Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Loyola Chicago
11/14/2026 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CSU fought through foul trouble and late adjustments but couldn't overcome Loyola's lead
Take a step back, regroup, improve, and move on.
A lesson Colorado State men's basketball had to learn the hard way in Saturday's 73-58 loss against Loyola Chicago.Â
In their fourth out of five game at home to open the season, the Rams faced their first loss, packed with tension and a 20-point deficit entering the second half.Â
The loss exposed more than CSU's offensive struggles against Loyola's defense. It showed a team still learning how to respond when things don't go its way.Â
Between shot-clock violations in the first five minutes, missed opportunities and frequent whistles, CSU struggled to establish its rhythm early, giving Loyola control of the game.
Loyola's tenacious defense kept the Rams from seeing the net, struggling to get any chances both inside and out of the paint.Â
Like gnats, Loyola's defense stuck to a player and consistently doubled the ball, making it hard for CSU to get any opportunities.Â
Even when the Rams could push past and get to the net, they struggled to finish around the basket and keeping them to the outside, they were forced to make uncomfortable shots and rushed possessions.Â
The pressure continued to build as CSU struggled to get clean looks, with Loyola contesting nearly every opportunity. The Rams were forced to rely on the free-throw line rather than finding consistent scoring opportunities through their offense.
The Rams kept up the fight as Josh Pascarelli led the way with seven points.Â
CSU shot 23.5% from the field, with only four points coming from the paint. The Rams heavily relied on free throws with 14 of their 24 points coming from the line as they trailed 44-24.
The Rams spent the first half searching for answers against Loyola's defense and by the second half, the Rams had found some, but the adjustments came too late to overcome the deficit.
As the deficit grew, so did the frustration. With frequent calls interrupting the game and players getting into foul trouble, CSU had to find a way to separate its emotions from its performance.
"I mean, obviously good moments, we picked it up a lot in the second half, but we definitely struggled with it, it wasn't just the call, but frustration within ourselves and mistakes we were making," forward Carey Booth said. "So we definitely did a better job keeping the level in the second half."
The Rams allowed the frustration to take hold of them in the first half, but after adjustments and calm-headed conversations they entered the second half hoping to take the deficit down.Â
Among the powerful Loyola defense was also a taste of physicality the Rams had yet to see and with this physicality came fouls on both ends. Entering the second half, the Rams had a total eight fouls and Loyola at 14.Â
As fouls came in, coach Farokhmanesh made changes to the lineup, letting the anxious bench see some court action. Â
"I'm just staying ready. I'm waiting for my number to be called," freshman Pops Dunson said. "Coach always tells me, stay ready, stay warm. You know, just come in and do what I do and play ball."Â
Having to account for the fouls tailing up against the Rams star players, Dunson's contribution was just part of a larger second-half effort for CSU.Â
Dunson recorded 13 points, making two of three 3s and shooting 55% from the field.Â
"He was really good for us when we needed a little bit of a scoring punch. I thought he made some big shots down the stretch for us and that's who we thought he was when coming out of high school," Farokhmanesh said. "He's a guy that can get you eight points in four minutes pretty fast. It was good to see him get comfortable out there and make some plays that we've seen him do in the past already."Â
CSU set the tone for the second half performance, Pascarelli hitting a jumper, slowly chipping off the 20-point deficit.Â
Starting to learn how Loyola played, the Rams used their height and strength to establish heavy blocks and get a few more points on the board.Â
Utilizing their knowledge of the game, CSU knew its points weren't going to come from the paint and had to start getting creative.Â
The Rams also found more success defensively, holding Loyola without a field goal for approximately six minutes and giving themselves an opportunity to get back into the game.
The adjustments allowed CSU to bring the deficit down to nine points, but the Rams still had to balance their urgency to come back with the need to execute their offense.
"I thought we adjusted well, we made the right adjustments. I thought the guys executed them. The coaching staff did a good job of handling the substitutions with the foul trouble too, not just sitting on guys with fouls, but trusting them," Farokhmanesh said. "It was a choppy game, that's pretty much every game we're going to play."Â
"If you're in a 20-point hole at halftime, it takes a lot to get out of that. I thought that the effort was right in the second half, the mindset was, but that's hard to get out of the 20-point hole to begin with."Â
But while CSU had found a way to get back into the game, the Rams still struggled to maintain that momentum.Â
The second half saw an increase in fouls compared to the first, with 22 personal fouls on CSU and 28 for Loyola. Resulting in a foul out for Jase Butler and Loyola's Jayden Dawson.Â
The pressure to make something happen as the time dwindled down made the Rams rush on opportunities instead of taking the time to look and make plays.Â
"So it's twofold, right? At some point now, do you take that, is it going to be a loss that it's a mistake? Or is it going to be like, this is a learning point for us that now we can understand," Farokhmanesh said. "We need to execute at a higher level in those situations and we need to start out with a different mindset to begin with. It's all how you approach it going forward.
An unfortunate deficit in the first is what sealed the Rams fate for Saturday's game but also taught them that when tensions rise, calm heads need to prevail, and adjustments made early. Â
