Coming off a 24-day break due to both internal and opponent COVID pauses, No. 20 Colorado State battled a depleted but feisty Air Force squad and came away with a 67-59 home victory in its Mountain West home opener Tuesday night in Moby Arena. With the win, the Rams continued their season-opening win streak and improved to 11-0 and 1-0 in the league, while the Falcons slipped to 8-5 and 1-1 in the conference.
Air Force grabbed the early lead and led the majority of the opening 20 minutes. CSU used a 14-0 run midway through the first half to go from a five-point deficit to a 30-21 lead with 2:40 to play and went into the break with a 33-28 lead. CSU never relinquished the lead in the second half, though the Falcons did tie it at 48 with 10:58 to play. However, the Rams made the plays down the stretch in the closing minutes to seal the victory.
Colorado State finished the game hitting a season-low 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the floor and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) beyond the arc. Air Force was 52.3 percent (23-of-44) on field goal attempts and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) on threes. CSU won the battle of the boards decisively, 33-23 and forced 14 Air Force turnovers while only giving up six.
CSU had all 10 players who saw action in the score column, led by junior guard Isaiah Stevens' 15 points. Junior forward David Roddy had his fourth double-double of the year with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Air Force had four players in double-figures, led by Ethan Taylor with 19.
STAT OF THE GAME
• Colorado State took advantage of Air Force miscues, outscoring the Falcons 24-7 on the turnovers.
NOTES
• Colorado State holds a very definitive 85-33 advantage in the series, including 46-11 at home.
• CSU has won the last seven meetings and 19 of the last 21.
• The Rams are now 7-0 when leading at the break and 13-5 when ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll.
• This game marked the fourth straight game and fifth in the last six that CSU held its opponent to 63 points or less
• Stevens became the 32nd Ram in history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career, earning the feat with a steal and layup in the first half.
• For Roddy, it was the 18th double-double of his CSU career, tying for ninth in CSU record books with Andy Ogide (2007-11).
