In a decisive victory, the Colorado State Rams overcame a sluggish start to defeat Dartmouth 76-55 at Moby Arena on Tuesday, marking their fourth consecutive win. With only one nonconference game left before entering Mountain West Conference play, the Rams now hold an impressive record of 8-2.
Despite being recognized as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, CSU made only seven of their 18 attempts from beyond the arc. However, their defense was effective enough to limit Dartmouth to the fewest points scored against them this season. First-year head coach Ali Farokhmanesh attributed some of the team”s first-half struggles to the emotional toll of their recent win against Colorado, but he praised their ability to regroup in the second half.
“That”s human nature that after you have an emotional game like that on Saturday night in front of a sold-out arena, it”s hard to get ready for the next one,” Farokhmanesh remarked. “I”m glad we got the win, and we won by a good margin. The guys responded in the second half the way we wanted.”
Brandon Rechsteiner led the Rams with 14 points, all scored in the first half. Other key contributors included Kyle Jorgensen with 12 points, Jevin Muniz with 11, and both Josh Pascarelli and Jase Butler adding 10 points each. The Big Green managed to keep Pascarelli in check, who had previously made 16 of 18 three-pointers in the Rams” last two games. He only attempted two shots from the arc, both in the second half, and made them both.
Twelve players from the Rams contributed to the scoring, with each player recording at least two points. “I think we”ve shown we can be successful on offense in multiple ways already this year,” Farokhmanesh said. “I think they take what the game gives them.”
The game remained competitive for the first five minutes until back-to-back three-pointers by Rechsteiner shifted an 8-6 deficit to a 12-8 lead for CSU. Their largest first-half lead was 11 points, achieved after a jumper from Rechsteiner put the Rams ahead 25-14 with just over five minutes remaining in the period. Dartmouth managed to claw back, reducing the Rams” lead to five points before halftime, but quick layups from Jorgensen and Rechsteiner helped CSU secure a 33-24 lead at the break.
In the early moments of the second half, Dartmouth closed the gap to 35-31, but CSU responded with a 14-3 run, extending their lead to 49-34 with 10:46 left in the game. After a brief basket from the Big Green, the Rams continued to dominate, achieving their largest lead of the game at 74-50 with 1:31 remaining.
The Rams” defense held Dartmouth to 40% shooting and forced 15 turnovers. However, players recognized that they could have performed better defensively, an area they plan to focus on as conference play approaches. “I felt like we didn”t defend the way we could. We still won the game, so it was better to learn that way,” said Jace Butler. “But the coaches emphasized in practice that you”ve got to defend to be the team you want to be ultimately.”
CSU also won the rebounding battle 25-23 and had a narrow 13-12 advantage in assists. Only 11 free throws were attempted in the game, with CSU making all three of theirs, while Dartmouth converted 4 of their 8 attempts. The Rams finished the contest shooting 61.1% from the field.
The Rams will face Northern New Mexico in their final nonconference game on Sunday at 1 PM at Moby Arena. They will kick off their Mountain West Conference schedule on December 20 against Utah State.
