Utah State 75 / CSU 72 – 2/12/2020
Game notes by Tyler Norwood
The red hot Colorado State Rams hosted the Utah State Aggies on Tuesday night in a huge Mountain West battle. The Rams were hoping to continue their winning ways but the Aggies had other plans. Utah State took an early lead and never looked back as they marched to victory in Fort Collins 75- 72. 4 takeaways from the Rams strong performance in their loss to Utah State.
- Seasoned Guard vs. Freshmen Guard: Loved the matchup between senior guard Sam Merrill and freshmen Isaiah Stevens. Overall, Merrill won this contest but Stevens went blow for blow with the reigning Mountain West player of the year. Merrill finished with 32 points while Stevens had 19 but it was a much closer battle than what the points show. Great sign for CSU when their young star can compete against such a talented player.
- Rams found the Merrill antidote . . to late: Kris Martin guarded Merrill better than anybody else for Colorado State. Martin showed many bright spots playing lockdown defense on the Aggie star in the 2nd half but just too late for the Rams. A rematch in the Mountain West tournament would be interesting with Martin key’d in on Merrill.
- Colorado State couldn’t capitalize when needed: Standout big man Neemias Queta got called for his third foul with 5 minutes to go in the 1st half but the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the situation.
- Colorado State stays in games: The Rams were down by 12 multiple times but time after time they would claw their way back to a one possession game. Although it wasn’t the outcome CSU wanted, there’s much to be said about their grit and determination.
NEXT UP: CSU travels to Wyoming on Saturday
