Colorado State head coach Tim Miles said before the game that the Rams needed to play 40 minutes of solid basketball in order to upset Mountain West Conference leading Utah Utes. The Rams did just that.
Unfortunately, Wednesday night’s game lasted 45 minutes after the score was knotted at 73 at the end of regulation. The Rams didn’t seem to show up after the end of regulation, losing 89-79.
The Utes (19-7, 10-2) took an early six point lead in the overtime period and never trailed. The Rams (8-18, 3-9) shot just one of seven, with its lone field goal, a Travis Franklin layup, coming with 1:08 to play. The Utes shot three of six from the floor in the extended period and a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line.
“We can go out and play hard against anybody, but if you lose, then it's nothing but a moral victory and that's not what we're out here for,” said senior Marcus Walker.
Despite trailing by four points before connecting with its first basket of the evening, Colorado State chipped away early and took its first lead, 14-13, on an inside jumper by Walker with 12:52 remaining in the first half. Over the next 1:41, the Rams extended its lead to six, capping a 10-0 run to take a 19-13 lead. Walker scored eight of the team’s points turning the stretch, adding to his 15 in the first half.
“I loved our passion and our energy,” Miles said. “They played the way that I expect them to play every night. I think that we've proven that when we play with that energy we can play with anybody.”
The Rams led by as many as 10 in the first half, but the Utes used an 8-2 run over the final 1:53 to cut the deficit to four at the break.
With 6:40 remaining in the contest, Utah took its first lead since the first seven minutes with a Tyler Kepkay three-point basket. Kepkay led all scorers with a career-high 27 points on 9-16 shooting, including 24 points after the end of the first half.
“He (Kepkay) hurt us in transition,” Miles said. “He just ran it down our throats. I credit him. When Kepkay went on that run that was a real hurtful time for us.”
Utah led by as many as six late in regulation, but a jumper by sophomore Andy Ogide tied the game at 71 with 1:31 to play. A Carlon Brown dunk on Utah’s next possession briefly quieted the crowd to help Utah regain the lead.
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete