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The Colorado State Rams picked up their fourth consecutive win to improve to 6-1 on the season with a 72-58 victory over the in-state rival Colorado Buffaloes, Nov. 30. Colorado entered the game with a 5-1 record and was receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 rankings and USA Today Coaches’ Poll. The win gives the Rams their second win in as many games at the Coors Events Center and marks the first time they’ve won two in a row in Boulder since three straight in 1950, 1951 and 1953.
Redshirt-sophomore guard J.D. Paige opened up the scoring with a three on the Rams’ first offensive possession, but Colorado State found themselves trailing by six with 8:00 left in the first half, its largest deficit of the game. A three-pointer from senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo with just under three minutes to play in the opening period gave the Rams a lead they would never relinquish. The Buffs would cut the lead to one possession with 10:54 remaining in the game, but CSU scored the next four points and maintained at least a four-point edge the rest of the way.
Omogbo led the Rams with 16 points, but it was a stellar performance by freshman center Nico Carvacho that most stood out in Wednesday night’s victory. Carvacho season bests of 14 points and nine rebounds along with two assists and a steal. Caravacho credits team defense on the big win.
“It definitely has to be defense,” he said postgame. “We came in here focusing on defense and trying to get stops. We knew that we could score the ball, but when we get stops, that’s when we’re hard to beat.”
Junior Devocio Butler also turned in his best performance of the season, recording a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 34 minutes off the bench.
CSU’s defense was again stalwart, limiting CU to just 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from the field in the second half and 32.2 percent (19-of-59) in the game overall. The visitors also got the offense going in the second half, shooting 50.0 percent (11-of-22), including 3-of-6 from the three-point arc. The Rams battled through foul trouble all night, as a season-high 27 fouls were called on the Rams.
Colorado State will head back home to take on Wichita State on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. MT in a Moby Arena White-Out