FORT COLLINS — With former coach Tim Miles on the opposing team’s bench, the Colorado State men’s basketball team won its fourth game in a row Friday, defeating San Jose State, 66-47, at Moby Arena.
CSU improved to 19-5 overall and 7-4 in the Mountain West Conference. Miles and the Spartans fell to 8-16 and 1-10 in the MW.
“Another good win for our guys tonight, kind of a workman-like performance I thought,” CSU head coach Niko Medved said. “Defensively, we were pretty good for most of the night. We got a little choppy offensively in the second half but found a way to grind it out.”
The game was never in doubt for CSU as the Rams pulled away for good just six minutes into the game. Behind by a 10-9 score, CSU got a layup from Nique Clifford and never trailed again as the CU transfer’s first field goal of the game sparked a 13-0 run.
San Jose State went more than five minutes without a point as the Rams took a 22-10 lead on a layup by Patrick Cartier with 7:33 left in the first half.
CSU continued to pull away during the remainder of the first half, taking their largest lead of the opening period just before the buzzer when a layup by Joel Scott gave the Rams a 38-19 advantage.
Defensively, the Rams had one of their best efforts of the season, holding the Spartans to just eight field goals in the first 20 minutes.
“We talked a lot about defense when we prepared for the game,” CSU freshman Rashaan Mbemba said. “The biggest key was communication. I think we did a very good job on that. I think that is also the key factor to why we played that good of defense. And we tried to be the more physical team.”
Mbemba ended up matching his career high offensively, leading the Rams with 13 points.
The Spartans opened the second half with a 12-5 run to cut the CSU lead to 43-31 with 16:02 left in the game and then cut the Rams’ advantage to 10 with 13:29 remaining.
“Every game is going to be like that,” CSU forward Joel Scott said. “Every team in the Mountain West is going to throw a punch. It’s just how it is. It’s a great league, so we knew the punch was coming. That was their punch and we had to come together, keep doing our things and keep doing what we do well.”
That would be as close as they would get as Isaiah Stevens got hot down the stretch with a couple of 3-pointers, helping re-establish a 19-point lead at 62-43 with 3:57 left.
In addition to Mbemba’s 13 point, Scott added 12, Clifford 11 and Stevens nine. Clifford had 11 rebound and Stevens had 11 assists.
Mbemba continues to take advantage of his minutes off the bench, of which he is grateful for and wants to do all he can when he is on the court.
“I have restricted minutes, so I try to do everything I can on the court when I am on the court,” Mbemba said. “Seeing it work out like today, it makes me happy.”
The Rams will be back in action Tuesday at San Diego State. CSU won the first meeting between the two teams, 79-71, at Moby Arena on Jan. 30.
That game is only the beginning of a tough three-game stretch for the Rams that includes a home game against Utah State next Saturday and then a visit to New Mexico on Feb. 21.
The four-game winning streak is nice, but the Rams know what lies ahead.
“It’s nice to have a little win streak, but at the same time, those are in the past,” Scott said. “We’ve got to focus on the present, the game next because we know no game is easy in the Mountain West, so it’s San Diego State next and that’s what we’re focused on.”
