Welcome to a new era, the Niko Medved Era, Rams fans.
Colorado State got out on the break, and ran up the score against their DII opponents Colorado Christian, winning 100-66 and starting the season 1-0.
Kendle Moore, a true freshman guard, stayed hot after his performance in the exhibition game last Saturday, scoring 13 points in the first half alone. Moore, who utilized great speed to get to the hoop and solid 3-point shooting, helped power a 20-0 run early. They went into halftime leading 53-29, hitting 54.1 percent of their shots in the first half.
The Rams continued to cruise in the second half, pushing their lead to 30 at one point, winning with ease. Moore led the Rams in scoring with 26, in his first official game as a collegiate performer, while Nico Carvacho finished with a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds. Colorado State shot a superb 52.3 percent from the floor and 51.6 percent from beyond the arc, dominating on the glass 49-25.
It was the first time Colorado State scored 100 points since 2015 against Abilene Christian, an overtime contest.
“I can’t stop smiling for him,” Anthony Masinton-Bonner said of Moore. “He’s my guy right here. We hung out all summer, he put the work in.”
Head coach Niko Medved was impressed with Moore, too.
“It’s how he’s been since he got here,” Medved said of the freshman’s performance. “He doesn’t take a back seat to anybody…It’s going to be hard to take him off the floor.
“It felt good,” Moore said of his 26-point first game. “At first I was a little nervous. As you said, we had to be a little conservative with only three guards. Coach just told us, ‘Make sure you play hard.'”
For Colorado State, it’s a first win of the season and a first win the Medved Era. It also functions as a second, confidence-building tune-up contest before they play in the Gulf Coast Showcase, starting Nov. 19. Before now and then, CSU hosts Arkansas Pine Bluff, their first DI opponent on Saturday, Nov. 10 (2 p.m.) and then Montana (Wed. Nov. 14, 7 p.m.).
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