SANTA CRUZ –– In multiple aspects, Colorado State’s Tuesday afternoon clash against Santa Clara resembled last week’s forgettable demise at Saint Mary’s.
For the second consecutive contest, coach Niko Medved’s squad struggled to achieve offensive consistency after accruing just 33 tallies against the Gaels –– the program’s lowest single-game point total since 1982.
However, to CSU’s avail, the team’s young defense maintained its recent dominance while the offense did just enough to help secure a 70-57 victory before Mountain West play commences Monday.
“We’ve got to improve on the offensive end, and I believe that we will,” Medved said. “Some of it is just a timing thing and a feel for how different people are guarding us. But you’ve got to have that tougher mindset that we have. I thought that was such a positive for us tonight. We stayed together, we kept competing, we had a grit about us and didn’t let the frustration of not making shots get to us. We just kept guarding. This was a really good win for us.”
CSU (3-1) held the previously unbeaten Broncos (6-1) to a 36.4 percent overall mark from the floor as the green and gold kept their opponent below 60 points for the third consecutive game.
Specifically, the Rams defended the perimeter with notable authority –– where Santa Clara converted just 5-of-28 attempts. Meanwhile, CSU forced a season-most 16 turnovers.
The overwhelming defensive play compensated for an offense that improved down the stretch but appeared erratic quite frequently.
“Our connection, our willingness to really play hard on that end,” Medved said. “And we’ve had some really good gameplans that our guys have been able to execute. They’ve just been playing better for longer periods of time, and that’s been really good to see. Sometimes you’ve got to win games like that, and fortunately, that’s what we were able to do today.”
The contest’s opening minutes set the tone for an all-around sloppy afternoon for both teams, which featured 36 total fouls and 30 turnovers.
Following the historically subpar defeat at Saint Mary’s, CSU missed its first eight attempts from the floor before finally denting the scoreboard at the 15:45 mark of the opening half as it trailed 7-0.
The Rams eventually entered the locker room for halftime owning a 31-25 edge while relatively improved offensive efficacy assisted in seizing the victory thereafter –– guided by the sophomores David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens.
“You knew after that game at Saint Mary’s with how poorly we played on offense we weren’t gonna just flip a light switch and start going,” Medved said. “I thought we had some great looks early that wouldn’t go down. But you almost knew it was gonna be that way. But I thought our guys fought like crazy and just kept defending. Finally, they started to go down.”
Despite picking up his third whistle less than five minutes into the final frame, Roddy overcame foul trouble to accumulate a team-most 16 points and eight rebounds.
Per usual for Stevens, who has made a name for rising to the occasion in crunch time, the often-clutch guard virtually put the game on ice when knocking down a pair of contested floaters between the 5:56 and 4:50 marks of the second half –– granting the Rams their then-largest lead of the game at 58-47.
Also sparking much-needed offensive life, sophomore John Tonje nailed 3-of-7 attempts from downtown amid a game in which CSU scuffled from beyond the arc. Overall, Tonje’s 12 points represented a single-game best for the second-year guard.
“I thought John Tonje sparked us coming in with a couple of big shots that away. We just kind of grinded it out. And as the game went on and on, I thought we played better and better. But clearly, right now, our defense is ahead of our offense, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing because I think we’re gonna be a good offensive team here before it’s all said and done.”
Up next, the 3-1 Rams host their first league series of the campaign when welcoming Fresno State (2-0) to Moby Arena on Dec. 28 before concluding the two-game set on Dec. 30.
