Fort Collins – There’s little logic to Colorado State’s woeful Mountain West Conference record getting worse in order for the team to get better.
Then again, there’s no logic to a team coming off a stellar 11-2 nonleague start regressing to its last-place form of the past two seasons, especially in a conference that is average at best.
But CSU (12-8, 1-6) managed to drop its fourth straight Saturday, 86-84 to a Brigham Young team that needed overtime at home last week to get past TCU. The Rams are tied with the league newcomer for last place.
Unlike Wednesday’s loss to Wyoming, CSU came out with some intensity and had a chance to win in the final minutes. But the Rams couldn’t capitalize on two good looks at the basket in the final 14 seconds.
“I thought we played better,” CSU coach Dale Layer said. “Our intensity was better. We played a better basketball game. … We weren’t patient at times. Our bigs (centers Jason Smith, Stuart Creason and Michael Harrison) tried to do too much, and that was our downfall.”
The Rams squandered a fast start and trailed 70-58 midway through the second half. CSU reclaimed the lead just once, 78-77, on a 3-pointer by Stephan Gilling with 2:56 left. Although the Cougars (12-6, 4-3) went back up by four after Jimmy Balderson’s layup with 1:29 remaining, Smith put the Rams in position to regain the lead when the 7-foot sophomore knocked down a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.
Two chances to put up a game winner in the last 14 seconds went awry for the Rams. BYU couldn’t answer Smith’s shot when a pass fell in Andrew Patterson’s hands. Smith forced a jumper in traffic that missed with 14 seconds showing.
After Austin Ainge hit 1-of-2 foul shots, CSU still had enough time to win or force overtime.
Fernando Malaman knocked the ball out of Gilling’s hands as the freshman was looking to shoot with 1.1 seconds left.
“I feel like we stole two in a row,” Ainge said of the overtime win and BYU’s first MWC road breakthrough in eight games over two seasons.
Layer said Ainge, the backup point guard and son of former BYU legend Danny Ainge, was one of the difference makers with the way he handled CSU’s press.
The Cougars had a season- high 17 steals contributing to the Rams’ 24 turnovers. Smith had an impressive night with a team-high 23 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots, but he turned the ball over eight times.
After the loss to Wyoming, the Rams sequestered themselves in the locker room for 90 minutes. Layer said it was mostly players doing the talking.
Rams point guard Cory Lewis said: “The other night we said everyone has to play with more emotion. The last few games we played like we didn’t care. I was just trying to get (the Wyoming game) out of my head. It was really frustrating tonight because we couldn’t get a stop when we needed it.”
BYU (12-6, 4-3)
Young 1-5 1-4 3, Plaisted 7-15 1-2 15, Broadus 2-5 0-2 6, Reichner 6-10 7-7 23, Cummard 0-0 0-0 0, Emery 0-0 0-0 0, Ainge 1-5 3-4 5, Malaman 4-5 1-1 10, Balderson 8-12 7-8 24, Dawes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 20-28 86.
COLORADO STATE (12-8, 1-6)
Smith 8-11 6-8 23, Harrison 3-3 3-3 9, Lewis 6-13 3-5 16, M. Morris 1-4 2-4 4, Gilling 4-7 0-0 11, S. Morris 1-4 0-0 2, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Patterson 1-2 0-0 3, Creason 3-3 8-11 14, Robinson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-48 22-31 84.
Halftime – Brigham Young 43-41. 3-point goals – BYU 8-14 (Reichner 4-6, Broadus 2-3, Malaman 1-1, Balderson 1-2, Ainge 0-2), Colorado St. 6-13 (Gilling 3-6, Smith 1-1, Patterson 1-1, Lewis 1-3, M. Morris 0-1, S. Morris 0-1). Fouled out – Plaisted, Reichner. Rebounds – BYU 24 (Plaisted 7), Colorado St. 34 (Smith 9). Assists – BYU 21 (Ainge 6), Colorado St. 21 (Lewis 8). Total fouls – BYU 25, Colorado St. 24. A – 4,043.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-820-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
