Rams Tame ‘Dogs 75-53 In MWC Opener

It wasn’t the prettiest  but then again it was a D-1 conference opener, not an art class, as the Colorado State Men’s Basketball team began their 2020-21 MWC season with a resounding win over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Colorado State struggled to establish their tempo offensively in the first half, some of which was created by their own lack of discipline and some of which was created by Fresno’s gritty effort in forcing the Rams out of their favored spots on the floor. The Rams repeatedly made silly mistakes causing empty possessions and easy Fresno run outs.

The Rams defense was once again superb, forcing repeated turnovers by Fresno, and when some clean rebounds by David Roddy got the Rams going in transition, they quickly broke open a close game as Kendle Moore ran off 8 quick points.   The lead was 33-22 at the half.

The halftime adjustment was simple. Play with more control and precision on the offensive end.

After a little bit of a defensive lapse to start the half allowed the Bulldogs to close within 6, the Rams began to execute in the halfcourt with minimal turnovers (only 4 in the half compared to 11 in the first half). They gradually pulled away as both David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens heated up from the perimeter. At the same time, they effectively shut down Fresno big Orlando Robinson with Roddy doing yeoman’s defensive work on his taller opponent.

Roddy would finish the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Stevens with 16 and 9 assists, and Moore with 14. Robinson led the way for Fresno State with 14 along with 10 rebounds.

Defensively, the Rams would hold their opponent to less than 60 points for the 4th consecutive game and limited Fresno State to only .78 points per possession. They forced 22 turnovers, six of which came on offensive fouls as the Rams took the paint away from the Bulldogs. And they did it while continuing to get minutes for their young bench which should pay dividends as the season progresses.

The Rams moved their record to 4-1, 1-0 in the MWC. Fresno fell to 2-1, 0-1.

The two teams meet again in the second of the Pandemic Pair on Wednesday at 2:00PM MST.

Stevens’ Near Double-Double

Sophomore guard Isaiah Stevens recorded his 9th assist with plenty of time remaining for him to get that coveted double-double of points and assists. And his teammates knew about it too. Kendle Moore told Isaiah to get him the ball and he’d make the shot to get Isaiah his 10th. Isaiah found Kendle in his favored left corner and Kendle missed. Isaiah grabbed the offensive rebound and immediately found Kendle in the same spot. And Kendle missed again!

Said Kendle after the game, “I guess I have to buy Isaiah lunch tomorrow.”

Bench Contributions

The Rams got 15 points from their bench as they continued to show progress on both ends of the floor. Freshman Isaiah Rivera, in only his 4th game, has already earned the confidence of his head coach. Coming out of a timeout, Medved ran a play for his freshman with the game still in the balance. Rivera was to shoot a three but when Fresno took that away from him, he drove hard to the basket and drew a shooting foul. Medved was effusive in his praise of Rivera’s performance on the floor but he spoke like a proud dad when he also revealed “Isaiah earned a 4.0 in his first college semester.”