James, Cowboys ride herd on Rams in rivalry victory
LARAMIE» The second half of Colorado State’s Jan. 23 matchup against Nevada should have been the worst basketball it played this season. The game got out of hand fast as the Rams were outscored by 33 points and held to just 25 points in that half in a blowout loss.
It can’t get any worse, right? Wrong.
On Saturday, the Rams sunk lower than they have all season in the first half, scoring only 22 points. They sleep-walked through the first 10 minutes of the game and never made up for it in a 74-66 loss to Wyoming in which Cowboys guard Justin James scored a career-high 36 points.
“They completely outplayed us in every way,” CSU coach Niko Medved said. “They were tougher, they were more together, they were more poised, they played with more energy. They just completely took it to us in every fashion.”
The most puzzling part of the Rams’ play against the Cowboys is the fact it came off one of their stronger performances of the season, a closer-than-it-looked loss to No. 6 Nevada.
CSU’S energy level matched some of its lowest depths of the season coming into Laramie against the 5-17 Cowboys, whose only conference victory came against cellar-dwellers San Jose State. The Cowboys took advantage of a noticeable lack of energy early to open a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game.
“I knew they’d play well,” Medved said. “I knew they would come out here, they’re going to play hard and want to beat you in the worst way, and you better be ready for that. Clearly our ap- proach in the first 10 minutes of the game was, for lack of a better word, kind of embarrassing.
“You could sense it right away in the game. My self, as a staff, whatever, we just were not ready. I don’t know if we wanted it easy or thought it was going to be like Air Force.”
Similar to the beginning of the Nevada contest, Wyoming came out on fire from 3-point range, nailing its first seven shots from deep. When the Rams had the ball, they had no answer for Wyoming’s zone defense. Like they struggled to do in a loss to Boise State, the Rams could not penetrate the Pokes’ zone. In many cases, it led to passive ball movement around the perimeter or a turnover.
“We knew they were going to zone us, we worked on it,” Medved said. “I just think we did a really poor job of executing. They forced us out of operating areas and we really didn’t drive the ball.”
As the offense continued to muddle, the Rams’ defense actually kept them within striking distance. They found a way to force turnovers and keep Wyoming from lighting up the scoreboard. Still, CSU found no offensive rhythm, going into the break with a lowly 22 points.
“We started off not very well with their zone, we got stagnant. We didn’t come out with enough energy,” CSU center Nico Carvacho said. “We’ve done it before. It’s something we’ve done and proven, so we’ve got to go out there and do it.”
Wyoming finished 13-of-24 from long distance, led by James’ 5-of-6 effort.