Colorado State use efforts by Carey Booth and Jase Butler to pave way to upset victory.
Aztecs second loss in a row raises concerns about tournament at-large invite.
The Aztecs hit the road on Saturday as they travelled to Fort Collins to take on the upstart Rams. Coming off of a loss at home on Tuesday to Grand Canyon, the Aztecs hoped to return to their winning ways as they faced the Rams who had won four games in a row. Over 7,000 fans packed Moby Arena wearing CSU Orange. That turned out to be
most annoying as the Aztecs started quickly, but fell behind and could never catch up as the Rams defeated the Aztecs 83-74. The Aztecs (18-8, 12-34 MWC) have lost four of the last five games at Moby Arena in “orange out” games. Colorado State, meanwhile, won their 17th game against 10 losses and are 8-8 in conference play. This is a far cry from the two teams previous meeting in San Diego where the Aztecs put a 73-50 thumping on this same Rams team. Last night featured a different Rams team playing in their home arena. Despite a slow start, Colorado State kept the pedal to the gas and wound up hitting 13 three point shots, the most given up by the Aztecs this season. The Rams were also 24 of 29 from the free throw line, taking advantage of the Aztecs aggressive and desperate attempts to turn the game around. Aztec coach Brian Dutcher undoubtedly got a few more gray hairs with the end result.
“We usually win with our defense. They were either making shots or making free throws. We couldn’t get stops.”
He further added, “There are times in the year when a coach goes in and screams at his team, but not with four games left. We have to believe in ourselves, we have to believe in what we’re doing, we have to put our work in, and hopefully we’ll be rewarded for hard work. We’re going to try to get this thing turned around.”
The Aztecs started confidently with Miles Byrd opening the scoring. The Aztecs build their lead to 14-9. Unfortunately, things slowed down from there, as the Aztecs were outscored 29-11 the rest of the half, trailing at halftime 38-25. Byrd would finish with 15 points and 9 rebounds and four assists. Reece Dixon-Waters led the way with 16 points. The Aztecs were plagued with poor shooting, only managing 38% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. They continued to fight and scrap their way, reducing the Rams lead to seven points a few times. Games are usually turned on several key plays. This would be no different. The Aztecs committed two turnovers, Byrd lost the ball in traffic and Taj DeGourville stepped out of bounds. Colorado State managed to break the Aztec pressure repeatedly.
The Rams were paced by Carey Booth, a 6-foot-10 junior who played previously at Illinois and Notre Dame who finished with 22 points. Jase Butler had a career high 25 points and Brandon Rechsteiner added 16 more as the Rams played a solid game. The usually deep Aztec bench failed to contribute as Elze Harrington and Magoon Gwath both came off of the bench with relatively little positivity.
The Aztecs may have been overlooking the Rams as they are set to face off with conference leader Utah State on Wednesday night in a behemoth of a contest. The Aggies faced their own demons as they dropped a road contest to Nevada 80-77. The Aggies lead both the Aztecs and New Mexico by one game. The winner of Wednesday nights match will probably have the inside track to the regular season championship.
The Aztecs had dropped a home contest to Grand Canyon 73-63 last Tuesday. In a game that seems to reflect Aztec futility, they shot only 35% from the field and only 20% from beyond the three-point arc. The Aztecs hope to avoid the Antelopes during the conference tourney as they have yet to beat them this season. Around the rest of the conference last night saw the Utah State Aggies upset by Nevada and Wyoming topping Grand Canyon on the road 70-65. The conference’s good teams have tended to beat up on each other as there is a strong level of parity in the top half. The remainder of the games saw UNLV easily ground Air Force 91-66, New Mexico holding off Fresno State 80-78 and Boise State controlling San Jose State 84-69. This week will see the aforementioned Aztec and Aggies matchup on Wednesday and then the Aztecs are on the road to take on New Mexico in a nationally televised contest. The Aztecs are likely going to make the tournament if they win the conference outright. Their losses have left them on the outside looking in. They can help their cause with two wins this upcoming week. Which Aztec team will show up? The defense has taken a break and are certainly needed for the remainder of the season.
