FORT COLLINS — Wednesday night had everything you could hope for as a college basketball fan. 

A sold out arena, filled to the rafters with ruckus supporters largely wearing white but a few in brown and gold cheering on the visitors as well. A pair of teams with hopes of winning the Mountain West and competing in the NCAA Tournament. And a rivalry game that came down to the final minutes before the students stormed the court in celebration of Colorado State’s 61-55 Border War victory. 

“You know, what a night, what a great night here in Moby Arena. The fans and the atmosphere were awesome,” men’s head basketball coach Niko Medved said postgame. “You could feel it in the build up to the game and our guys delivered with a terrific defensive performance.”

The Rams win the Border War & Ram Nation rejoices on the floor together.

What a night. pic.twitter.com/8oD2CGGNDh

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) February 24, 2022

In a must-win game Colorado State locked down Wyoming as the Rams were able to hold the Cowboys to just 34 percent shooting from the floor. A big part of that defensive success was due to CSU neutralizing Wyoming’s star duo of Hunter Maldonado and Graham Ike. They combined for just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in the loss and were never able to get in any type of groove. 

“I thought our guys came out with a great mindset. They’re a very difficult team to defend,” Medved said. “We tried to make some other guys take shots. And I thought we did that and at times they made us pay. I thought they made it very difficult on us too, they’re a really good team. They’re very well-coached. And it came down to the wire, just like we all thought it would.”

While it was a tough night for Maldonado and Ike, two guys that each have strong cases to receive All-Mountain West recognition at the end of the year, David Roddy was able to score from all levels in this one. 

Roddy led all scorers with 26 points and it took him just 13 attempts from the floor to do it (8-of-13). He hit four of his seven shots from beyond the 3-point arc, so his long-range abilities were on display. He consistently finished with finesse at the hoop against tough defense too. Not to mention that when he got fouled Roddy delivered at the free throw line, where he finished 6-of-7 in the win. 

If all of that wasn’t enough, Roddy secured 11 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season, he led the Rams with three steals and the versatile superstar had a block on defense to boot. 

Big three from David Roddy to put @CSUMBasketball up 31-27 at the break.

Roddy leads all scorers with 17 points so far. pic.twitter.com/oLf2vy1zrX

— Justin Michael (@JustinTMichael) February 24, 2022

Following the standout performance, Roddy spoke to his mindset, explaining that it was the most even keel he had ever felt going into a game. “Just confident in myself and my teammates that no matter what, we’re gonna win this game. So I tried to show that on the defensive end with my intensity.”

Roddy also had high praise for Chandler Jacobs for stepping up and hitting big shots down the stretch. Jacobs had 18 points (7-of-11) and hit four crucial 3-pointers for the Rams. He did almost all of his damage in the second half though, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting to help CSU secure the season split with the rivals from the North. 

“Coming into the game I wanted to be ultra aggressive on both ends of the floor,” Jacobs said. “That was kind of the mindset that I had. I went to bed last night just prepping for this game. So it felt good to execute it in house when things go my way.”

Isaiah Stevens was CSU’s third and final scorer to finish the night with double-digit figures (10 points) but where he really shined was as a facilitator with a game-high six assists. His defense was solid in a grueling 37 minutes on the floor. And he just made winning plays for CSU all night. It was exactly what the Rams needed from their veteran point guard, especially with Roddy and Jacobs shouldering the majority of scoring. 

Flipping things over to the other side, Drake Jeffries led Wyoming with 22 points, doing most of his damage from deep (6-of-15). Xavier DuSell hit a trio of threes in the first half as well and finished with 11 points. Really, it was the 3-point shooting from these two guys that allowed the Cowboys to keep things tight without their best options producing like they typically do. Jeffries and DuSell just weren’t able to keep up the hot pace for all 40 minutes against a gritty Rams defense that seemed to get even stronger as the game went on. 

Wyoming was held scoreless for the final 3:42 on Wednesday and missed each of its last four attempts from the floor. So when the game was still potentially there for the taking, CSU really buckled down and made sure that there wasn’t any possibility of a late collapse. They did it without fouling too, which was something the Rams struggled with in the first meeting. After getting to the line for 24 free throw attempts in their overtime win in Laramie, the Cowboys only had six chances from the charity stripe on Wednesday. Wyoming did hit all of its free throws but it just wasn’t enough to make a substantial difference in the outcome. 

With the season series now evened, CSU’s chances of winning the Mountain West regular season title for the first time remain alive. The Rams will still need to win out and have Boise State drop a game in addition to the Broncos’ trip to Moby Arena on March 5. To have four teams still in contention for the crown at this stage of the year is a great indicator of the talent in this league though. It’s also particularly special to have the Rams and Cowboys playing such important games — something Medved took the time to address in his opening victory statement. 

“I told Jeff (Linder) this, it’s really cool when both programs are playing at a high level and when both programs have fan bases that are engaged,” Medved said. “It’s awesome for college athletics, it’s awesome for sports and I just think it just adds into the whole thing.” 

Medved added that this was the first time that the two schools had played with both groups already having 20 wins under their belts. Wyoming may not be the most fun group to go up against but when both teams are playing well, competing and pushing each other, as Medved said with a smile on his face, that’s good stuff.

“I’m proud of our guys, man. They made play after play when they had to. And that’s a big win for us.”