FORT COLLINS — Moby Madness is back.
Colorado State defeated Fresno State, 65-50, before a sold-out crowd on Friday night. It marked the third-consecutive home sellout for a CSU men’s basketball program on the rise. The Rams (19-3, 9-3 MWC) gave their 8,083 raucous fans plenty to cheer about in a comeback victory at Moby Arena.
The usual suspects carried CSU with forward David Roddy (21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) and point guard Isaiah Stevens (14 points, three assists) leading the way. The Rams opened the second half on a 21-10 run. A Roddy dunk extended their lead to double digits and brought the crowd to a fever pitch.
“Everybody can just kind of feel it,” Roddy said. “We want to make shots so we can get the crowd reaction.”
Stevens added: “It definitely makes it a little bit harder to communicate as they get going. But I’d much rather have it like that than any other way.”
CSU trailed 28-25 at halftime with Fresno State’s staunch defense limiting the Rams to 43.5% shooting without a single offensive rebound. CSU held an early 7-point lead behind mostly the production of Roddy and Stevens. But the Rams failed to keep scoring momentum and had no answers defensively for Bulldogs junior forward Orlando Robinson (16 points at halftime).
CSU’s defensive adjustments limited Fresno State to just 22 total points in the second half. The Rams also committed only three turnovers all game.
“We did a nice job of changing defenses in the second half to try and keep them off-balance,” coach Niko Medved said. “Three turnovers is just awesome. We obviously took care of the ball tonight and that was absolutely huge.”
The Rams, riding a three-game winning streak, travel to play Boise State on Sunday in another critical Mountain West affair.
Medved has established a daunting home-court advantage in Fort Collins over two-plus seasons with a 33-6 overall mark inside Moby Arena. That sustained success has reenergized a fanbase that is now expected to break attendance records. The Rams entered Friday night averaging 5,696 fans over 12 home games this season — the highest mark for the program since joining the Mountain West in 1998.
The current buzz surrounding CSU is reminiscent of the 2012-13 season when Medved was an assistant coach. Those Rams also sold out three consecutive home games amid back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
“It’s got that feeling,” Medved said. “Our players feel that attachment with the fans and the students. It’s that synergy between them that’s really building. That’s awesome to see.”
