DENVER – In the final marquee non-conference game of the 2016-17 season, Colorado State men’s basketball turned in another Jekyll-and-Hyde type of performance. The Rams fell to Kansas State at Pepsi Center 89-70.
The loss moves CSU to 8-3, with just two games left until Mountain West games begin.
Action in the first half got off to a fast start, with both teams shooting 60 percent or better from the field. Kansas State grabbed the initial lead, but didn’t have an advantage of more than four points.
CSU led for the first time at 10-9 and then slowly extended their lead over the Wildcats. Gian Clavell and Prentiss Nixon got the Rams going offensively, combining for 23 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Larry Eustachy’s crew held what seemed to be a commanding 29-21 lead with 7:29 remaining in the half. The Rams set themselves up perfectly to rid the first half demons that had been plaguing them much of the season.
But Bruce Weber’s squad responded and regained the lead for good. Within two and a half minutes of game time, the Wildcats were on top 32-31. While Kansas State may have benefitted from Clavell being on the bench with foul trouble late in the half, they also forced several turnovers.
In the blink of an eye, Kansas State ended the half on a 17-3 run and went into the locker room with a 44-37 lead.
Things only got bleaker in the second half for the green and gold.
The Wildcats, who were receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, gave the Rams a dose of their own medicine. Weber saw six of his players reach double figures, with D.J. Johnson putting up 19 points.
Kansas State also held the edge in second-chance points (19-14), bench points (25-11), points in the paint (36-18) and fastbreak points (11-5).
What could be a cause for concern moving forward is that the trio of J.D. Paige, Nico Carvacho and Devocio Butler literally couldn’t get anything going. All three had been scoring threats in previous games (averaging nearly 27 points together), but put up no points as a group Saturday afternoon.
A more telling stat though was that while six Wildcats reached at least 10 points, only six Rams scored altogether.
“They were a better team tonight,” said Nixon. “That’s really all I can say. We got away from what we were doing. We got away from our gameplan. We weren’t guarding anybody. They were getting open looks – baseline drives, a kick to the corner – open looks after open looks. We played terribly.”
Eustachy emphasized that the team’s hot shooting start may have actually been a bad thing.
“I thought the start of the game, we had a falseness about us,” said Eustachy. “By making some shots which we ordinarily don’t. We got away from who we were and who we are. We’ve got to quickly get it back because we practice tomorrow and play on Monday.”
Though it wasn’t the team performance Eustachy hoped for, he was pleased with the play of Nixon, whose confidence seemingly grows with every game now.
“Prentiss was really good today,” Eustachy said. “And not just because he scored 30 points. He really showed a lot of leadership and a lot of heart. You just see him getting better and better, particularly against the better teams.”
If nothing else, today was evidence that this CSU team has a long way to go. Eustachy echoed that postgame.
“I’m not sitting here being shellshocked today, trust me,” the Rams’ head coach explained. “I think we can play with that team (Kansas State). It just wasn’t today at 1 o’clock.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Prentiss Nixon – The point guard served as the lone bright spot for the Rams, finishing with a career-high 30 points. Nixon was 9-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also made all eight of his free throws.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“We just got our ass kicked tonight.” – Emmanuel Omogbo
WHAT’S NEXT
CSU concludes their five-game homestand with a Monday night tilt against Loyola Marymount. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Moby Arena.
