Moby Arena Heartbreaker Part Two: Colorado State Falls To Wyoming

Down a dark, endless hallway inside Moby Arena, head coach Tim Miles sat in a crouched position against a wall with his head down. His suit jacket on the ground and his tie undone around his neck, Miles ran his hands through his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“We beat ourselves tonight, there’s no question about that,” Miles said. “I didn’t think we showed enough heart in our chests or enough will in our loins to play defense when we were supposed to.”

For the second week in a row, opposing teams have come into Moby Arena and stole the Rams’ hearts.

Last week it was conference-leading Utah who edged the Rams in overtime.

This week it came down to a last-second shot that wasn’t meant to be. Wyoming 82, Colorado State 79.

Two Wyoming free throws put the Cowboys up three points (80-77) with 20.2 seconds left  before senior Willis Gardner answered right back with a layup and foul with 13.3 seconds to go.  Gardner would miss the free throw (the story of the game Wednesday night) and the Rams were forced to foul Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing.  The senior guard knocked down both attempts with 8.1 seconds left to give the Cowboys an 82-79 lead.

Gardner dribbled the ball up the court and took a tough three-pointer at the buzzer that fell short.

“It wasn’t the shot we were looking for, “Miles said. “We were looking to get (Marcus) Walker on the run and (A), we didn’t get a screen from him when we expected to and (B), we didn’t deliver to him when we could have.”

They say that free throws win games, and in the end, it’s what lost the game for the Rams Wednesday night.

The Rams shot a pitiful 59.3% (16-27) from the charity stripe, including missing four of their last five attempts in the final 3:32.

“We had great opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of, such as making free throws,” Miles said.

Gardner, a career 85.3% free throw shooter and the team’s leader, had the final two attempts, missing both. On the night he was 5-of-10 from the line.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Gardner said. “I was 5-of-10. They just didn’t go in tonight.”

The Rams got off to a quick start, taking a 3-0 lead on a Harvey Perry field goal on their first possession and led by as many as 11 (28-17).

The Cowboys would use a 14-5 run to cut the Rams’ lead to just two and trailed at half 35-33.

The second half of play featured back-and-forth action, three ties, five lead changes, a margin no larger than six, and Wyoming’s first lead on a Tyson Johnson dunk with 10:23 to play to give the Cowboys a 56-55 lead.

As a team, the Rams had four players score in double figures: Andy Ogide (19), Andre McFarland (16), Gardner (15), and Marcus Walker (15).

The Rams shot 45.8% from the floor compared to the Cowboys’ 56.9%, including 72.0% in the second half.

Wyoming was led by Ewing with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. The senior played all 40 minutes, dishing out nine assists.

“Players make plays,” Walker said of Ewing, two of the MWC’s best guards. “All that we do is worry about ourselves. If he makes it, we have to have something to counteract it.”

Prior to the game Walker said that he didn’t care if he doesn’t score another point in his career, but that a win over rival Wyoming would make all of the hard times at Colorado State worth it.

“I would have taken this win over any win,” Walker said. “It hurts more because they’re jumping around and celebrating. It’s a good game for them to win but we’re basically in the same boat. That’s what hurt the most. You know it’s a rivalry game and we got beat in our own house. It’s a disappointment.”

Walker was referring to Wyoming head coach Heath Schroyer failing to shake each player and coaches’ hand after the conclusion of the game and instead circling the court several times with both hands in the air, holding up the No. 1 sign.

With the loss, Colorado State is almost guaranteed the eighth seed in the MWC, meaning having to play in the play-in game against Air Force. With two games remaining, the Rams trail TCU by 1 ½ games for the seventh seed.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Ogide said after the game. “They don’t like us too much ad we don’t care for them too much either. It definitely hurt, probably more than any game. This is the hardest loss since I’ve been at CSU.”

This is saying a lot considering what the team has been through over the past two seasons.

“Well yeah,” Miles paused. “I’m mad. This won’t go away soon. It’s a tough loss. It’s winnable. It’s Wyoming. It’s the play-in game. It’s a lot of stuff.”