If there is one thing that has remained true throughout the 21 games that the Colorado State men’s basketball team has played thus far, it’s that the offense runs through the old guys.
Redshirt senior guard Gian Clavell and senior big man Emmanuel Omogbo have developed into quite the tandem in their final seasons with the Rams.
“I don’t think anyone has two better combined players,” Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy said of his seniors. “[Elijah] Williams and [Tim] Brown [of UNLV], it’s all comparable when you get to the upper-echelon and these two guys are upper-echelon guys. So you have a chance when you have two guys like that.”
The connection was on display on Wednesday night, as the Rams improved to 13-8 with a 82-71 win over San Jose State. Omogbo’s 12 points carried the Rams in the first half and Clavell picked up the slack in the second, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the final 20 minutes.
“First half I was on,” Omogbo said following Colorado State’s win on Wednesday. “I led the team. Second half he [Clavell] was on. I told him [Clavell] after he took those two shots, don’t even give me the ball no more, just go ahead and keep shooting.”
Putting up big numbers is something that both Clavell and Omogbo have done all season, but they have upped their game since the Rams lost three of their players to academic ineligibility.
Wednesday’s game against San Jose State marked the second consecutive game that Clavell went the full 40 minutes, something the Rams are going to need a lot more of moving forward.
In the four games since the Rams’ lost their three junior college transfers, Clavell has been on a tear. He’s averaged 38 minutes and 17.75 points per game in that timeframe.
Omogbo’s play this season has been no different. He scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Wednesday on his way to his third-straight double-double.
Omogbo has mastered the art of the point-rebound double-double this season. His 11 double-doubles on the season currently lead the Mountain West, and that’s not the only category that he leads the conference in. His 10.71 rebounds per game lead Nevada’s Jordan Caroline, the closest player to catching Omogbo in the Mountain West, by 1.33 and currently rank 11th in the nation.
With 10 games remaining before the conference tournament, the Rams are right in the thick of things in the Mountain West with a 5-3 conference record. They’ll need continued production out of their two seniors as the they continue down the stretch.
“I fell like we play with each other pretty good,” Clavell said. “I’m glad we’re staying consistent now.”
Consistency will be key for the Rams as they head on the road to take on the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.