FORT COLLINS, CO. — In the second matchup between a pair of conference foes, Colorado State and UNLV battled to the bitter end Saturday afternoon.
Both teams executed at an extremely high level offensively, challenging each other shot for shot. At times it almost felt like an NBA game with the way CSU and UNLV were able to put the ball in the hoop.
“It gets a little tiring but it was a great competitive game,” Isaiah Stevens said postgame.
“What a great college basketball game,” Niko Medved added.
For the Running Rebels of UNLV, it was the deadly duo of David Jenkins Jr. and Bryce Hamilton that did most of the damage. Much like in their win over Kansas State, Jenkins went off with 29 points on 66 percent shooting (13-of-19). And Hamilton was a walking bucket as well with 28 points of his own — largely off of extremely difficult shots.
In the end, though, it was the depth of CSU that proved to be too much for the visiting Rebels to overcome. While two players did essentially all of the damage for UNLV, the Green & Gold had multiple guys step up in the crunch time.
“That’s what a team is all about,” Medved said.
Coming off of a season-high 25 points in Game 1, Isaiah Stevens followed it up with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds on Saturday. He did have five turnovers — too many for a player of his caliber. But after rolling his ankle in the second half, then proceeding to close the game out and ultimately hitting the game-winning three, Saturday will go down as yet another memorable performance from the up-and-coming superstar.
“Just stay steady, stay confident,” Stevens said of his mindset throughout it all. “Coming down the stretch, personally, that’s what I was thinking. And just stay ready.”
In addition to Stevens, David Roddy chipped in with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds despite coming off of the bench. His biggest play came with about 45 seconds left, though. With a red-hot Hamilton looking to take the lead for UNLV, Roddy locked him down one-on-one and ended up forcing a shot clock violation. Without the strong defensive series, the Rams might have been trying to play catch up down the stretch instead of playing for the win.
“Huge! Hamilton had it going all night,” Stevens said of Roddy’s defensive play over the final minute. “We needed a stop.”
“David just continues to realize what a presence he can be on both ends,” Medved added. “You saw him sit down and use his athleticism and his length. What a tremendous play.”
John Tonje was solid in his first career start. The sophomore guard from Omaha, NE. has been productive as CSU’s sixth man but with Niko Medved opting to shake up the lineup and have Roddy come off the bench due to an internal matter, Tonje was up for the task in Saturday’s matchup with the Rebels.
Tonje had 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, he grabbed a pair of rebounds, and he continued to show his improvement on the defensive end — a big reason why Medved has trusted him to play important minutes this season.
“These are fun ones coming down to the wire,” Tonje said. “It’s fun to be a part of something like this.”
After winning three games that all came down to the wire, CSU (8-2, 5-1) continues to have its best start in league play ever.
“It’s huge for us,” Stevens said. “We learned a lot about ourselves. We learned a lot about how we’re built.”
Next up: At San Jose State.
