second half, Niko Medved’s squad responded in a major way down the stretch.
After allowing LTU to make its first seven field goal attempts of the second half and going down 53-42 with just over 14 minutes on the clock, CSU really picked up the intensity on the defensive end while also coming alive offensively. And after looking like things could potentially get away from them just a few minutes prior, the Rams used a 22-5 run to establish a two-possession lead with about 7 minutes to go. A lead they would ultimately hold for the remainder of the contest.
“It was good to find a way to get a win here,” Medved told reporters postgame.
“I thought the crowd was great. I thought when we needed it, the crowd really came through and brought the energy. The students were awesome tonight which they’ve been for us. But give Louisiana Tech a lot of credit. I thought they came in and they really made the game choppy.”
Medved continued, explaining how the Bulldogs switched one through five defensively, and that it gave the Rams some troubles initially. He also mentioned that he sensed some nervousness from his guys pregame and that there were some jitters they had to work through which resulted in some uncharacteristic mistakes. To the credit of the Rams though, after surviving LTU’s initial punch out of the break, the Rams really buckled down to hold the Bulldogs to just 9-of-28 shooting down the stretch.
“We dug in,” Medved said. “We made a couple of adjustments and started switching some things. Guys found a way to get some stops and get on the attack. And we found a way to get out of here with a hard-fought win.”
Leading the Green & Gold in scoring was Joel Scott, a former Division II superstar for Black Hills State. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward finished with 18 points on 67 percent shooting from the floor. And perhaps more importantly, he showed the kind of athleticism and physicality that made him a target for this CSU staff in the first place.
Following the game, Medved praised Scott for his consistency, telling reporters that he’s looked the part from his very first day on campus.
“If you turn on the film from Black Hills State, it doesn’t look any different,” Medved said. “It didn’t look any different here or in our scrimmages. He’s a tough young man. And he knows how to play.”
Sitting next to Isaiah Stevens with a smile on his face, Scott fielded questions like a pro during the postgame media session. He was honest about the human nature of wanting to perform well in his big debut for the Rams, but he explained how he also didn’t want to put too much pressure on himself. He knows that this is a good team, so as long as he trusts his teammates, they are going to put him in a spot to succeed.
“I can’t do it without my teammates, I can’t do it without my coaches,” Scott said. “They put me in a good position tonight and it just worked out well for me.”
As far as making the jump from DII to D1 goes, Scott did add that it’s a little bit different from what he’s experienced, but he does not feel like a fish out of water or anything like that. At the end of the day, it’s just basketball.
While the transition may not be much of a challenge for Scott, of course, it helps when you’re playing with one of the savviest point guards in college basketball history. And Stevens certainly made his presence felt in this one with 15 points, 10 assists and a pair of steals in the win.
It was Stevens that propelled CSU ahead of LTU with a quick 5-point burst in the second half. And when the game was ultimately there for the taking, it was Stevens that created much of CSU’s most important offense with his elite passing skills.
In typical fashion, Stevens was calm, cool and collected postgame. He talked up the Louisiana Tech players and praised their program for being competitive. But on a night where they did not necessarily have their ‘A-game’, Stevens was really proud of the response of his teammates in the locker room.
“This was really good for us — finding a way to be able to come out on top — even though it was a tough game,” Stevens said. “Louisiana Tech is a really good program with a lot of high-level players. So I just feel like, tonight, the way we were able to get the job done, I think it was important for us.”
Along with Scott and Stevens, fellow starters Patrick Cartier (14 points) and Nique Clifford (16 points) each finished the win in double-digit scoring figures.
Cartier provided a post presence offensively and much like Scott, he demonstrated on multiple occasions that he was simply too skilled for the LTU defenders to shut down in the paint.
Clifford, on the other hand, was valuable on the perimeter where he took advantage of multiple catch and shoot opportunities from 3-point range. He was an absolute beast going downhill as well. If he wanted to get to the rim, there really was not much the Bulldogs could do to slow down the lengthy, explosive guard. If he continues to look like this moving forward, the former CU starter very well may be one of the most important transfer additions in the Mountain West this season.
Coming off of the home win, the Rams will host Wright State on Friday night before hitting the road for a game at Northern Colorado on Nov. 14. The schedule only gets tougher as we move closer to December, so taking advantage of these early non-conference games is crucial. Starting off with a big win in front of the home fans is always a great place to start.
