CSU in control in win over Lobos
ALBUQUERQUE — The jig is up. The rest of the Mountain West Conference is on to the four-guard offense.
On a night when most of the 12,078 in attendance in The Pit expected a dogfight, they saw the New Mexico Lobos meekly shuffle off of Bob King Court. Colorado State, behind 24 points from Gian Clavell, controlled the tempo — and Lobos junior guard Elijah Brown — for a 68-56 win Tuesday night in Mountain Conference play.
With the win, CSU (19-9 overall, 11-4 MWC) takes a half-game edge over Nevada and Boise State atop the conference. Meanwhile, the Lobos (16-12, 9-7) find themselves closer to a first-round tournament game (a half-game away from the dreaded No. 6 seed) than the top of the standings. Given the tight nature of the conference standings, a two-game losing streak probably feels like four.
“They know where they are,” UNM head coach Craig Neal said. “They know where they stand. I think the biggest thing is we gotta continue to get better and try to push forward. They’re giving everything they got. They’re trying to do everything, but it’s just difficult right now.”
It’s difficult when a team can’t hit shots. UNM recorded its fewest points since scoring just 46 against Arizona on Dec. 20, and it comes on the heels of a 71-61 loss Saturday at Fresno State.
Buckets became harder to come by as the second half progressed. The Lobos were 6-for-20 through the first 17 minutes after the break as the Rams focused on denying Brown the ball and pushing him further away from the basket when he had it. While he hit four 3-pointers on the night, Brown
struggled to get to the free-throw line.
He made just 4 of 7 at the stripe and is just 6-for-10 in the last two games after his 13-for-14 effort in a 78-73 win over Boise State. Overall, the Lobos shot their fewest free throws of the season (12), which makes points doubly hard considering they average 25.5 free throws per contest.
“We had seven free throws [made],” Neal said. “We’re first in the country in free-throw rate. We just didn’t get anything going to the rim. We weren’t physical and we just got to continue to work on that.”
At one point in the second half, the Lobos missed six straight shots as other players had to take advantage of their opportunities. Freshman Damien Jefferson went 1-for-3 in the second half, as was Aget. Freshman Jalen Harris miss all three of his attempts, while sophomore Dane Kuiper went 0-for-2.
“We’ve got some guys that were a little bit tentative,” Neal said. “Hopefully, they’ll get over that. We’re starting two freshmen and playing a lot of sophomores off the bench. I mean, they’re put in some different roles. We had three freshmen on the court at one time.”
If only Neal had a senior like Clavell, the 6-foot-4 Rams guard who owned The Pit floor for most of the night. Clavell missed his first four shots, then proceeded to hit four of his next five with defenders in his face.
The victim of most of those makes over Kuiper, who played as good a defense as he could, but the Rams senior was in the zone by that point. The streak started with he hit a 15-foot baseline jumper with 10:18 to go in the first half that gave Colorado State a 17-16 lead.
Clavell then followed with a 3 in Kuiper’s face as the Rams went on a 7-0 spurt for a 22-16 lead. When UNM responded with an 8-1 run capped by Obig Aget’s shot off the glass with 6:06 left in the half for a 24-23 lead, Clavell calmly did it again to Kuiper.
He drained another baseline jumper with the 6-7 Kuiper all over him that started a 9-0 Rams run for a 32-24 lead. Even Clavell admitted Kuiper’s defense was good. He was just a little bit better.
“I’m going to hit tough shots,” Clavell said. “It’s what I do. … He’s tough. He’s a tough guy. I like him.”
When Clavell drained his fourth and final 3 of the night with 11:03 left in the game for a 48-38 lead, he shushed the crowd on his way back to play defense.
“I’m just having fun with it,” Clavell said. “I like playing big crowds. When it gets loud, I think they’re cheering for me. I just like it.”
There was plenty to like for the Rams.
The Lobos, meanwhile, have plenty of work to do and just two games over the next 11 days to get it done.
“For Elijah Brown, people are guarding him, they’re trying to take him away, they’re trying to take things away that we’ve done for him,” Neal said. “Some other guys have to step up, but that’s part of it.
“We’ll keep working. Hopefully, they’ll do it. I’m optimistic they will.”
If not, expect more of the same the rest of the way.