FORT COLLINS, CO–As we celebrate the turn of a new year, we are also diving deeper into conference play across the country. The Mountain West is no different with four games on the docket Tuesday night.
One of the higher profile games took place in Fort Collins. Marking the last time the Lobos would play inside Moby Arena as conference foes. For those of us already getting nostalgic about these matchups, it was a must watch.
First year Head Coach Ali Farokhmanesh had the Rams program humming through non-conference play. Only to have their frontcourt picked a part by injuries. Losing starter and leading scorer Kyle Jorgensen on opening night against Utah State. This isn’t a one man show by far, but plenty of offense ran through the sophomore.
Still, this Colorado State team has enough fire power to keep the W at home and send the Lobos back home with just a missed opportunity.
The Lobos started things off strong, with a Tomislav Buljan block off of some help side defense. To be quickly followed by a Jake hall three from the corner to open up the scoring.
After a beautiful defensive display to open the game, the Lobos failed to grab two defensive boards. That resulted in an old-school three point play by Carey Booth off of the offensive board.
Next, Josh Pascarelli put his name on the box score with a two point field goal to give Colorado State the 5-3 lead.
New Mexico then took two three point attempts, until Hall earned his next field goal the hard way with a beautiful drive to the glass. Tying things at five a piece in the opening minutes.
The Lobos continued to push the pace as they looked to the top corner for a Uriah Tenette three. A couple of missed Colorado State field goals ultimately led to a wide open three by rams four man Augustinas Kiudulas.
On the other side, Antonio Chol earned his first points of the game to give the Lobos back the lead, 11-8. Soon after, Luke Haupt displayed some excellent defense at the top of the key, getting the steal and the lay in on the other end.
After the timeout, Haupt took things inside but was quickly double teamed. A tough shot below the basket missed it’s mark but was emphatically put back by JT Rock and a two handed slam.
As Coach Olen’s squad found themselves up 15-8, the next play resulted in a Tajavis Miller travel and turnover.
Veteran Rams center Nikola Djapa hit the floor for the first time, making the most out of his recently increased playing time by dishing out two dimes to Josh Pascarelli and Jase Butler on back to back possessions.
As the Rams’ offense began to find it’s rythym, Deyton Albury opened his scoring account with a contested layup, giving the Lobos the 17-12 lead as the game approached the ten minute mark.
Coach Farokhmanesh’s squad began to slow the game down and with top notch efforts on the offensive boards, they began to chip time off of the clock and knock down some shots. Including a pump fake and drive by Djapa to bring the Rams to within two.
New Mexico sprinted back down the floor for a quick Buljan up and under layup to extend the lead.
Brandon Rechsteiner knocked down his first three pointer on the other end. While Hall continued to take the ball inside with another layup. Rechsteiner hit the Lobos with a nice up and under of his own, breathing some offensive life into Colorado State.
Tajavis Miller decided to lock in and shoot a deep three that found a lucky bounce off of the back of the rim. A defensive stop on the other end put the ball back into Miller’s hands. Knocking down back to back threes, which gave New Mexico their biggest lead of the game at 27-19.
Buljan picked Djapa’s pocket at the top of the key and pushed the ball upcourt for a two handed slam. Coach Farokhmanesh quickly called a timeout to stop the Lobo run, down
Out of the break, each side struggled, but a few bad possessions were capped with a three point play by Kiudulas after a fundamental pump fake sent his defender in the air and himself to the line with a chance at three.
That triple shrank the Lobo lead to 29-22, but Tajavis Miller wouldn’t let that stand for long. Feeling hot and knocking down his third triple, putting New Mexico up 32-22 as the game approached the five minute mark before the half.
After impressing with some scoring, Kiudulas got a little over zealous and bounced the ball off of his own foot out of bounds. Colorado State’s seventh turnover of the game thus far. Those ball handling skills must have been contagious as Haupt had his pockets picked on the other end, turning the ball over.
New Mexico decided to play some more halfcourt offense on their next possession, with some ball movement freeing the lane for Albury to do some quick driving through the lane for a layup.
Soon after Tenette knocked down his second triple of the game, extending the Lobo lead by thirteen points (37-24) at the 2:14 mark.
Rechsteiner knocked down a two point jumper on the other end for his seventh point of the game. Buljan then decided to do his best Deyton Albury impression with a strong drive to the basket, the shot wouldn’t fall but he would grab the second chance rebound and head to the free throw line, knocking down just his second.
Kiudulas hit another semi-wide open three on the other end to bring the deficit to within single digits.
As each side continued to show fight before the end of the first half, JT Rock took a trip to the charity stripe after a bump down low on his layup attempt. He knocked down 1-2 and was a part of a Christian Laettner-esque full court heave and hook shot attempt before the first-half buzzer sounded.
The first-half was a tale of two tempos, with Colorado State attempting to keep possessions long and efficient. While the Lobos took eighteen three point attempts.
New Mexico looked evenly spread with their scoring punch. With five different Lobos knocking down two field goals or more, including 18 bench points. They shots 45.5% (15-33) from the floor & an impressive 38.9% (7-18) from deep, with two made free throws on just four total attempts.
Unlike the Lobos (only 2 all half), Colorado State struggled with turnovers. With a whopping nine and 16 ensuing points off of those turnovers for New Mexico. They hit the glass well, outrebounding their visitors 17-15 but failed to capitalize from beyond the arc. Shooting 30% (3-10) from deep while shooting a respectable 60% (9-15) when they took the ball inside.
The Lobos played a very efficient game, they’d have to keep their foot on the gas if they were to leave Fort Collins with a quality road win.
Second Half
As the second-half got started, each team found their first points through contested layups.
Luke Haupt continued to show his two-way skillset, drawing the offensive charge on the other end. A key play as that following Lobo possession, as Chol knocked down his second three of the night on the next play.
Kiudulas continued his scoring ways with another three point play the hard way on the other end, giving him a game high 17 points before he made his way to the bench for a breather.
New Mexico continued their deep ball bombardment, this time it was Jake Hall with the made three ball on the next possession, giving the Lobos the 51-42 lead.
As some of Colorado State’s usually reliable cast of characters failed to deliver offensively, it was the redshirt freshman Jon Mekonnen, making the most of his minutes with a miss and putback layup for the Rams.
A few ugly plays yielded just a made JT Rock free throw. As we approached the final ten minutes of the game, Antonio Chol stayed hot with another three pointer to extend the Lobo lead back to double-digits ( 55-44).
Albury added to that lead a YMCA style highly contested turnaround jumper. As things appeared to be getting away from Colorado State, big man Djapa knocked down an open three pointer to bring the Rams to within ten (57-47).
Still, the Lobos continued to pick a part their host’s defense. With a penetrating drive and beautiful hand off to JT Rock for another two handed slam.
The Rams continued to fight and chip away at the Lobo lead, while their lead Lithuanian displayed some beautiful touch for another layup.
Albury earned a one and one opportunity on the next possession, knocking down one of two. A Jase Butler three pointer reignited a very docile homecrowd, bringing Colroado State to within eight.
The Lobos floor general kept the attack fast paced, with a beautiful drive and dish to Rock for another flush.
Butler knocked down his second three pointer but got a little too embroiled in the celebration when Albury pushed the ball up the court into the hands of an open Jake Hall for another New Mexico three.
Rechsteiner drew a foul on the other end, salvaging the possession after nearly turning the ball over. He went to the line, knocking down both.
Uriah Tenette took the ball straight at the former ACC guard, knocking down a mid-range jumper on the other end. Putting the visiting Lobos up 69-58 with only 7:29 left in the ball game.
A few missed Ram three pointers only led to yet another Colorado State turnover.
After the timeout, some offensive motion on the perimeter led to another opportunity for big man JT Rock down low. He was hammered on a layup attempt and went to the line, knocking down 1 of 2.
On one of the few “fast break” plays by Colorado State, Jase Butler took the ball hard to the hoop with imposing 7-1 Rock not far behind hoping for the block. Butler stood tall and completed the three point play.
Hall was able to draw some contact on a mid-range jump shot the next play. Making 1 of 2 free throws soon after.
Muniz got back on the scoring board with a beautiful drive straight to the basket, bringing the Rams to within eight under five minutes. Miller broke the double-digit scoring seal for the fourth time this season with a contested jumper.
While Colorado State found a new sense of urgency around the four minute mark, with a high paced Pascarelli layup. Buljan made his way to the line, and similar to his teammates all night, went 1 of 2.
A second chance offensive rebound and close foul call sent Jase Butler to the free throw line for yet another three point play. The Rams stayed on the hunt, forcing the Lobos into a horrible air ball from Chol at the top of the key.
It wasn’t long before a few missed field goals by each side led to defensive stop and fast break slam by Chol to extend New Mexico’s lead to 76-68 with just 1:20 left in the game.
A few possessions later Buljan found himself with the defensive rebound and fouled on his way to the free-throw line, this time he knocked down both of the free ones.
Muniz wasn’t done with a backwards layup underneath the basket, bringing the deficit back to single digits with 0:43 left on the clock. The Lobos were sent to the line a few possessions later and a pair of Hall free throws gave New Mexico the 80-70 road win.
It marks the end of an era, at least until non-conference matchups can be scheduled in the future. But Tuesday night’s road win gave us a very complete Lobo team shooting the ball well offensively, taking care of the rock & playing scrappy defense.
They ended the night having shot 53% from the field, an impressive 44% from deep on 25 attempts and an easily overlooked 57% from the charity stripe. Yes they shot 13-23 on the free ones, something that can be improved to give fans more breathing room at the end of games going forward.
Colorado State showed way more fight in the second half, only being outscored by New Mexico 41-40. But shooting an ugly 28% from beyond the arc to go along with 14 turnovers, which helped fueled the Lobos offense were very apparent. Coach Farokhmanesh and his squad will have another chance to split the series in Albuquerque down the road.
Players of the Match:
Colorado State-Augustinas Kiudulas 20 points & 4 rebounds in 26 minutes, shooting 70% (7-10) from the floor, 60% (3-5) from deep & 75% (3-4) from the free throw line
With the Rams frontcourt a little thin with injuries, several guys stepped up. None more than VMI transfer Augustinas Kiudulas. The Vilnius, Lithuania native not only attacked the basket but also shot an impressive 60% from deep. He notched double-digit points in back-to-back contests but also contributed 3 turnovers & some sloppy play at times. Still, I can’t name a more deserving Ram.
New Mexico-Jake Hall, Freshman Guard, 18 points, 2 assists & 2 rebounds in 29 minutes, shooting 60% (6-10) from the floor, 60% (3-5) from deep & 60% (3-5) from the free throw line
As mentioned, the offense was spread out well across the roster for this one. But Hall looked clutch and in control with the ball in his hands for a team high 18 points. The freshman continues build a case for Freshman of the Year honors with his impact offense.
Next Up:
The Lobos stay on the road and stay in Centennial State for an away showdown in Colorado Springs against Air Force on Saturday. New Mexico will hope to build on their winning ways against the Falcons at 1:00 PM MST.
Larry Muniz is a Mountain West Basketball beat writer for Couch Potato Sports along with West Coast mid-major coverage at Mid-Major Madness.
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