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Colorado State broke open a tie game with a 16-3 run at the start of the second half and ran away with a 78-62 win over defending Mountain West Champions Fresno State, Feb. 11. With their sixth win in the last seven games, the Rams progressed to 17-9 and 9-4 in MW action while the Bulldogs slid to 14-11 and 6-7 conference play.
After scoring the first bucket of the game, CSU struggled from the floor, making just three of its first 14 shots. The Rams’ defense kept them in good stead, however, forcing 10 turnovers in the opening period that were converted into 13 points. The game was tied at 11 with 8:22 remaining and the game went back and forth before senior forward Emmanuel Omogbo’s 3-pointer triggered a 6-0 run that put the Rams up 24-18 with just over four minutes to play. After an exchange of buckets, Fresno State went on a 7-0 run to take a 27-26 lead with 2:21 to go. From there, the teams went back and forth, including the final one on a 3-pointer by redshirt-sophomore guard J.D. Paige that put CSU up 31-29 at the halftime break.
“J.D. changed the game; he was a game changer,” head coach Larry Eustachy said postgame. “Gian [Clavell] was struggling from the field. Emmanuel, he stepped up. Not only does [Paige] always guard, but he added something special today by going 7-for-11. We worked hard at getting him to be where he is at, and he has worked harder than we have worked to get him where he is. JD- I am not sure how this game would have turned out if he didn’t play the way he played.”
Fresno State scored the first two points on a pair of technical-foul free throws to tie the game. CSU responded with a 16-3 run over the first 5:09 to take a 52-36 advantage with just over 11 minutes to play. From there, the Rams kept the lead, shooting 50 percent (17-of-34) from the floor in the final 20 minutes.
Paige led the Rams , scoring a career-high tying 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting overall and 5-of-7 from the 3-point arc. Redshirt-senior guard Gian Clavell racked up 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. Omogbo followed with 17 points and three rebounds. Redshirt-freshman center Nico Carvacho accounted for six points, 11 rebounds and one assist. Fresno State guard Deshon Taylor scored a team-high 19 points for the Bulldogs.
