Rams Handle New Mexico, 87-73, Behind Thistlewood’s Career-High 27
The junior guard went 11-of-13 from the floor on the night
Story Links
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State jumped out early, withstood a brief New Mexico rally and used their best first half of the season to propel to an 87- victory Wednesday evening in Moby Arena. With their fifth straight win and seventh in the last eight games, the Rams improved to 17-4 and 14-3 in Mountain West action, while the Lobos slipped to 6-15 and 2-15 in the league.
CSU got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 14-4 lead, but the resilient Lobos battled back to tie the game at 20. At that point, the Rams asserted their will over the undermanned visitors with a 21-2 run over [4:22] to go from the tie to a 41-22 lead with [5:50] to play in first half. Behind guard Adam Thistlewood’s 17 first-half points, Colorado State went into the half with 47-31 lead. From there, the lead grew to as many as 21 and never dropped below 13 the rest of the way.
Colorado State finished the game at 53.0 percent (35-of-66) from the floor and 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from the three-point line. New Mexico was 40.6 percent (26-of-64) on field goals and 28.0 percent (7-of-25) on threes. The Rams dominated the glass 45-30.
Thistlewood led all scorers with a career-high 27 points as he was 11-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-7 from three. Forward David Roddy finished just shy of a triple-double with 12 points, a season-high 14 rebounds and nine assists. Guard Kendle Moore was the other Ram in double figures with 17, hitting 6-of-11 from the floor. New Mexico had two in double figures as Makuach Maluach led with 20.
STAT OF THE GAME
• The 47 points in the first half were a season high along with the season-best 72.4 field-goal percentage for an opening 20 minutes.
NOTES
• The 14 wins are the most in conference play in any league ever for CSU.
• New Mexico has had the better of the series, holding a 78-49 lead, including 71-48 in conference matchups. However, the story is different in Fort Collins, as CSU had a 36-26 advantage, including five of the last seven.
• CSU leader Niko Medved has an 3-1 record against New Mexico as a head coach.
• Roddy’s 14 rebounds were one off his career high and the double-double was his ninth of the season and 11th of his career.
• The Rams finish the season 10-1 at home, tied for the fifth-best win percentage in CSU history.
• Guard Isaiah Stevens had 10 assists for the third time this season, tying his season high.
• TBA
NEXT UP
• The Rams conclude the regular season on the road at Nevada, Friday, March 5.
• The games will be televised on CBS Sports Network, starting at 7 p.m. MT
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth on the call. CSU Sports Network broadcasts can be also accessed on mobile devices through the TuneIn app (free on all Apple, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Amazon Kindle devices) – once downloaded, search “Colorado St. Rams Sports Network” in the app for the games and coaches’ show broadcasts.
• The game will also have live stats on CSURams.com.
– CSURams.com –
540.476.1259 (C) | john.a.martin@colostate.edu
CSURams.com | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram
