Recap: CSU out-worked by Long Beach State, lose 83-77

Out-toughed, out-defended, out-played. Colorado State didn’t have what it takes to win Thursday night.

Colorado State started out the game in the lead, but Long Beach State hung in there and took the lead at the mid-way point in the first half on the strength of an 11-3 run. The Rams were plagued by sloppy play from the middle to the end of the first half, turning the ball over seven times before the break. Meanwhile, LBSU shot 50 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent (8-13) from downtown and took the 42-34 lead into halftime.

The 49ers pushed their lead to as much as 11 early in the second half before John Gillon started turning it on and hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the gap was then five. Colorado State clawed their way back into the contest and took the lead back with a Prentiss Nixon 3-pointer at 13:44 left in regulation. It was the first time CSU led since 10:09 to go in the first half, but the 49ers stormed back ahead. In fact, with seven minutes to play, a lazy pass by Gillon to Clavell was stolen by Nick Faust, who drilled a 3-pointer for the nine-point LBSU lead.

The Rams kept fighting stalwartly, as Larry Eustachy searched for a lineup combination which would work the best. Emmanuel Omogbo was a strong presence for the Rams all night long, notching a double-double of (points, rebounds), and his and-one layup with 3:44 to go brought CSU within one point. But that’s as close as they would come as LBSU’s extra effort led them to the 83-77 win.

STAR OF THE GAME

John Gillon scored a career-high 28 points on 7-13 shooting, including 6-10 from downtown. And, Gillon was only one of two Rams to shoot perfect from the free throw line.

Gian Clavell also had a double-double of 20 points with 15 rebounds.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Nick Faust’s steal with 19 seconds to go was the play of the game for LBSU. With the 49ers leading by four points, the Rams needed a bucket to stay in the game, but Faust stole the ball and helped salt away the win.

TURNING POINT

The turning point came with 9:09 left in the first half when A.J. Spencer of LBSU nailed a 3-pointer for the 23-20 lead. The 49ers gained confidence once they took that lead, never relenting and only trailing for 40 seconds the rest of the game.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Rams missed an absurd 16 free throws in the game, going 23-39 for 59 percent on the game.

CSU out-rebounded LBSU 44-36 but the Rams were out-scored 32-14 in the paint.

The Rams committed 14 turnovers in the game, which was far too many to give them a chance to win.

This was the first non-conference home loss since losing to Denver University in 2013.

Attendance: 3,581

QUOTES OF THE GAME

“Even if we figured out a way to pull that game out, we wouldn’t have deserved it,” Larry Eustachy said. “We were out-toughed, out-determined the whole game. Which, I’m not really used to…Free throws have nothing to do with it, I don’t buy that…What killed us is when we did get stops late in the game we didn’t grab the ball.”

“I’ll say, no, we’re not tough enough as a team,” Gillon said post-game.

LASTING IMPACT

This is now the second straight loss for Colorado State as they fall to 5-2 overall. This also snaps a 10-game home winning streak for the Rams. Simply, the Rams have to find a way to play better defense or they’ll continue to lose sloppy, ugly games like this down the stretch.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next up is a huge matchup against in-state rival the Colorado Buffaloes (6-1) on Sunday, Dec. 5. The game is a “Green Out” for Colorado State fans and tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. MT.