Carvacho and Moore lead Rams past Eagles

Colorado State basketball used efficient shooting to respond from a first-round loss in the Gulf Coast Showcase with an 82-74 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday afternoon.

After their most stagnant offensive performance of the season and first-round loss to LouisianaLafayette, the Rams came out quick and mounted an early advantage.

CSU worked the ball through Nico Carvacho in the low-post. He finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds.

“We came out of the gates and played much better early than we did yesterday, so that was a great response I thought from our guys,” Coach Niko Medved told 102.9 FM after the game. “It was a good team effort, and it was really good to see Nico get going offensively, too.”

FGCU did respond, though, eventually erasing an eight-point deficit with two minutes remaining in the first half. that’s when Kendle Moore and the Rams’ defense picked up intensity. They forced multiple Eagles turnovers and Moore scored the final eight points of the half while the Rams finished on a 10-0 run to regain an eight-point advantage at halftime.

Carvacho and Moore continued the offensive attack in the second half as the Rams opened up a 19point lead with 8:52 remaining. combining stifling defense with transition scores, the Rams seemed in control of the contest. but as they did in the first half, the Eagles again mounted a comeback and trimmed CSU’s lead to three points with 3:17 to play.

Carvacho fouled out with two minutes of play, but the Rams still held on for the second-round victory thanks in large part to successive layups from Anthony Masinton-Bonner and J.D. Paige in the closing minutes.

“Weneedtogetbetterthere,especially late, the turnovers really, really hurt us,” Medved said. “But what I loved about today was we got off to a nice start, had a lead, then they came and made a run at us. I thought the run at the end of the first half was absolutely critical for us to make that run going into halftime. We kind of hung on by a thread, but some guys made some huge plays here down the stretch when we needed them.”

Moore finished the game with 17 points, five steals, four rebounds and four assists while sooting 80 percent from the field (8-for-10). Masinton-Bonner also scored 17 and led the team with 34 minutes played.

“Yesterday I had a tough game,” Moore said on 102.9 FM. “The coaches talked to me and told me that i’m gonna make mistakes, but bounce back today and play with a little bit more poise and patience. that’s what i tried to do today.”

In total, the Rams shot 60 percent from the field.

With the win, CSU plays South Dakota State on Wednesday At 11:30 a.m. to conclude the tournament.

Kris Martin will play his first game with CSU after sitting out all of 2017-18 due to transfer rules and missing the first five games of this season due to suspension.