Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 14
Greeley, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado State
83
at
64
Northern Colorado
Rams Pass First Test on the Road
11/14/2023 9:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Clifford posts first CSU double-double
GREELEY – The desired result in the end, but there will be talking points.
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There's no better time to have them than after a comfortable win in the first road game of the season, against a team which surprised you in your own building a year prior. There was so much Colorado State did well Tuesday night at Bank of Colorado Arena, particularly on the defensive end, but throughout the night, the Rams just felt there were some missed opportunities in the 83-64 victory against Northern Colorado.
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"I thought we were a little choppy on the offense end at times; give them credit for that," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Every time I thought we had an opportunity to really pull away, we just couldn't quite; we gave some possessions away I thought when we got stops. That's the thing. I think when they cut it to eight or nine, we called a timeout and right away they responded with a run. That's basketball. You've just got to move on to the next play and focus on the moment, and this team has really showed a lot of maturity that way."
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The Rams have won their first three games, all in a different fashion. Which is important, because no two will ever feel the same. The Rams hit 80 points on a night Medved felt there wasn't a good flow. Not a bad sign, especially when Isaiah Stevens goes for 24 and Joel Scott finishes with 20.
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CSU won the rebounding battle 44-38, a margin which could have been bigger if not for what Medved and Scott called the oddity of six offensive rebounds by UNC in their 30-second estimation. It may have been a bit of hyperbole, but the Rams still held the edge at Nique Clifford produced a career-best 14 rebounds to produces his first double-double as a Ram, combined with 12 points.
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"That's something I've tried to focus a little more on, and my teammates help me out by boxing out that help me go get rebounds," Clifford said. "It's something we've definitely focused on as a team is getting better at rebounding."
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UNC took the first shot, jumping out 7-2. Colorado State took a bigger swing in response, moving out to a comfortable lead which was never really threatened. Not when they missed nine of their final 10 shots of the first half, not when the Bears cut the margin to eight early in the second half.
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The moment for the hosts was brief, as before long, the Rams had rebuilt a sizeable margin, one which would reach as much as 22 points.
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The Bears (2-1) waltzed into Moby Arena a year ago and stole an 88-83 game, a result Medved said may have been mentioned a few times. Stevens seemed to remember. As a baseline group jawed with him early, he not only jawed back, but did so by draining his first three shots, including a pair of 3s.
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"We definitely feel good. We won," Scott said. "At the end of the day, that's the best part, but there are definitely things on the defensive end, some rebounding questions, finishing up at the end of the game … Little things like that we can definitely clean up and make sure we get out of here with a better win than we did."
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But as Clifford noted, there's not much better than a win on the road. It may have been a short trip, but a trip just the same and the first for his group as currently assembled.
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The fact they can learn from it is just a blessing.
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"It's our first road win – road game. To come away with a W is always a great thing, but we have lot to learn from it," Clifford said. "We have a lot to go back to practice and go work on and get ready for our game on Friday, but it's definitely good to come away with a win.
Â
"Our offensive execution was lacking a little bit at times, especially in the first half. We just weren't flowing like we usually do at practice. That's something we have to get better at and continue to improve upon. Being a new group, that's something that comes with it, the ebbs and flows of it."
Â
There's no better time to have them than after a comfortable win in the first road game of the season, against a team which surprised you in your own building a year prior. There was so much Colorado State did well Tuesday night at Bank of Colorado Arena, particularly on the defensive end, but throughout the night, the Rams just felt there were some missed opportunities in the 83-64 victory against Northern Colorado.
Â
"I thought we were a little choppy on the offense end at times; give them credit for that," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Every time I thought we had an opportunity to really pull away, we just couldn't quite; we gave some possessions away I thought when we got stops. That's the thing. I think when they cut it to eight or nine, we called a timeout and right away they responded with a run. That's basketball. You've just got to move on to the next play and focus on the moment, and this team has really showed a lot of maturity that way."
Â
The Rams have won their first three games, all in a different fashion. Which is important, because no two will ever feel the same. The Rams hit 80 points on a night Medved felt there wasn't a good flow. Not a bad sign, especially when Isaiah Stevens goes for 24 and Joel Scott finishes with 20.
Â
CSU won the rebounding battle 44-38, a margin which could have been bigger if not for what Medved and Scott called the oddity of six offensive rebounds by UNC in their 30-second estimation. It may have been a bit of hyperbole, but the Rams still held the edge at Nique Clifford produced a career-best 14 rebounds to produces his first double-double as a Ram, combined with 12 points.
Â
"That's something I've tried to focus a little more on, and my teammates help me out by boxing out that help me go get rebounds," Clifford said. "It's something we've definitely focused on as a team is getting better at rebounding."
Â
UNC took the first shot, jumping out 7-2. Colorado State took a bigger swing in response, moving out to a comfortable lead which was never really threatened. Not when they missed nine of their final 10 shots of the first half, not when the Bears cut the margin to eight early in the second half.
Â
The moment for the hosts was brief, as before long, the Rams had rebuilt a sizeable margin, one which would reach as much as 22 points.
Â
The Bears (2-1) waltzed into Moby Arena a year ago and stole an 88-83 game, a result Medved said may have been mentioned a few times. Stevens seemed to remember. As a baseline group jawed with him early, he not only jawed back, but did so by draining his first three shots, including a pair of 3s.
Â
"We definitely feel good. We won," Scott said. "At the end of the day, that's the best part, but there are definitely things on the defensive end, some rebounding questions, finishing up at the end of the game … Little things like that we can definitely clean up and make sure we get out of here with a better win than we did."
Â
But as Clifford noted, there's not much better than a win on the road. It may have been a short trip, but a trip just the same and the first for his group as currently assembled.
Â
The fact they can learn from it is just a blessing.
Â
"It's our first road win – road game. To come away with a W is always a great thing, but we have lot to learn from it," Clifford said. "We have a lot to go back to practice and go work on and get ready for our game on Friday, but it's definitely good to come away with a win.
Â
"Our offensive execution was lacking a little bit at times, especially in the first half. We just weren't flowing like we usually do at practice. That's something we have to get better at and continue to improve upon. Being a new group, that's something that comes with it, the ebbs and flows of it."
Players Mentioned
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