Nov. 22, 2009
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Game 5: Colorado State vs. Mayville State
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 | 7 p.m. MT | Fort Collins, Colo. | Moby Arena (8,745)
Up next
The Colorado State men’s basketball team plays its first home game of the 2009-10 season, hosting the Mayville State Comets on Tuesday evening.
Colorado State (2-2) is looking to snap a two-game losing streak and extend a winning streak in home-opening games that dates back to the 1980-81 season.
The Comets, who are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and play in the Dakota Athletic Conference, enter the contest with an overall record of 4-3 to start the season.
Tipoff between the Rams and the Comets is set for 7 p.m. MT at Moby Arena (8,745). Live statistics are available by clicking the “GameTracker” logo on the men’s basketball “Schedule/Results” page on CSURams.com.
Fans can also listen to the action live on the Colorado State Sports Network. Brian Roth will call all the action courtside. The game will be carried on flagship KLZ (560 AM) in Denver and on KCOL (600 AM), locally. Rams fans worldwide can listen to the action live streaming on CSURams.com/allaccess.
Tickets are available for purchase at the Colorado State Athletics ticket office at the McGraw Athletic Center. Fans can also purchase tickets by calling 800/491-Rams, or online at www.CSURams.com.
Since 1902
The 2009-10 season marks the 106th in the history of the Colorado State men’s basketball program. The Rams are 1,076-1,131 (.488) in 2,207 games all-time, entering Tuesday’s matchup vs. Mayville State.
About Mayville State
The Comets (4-3) opened the season 3-0 with two dominating wins over Canadian Mennonite University and No. 23 University of Sioux Falls, but since have struggled, losing three of their last four games. Through the first four games of the season, the Comets were led by Alfonzo McNeal (16.8 points per game), Anton Coleman (13.0) and Micah Berge (12.8), all seniors. Coleman leads the team, connecting on 60 percent of his shots, followed by McNeal’s 51 percent. Junior Brad Sand averages 10.0 rebounds per game and has recorded eight total blocks for the Comets.
In the first four games, Mayville State averaged 81.5 points per contest while holding opponents to 65.8 points per game.
Head Coach Justin Johnson’s team finished with an 11-18 (6-8 DAC) record in 2009. Johnson is in his third season as the head coach at Mayville State, where he has compiled a record of 28-36 enter Tuesday’s game.
Series vs. Mayville State
Tuesday marks the first meeting between the Rams and Comets.
Colorado State, Mayville State connection
Colorado State Head Coach Tim Miles, and assistant coach Craig Smith are both coaching alums of Mayville State University. Both mentors got their head coaching starts at the NAIA school, which is located in Mayville, N.D.,
Miles led the Comets to back-to-back conference championships and an overall record of 35-22 in two seasons at the helm of the MSU program from 1995-97.
Smith, a member of Miles initial staff at Colorado State, began his coaching career under Miles at MSU in 1996-97. He returned to the school to gain his first head coaching position in 2004-05, and led Mayville State to three straight NAIA Division II national tournaments, including an appearance in the title game in 2007. While at MSU, Smith compiled a record of 72-29. his 2005-06 squad set the shool record for wins (28-6), and In 2007 he was named NAIA II National Coach of the Year.
Justin Johnson, the Comets’ third-year head coach, served as an assistant to Smith, and took over upon Smith’s departure to Fort Collins to rejoin Miles’ staff.
Additionally, CSU’s first-year Video Coordinator, Joe Kittell, served as an assisstant coach, alongside Johson, on Smith’s staff during the Comets’ run to the national title game in 2006-07.
Rams hot in home openers
The CSU men’s basketball program has won 28 consecutive home openers at Moby Arena. Under Head Coach Tim Miles, the Rams are 2-0, having picked up home-opening victories over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (73-48) and Montana (85-55), in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively. Colorado State’s last home loss came at the hands of Oklahoma State, a 69-64 setback on Dec. 8, 1980. All-time, CSU is 40-4 in home-opening games at Moby Arena, dating back to the program’s first game in the venue, a 109-70 victory over New Mexico State on Jan. 24, 1966.
Homecoming...finally
Tuesday’s matchup vs. Mayville State marks the Rams’ first home game of the 2009-10 season. CSU began the year with four consecutive road games. This marks the latest home opener for the Rams since 2007-08, Tim Miles’ first season at CSU. That year, the Rams began the season at Montana (Nov. 9), then traveled to Anchorage, Alaska, for three games in the BP Top of the World Classic (Nov. 15-18). The Rams played their fifth straight road game at Stanford (Nov. 24), before finally playing their home opener, Nov. 28 against Arkansas Pine Bluff.
About the MWC/MVC Challenge
CSU’s Nov. 20 game at Indiana State was the second game of the inaugural MWC/MVC Challenge. The challenge is in the first year of a four-year agreement between the Mountain West and Missouri Valley Conferences. Match-ups for the first year are based in part on 2008-09 pre-season rankings and RPI rankings from the previous year, or RPI rankings from the preceding three-year period. The following is a listing of the 2009-10 MWC/MVC Challenge contests:
| Date |
Game |
Time (MT)/Result |
| Nov. 13 |
Bradley at BYU |
BYU (W, 70-60) |
| Nov. 20 |
Colorado State at Indiana State |
CSU (L, 65-60) |
| Nov. 21 |
Southern Illinois at UNLV |
UNLV (W, 78-69) |
| Dec. 5 |
Air Force at Missouri State |
6 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 |
TCU at Wichita State |
6 p.m. |
| Dec. 19 |
Creighton at New Mexico |
7 p.m. |
| Dec. 19 |
Illinois State at Utah |
4 p.m. |
| Dec. 22 |
San Diego State at Drake |
6 p.m. |
| Dec. 23 |
Wyoming at Northern Iowa |
5 p.m. |
A quick look at the Rams
Colorado State returns to the court in 2009-10 with 10 letterwinners, including three starters - Andy Ogide, Andre McFarland and Jesse Carr - from last season’s team that posted an overall record of 9-22 (4-12 MWC) and finished eighth in the MWC standings.
Ogide, a junior forward, is the Rams’ leading returner in both scoring (10.2 ppg.) and rebounding (5.8 rpg.). McFarland returns as one of the top three-point threats in the Mountain West Conference. In 2008-09 McFarland connected on 55 treys and a 42.3 percent clip, and averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Carr started 18 games as a true freshman in 2008-09, recording 8.8 points and 2.9 assists per game at the point guard position before missing the final six games of the year with a groin injury.
Other key returners include senior guard Harvey Perry, who averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and junior forward Travis Franklin, who averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 boards. Junior guard Adam Nigon, a former walk-on, returns after averaging 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. Senior walk-on Arin Dunn, who saw significant playing time in the second half of the season, is back to bolster the Rams’ back court. Mame Bocar Ba, saw action in 22 games (four starts) a season ago, when he recorded 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
The team added seven newcomers into the mix. Two freshmen - Pierce Hornung (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley High School), and Dorian Green (Lawrence, Kan./Lawrence High School) - will make an immediate impact along with junior college addition Johnny Del Bene, a guard from San Diego Mesa College, and transfer Travis Busch, a senior forward from the University of Minnesota who is pursuing his master’s degree at CSU and was granted a waiver by the NCAA to become immediately eligible.
Wes Eikmeier, a sophomore guard from Fremont, Neb., will sit out the 2009-10 season after transferring from Iowa State University, as will freshmen Trevor Williams (Denver, Colo./Lutheran High School), and Greg Smith (Omaha, Neb./Ralston High School), who Coach Miles announced he plans to redshirt this season.
Key losses for the Rams include departed senior guards Marcus Walker and Willis Gardner. Walker ranked as the Rams’ top scorer in each of the previous two seasons and was named to the 2007-08 all-MWC second team and MWC Newcomer of the Year, and 2008-09 all-MWC third team. Despite playing just two seasons, Walker reached 15th on CSU’s all-time scoring list (1,009 points). Gardner provided toughness and leadership and was a top performer on the court, starting 53 of 57 career games for the Rams and averaging 9.6 points and 2.5 assists per game.
The Rams opened the season with a 2-1 showing at the BTI Tip-off tournament, defeating UC Davis, 91-73, and Winston-Salem State, 57-40, before falling to Oregon, 68-55, in the tourney championship.
The Rams then played their fourth consecutive road game to open the season at Indiana State in the inaugural Moutain West/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge. The Rams comeback effort fell just short, as the Sycamores held on for a 65-60 victory.
Rams vs. non-conference foes
CSU has posted a record of 89-53 (.627) against non-MWC opponents since the formation of the Mountain West Conference in 1999.
Scoring for the Rams
Junior F Andy Ogide, freshman G Dorian Green, and junior F Andre McFarland rankd 1-2-3 for the Rams in terms of scoring through four games this season, and are all coming off of double-digit scoring games at Indiana State on Friday. Each player has reached double figures scoring in three of the Rams’ first four contests.
Entering Tuesday’s Ogide ranks tied for seventh in the MWC, averaging 15.3 points per contest. Green is 12th in the league, and tops among freshmen, averaging 13.5 points, while McFarland comes in at 17th on the list with a scoring average of 13.0 points per game.
The Rams are one of only two teams (New Mexico) to have three players rank in the top 17 in the conference in scoring.
All-tournament honors
Junior F Andy Ogide and freshman G Dorian Green were each selected to the all-tournament team at the BTI Tip-off tournament in Eugene, Ore. (Nov. 13-15). Ogide and Green led the Rams to a 2-1 showing an a runner-up finish. For the tournament, Ogide averaged a team-high16.3 points, and pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 62 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free-throw line. Green was stellar in his debut in a Rams uniform, averaging 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Green notched five three-pointers for the weekend, and ranked first on the team, hitting nearly 85 percent from the free-throw line.
BTI Tip-off All-Tournament Team
MVP – Tajuan Porter, Oregon
Teondre Williams, Oregon
Andy Ogide, Colorado State
Dorian Green, Colorado State
Joe Harden, UC Davis
Shelton Carter, Winston-Salem State
Seeing 20-20
Junior forwards Andy Ogide and Andre McFarland tallied 24 points and 20 points, respectively in Colorado State’s season-opening victory over UC Davis (Nov. 13). Sophomore Jesse Carr is the only other Ram to have recorded 20-plus points in a game at CSU. Below is a listing of 20-point scoring games by current Rams:
Jesse Carr
• Jan. 24, 2009 at Wyoming (21)
Andre McFarland
• Nov. 13, 2009 vs. UC Davis (20)
• Nov. 24, 2008 vs. St. Martin’s (23)
Andy Ogide
• Nov. 13, 2009 vs. UC Davis (24)
• Nov. 26, 2008 vs. New Orleans (22)
• Nov. 14, 2008 vs. Montana (20)
Long-range Rams
Through games played Nov. 21, Colorado State ranks second in the Mountain West Conference with a team shooting percentage of .390 (30-for-77) from three-point range, and nearly half of that production has come from junior F Andre McFarland.
Entering Tuesday’s game vs. Mayville State, McFarland, leads the Mountain West Conference with 14 three-pointers made on the season. The Las Vegas, Nev., native has connectied on a trey in 13 consecutive games dating back to the 2008-09 season. McFarland also ranks second in the MWC, connecting on in terms of three-point shooting percentage, hitting 58.3 percent from long range.
For his career at Colorado State, McFarland has hit 109 three-pointers, just 11 shy of cracking the program’s top-10 list. David Turcotte (1984-88) currently holds the 10th spot with 120 career three-pointers. McFarland’s career three-point percentage of .416 currently ranks ninth, behind Turcotte, in the Rams’ record book.
Runnin’ Rams?
Colorado State ran out of the gates, and ran opponent UC Davis out of the gym, in the team’s 91-73 season-opening victory over the Aggies. CSU’s 91 points marked the team’s highest scoring output in a regulation game under Head Coach Tim Miles, and the first time the team has eclipsed 90 points since a 90-78 home victory over BYU on Jan. 20, 2007.
Freshmen strong in debuts
Freshmen Dorian Green and Pierce Hornung impressed in their first weekend of action at the BTI Tip-off tournament (Nov. 13-15). Green started all three games for the Rams at point guard and wasted no time making his mark, with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the Rams’ opening game vs. UC Davis. He earned all-tourney honors after averaging 12 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Hornung looked sharp, pulling down two rebounds, and recording four assists and three steals in 23 minutes in his first collegiate game against the Aggies. He added a pair of blocks in the Rams’ win over Winston-Salem State, and closed the weekend with six rebounds, two assists and one steal against the Oregon Ducks.
The pair looks to make an assault on the CSU freshmen records throughout the season. Entering Tuesday’s game vs. Mayville State, Green is averaging 13.5 points per game, which would rank third all-time among freshmen at CSU, between former all-conference players Matt Nelson (14.0 ppg.) and Jason Smith (10.5 ppg.). Hornung’s rebounding average of 4.3 per contest sits just outside the top-five list behind Mark Jung who pulled down 4.3 boards per game as a freshman in 1978-79.
If I can be frank
Junior F Travis Franklin, has started each of Colorado State’s first four contests this season, leaving his mark at both ends of the court for the Rams. The Baton Rouge, La., native ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.0 rebounds per game) and fifth on the team in scoring (7.0 points per game), while leading the team in free-throw attempts (27), steals (7), and offensive rebounds (12). He ranks in the top 10 in the MWC in a number of categories, including tied for third in offensive rebounding (3.0 per game), seventh in steals (1.75 per game) and total rebounding.
Converting at the line
After hitting just 35-of-62 attempts (56.5 percent) from the free-throw line through two exhibition games, the Rams have significantly improved their production at the stripe early this season. At the BTI Tip-off tournament, CSU downed 47-of-67 attempts (70.1 percent) at McArthur Court. The Rams then connected on 16-of-25 attempts (64 percent) against Indiana State. Entering Tuesday’s game vs. Mayville State, CSU is shooting 68.5 percent from thhe line, sixth in the Mountain West Conference. Freshman G Dorian Green (81 percent) and senior G Mike Annese (80 percent) lead the Rams and rank eighth and tied for ninth, respectively, in the Mountain West Conference.
Finding his stroke
Junior G Adam Nigon, who entered the 2009-10 season with 11 career three-pointers in two seasons as a Ram, nearly doubled his career numbers in the opening weekend of the season at the BTI Tip-off tournament. Nigon was impressive for the Rams, connecting on 6-of-13 (.462) attempts from beyond the arc. Nigon’s six three-pointers matched the output from his entire sophomore campaign, and bested his freshman mark by one. Entering play Tuesday’s game vs. Mayville State, Nigon is shootong 40 percent (6-for-15) from long range.
Career-high in season opener
Junior F Andy Ogide tallied a career-best 24 points in the Rams’ season-opening victory over UC Davis. Junior G Adam Nigon also had a career day against the Aggies, tying his personal best with 11 points in the contest. Nigon tied the mark again, just one day later, in CSU’s victory over Winston-Salem State.
Season openers under Miles
The Rams are 2-1 in season openers since Head Coach Tim Miles’ came to Colorado State University. The Rams opened Miles’ first season with a tough 75-39 loss at Montana, a loss which CSU avenged, 85-55, at Moby Arena in the season opener of the 2008-09 season. The Rams won their second consecutive season opener, putting away the UC Davis Aggies, 91-73, in the opening round of the BTI Tip-off tournament, Nov. 13 in Eugene, Ore.
Tourney time
Dating back to the 2005-06 season, and including the Rams’ 2-1 showing at this year’s BTI Tip-off tournament in Eugene, Ore., Colorado State has been impressive in midseason tournaments. In the five seasons, the Rams have played in five championship games, winning twice. In 2006, the Rams capped a nine-game winning streak with a win over Chattanooga to claim the Dr. Pepper Classic Title. A year later, in Tim Miles’ first season, Colorado State traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, defeating Oregon State, Tennessee State and Portland State to be crowned champions of the Top of the World Classic. Both in 2005 and 2008, the Rams finished as runners-up in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Last year, before falling to Buffalo in the finals, Colorado State beat Vermont and Hawaii on its own court, the Rams’ first road victory in nearly two years. The Rams opened the 2009-10 season with a runner-up showing at the BTI Tip-off tournament, falling the championship game against host Oregon, 68-55.
In the red
Head Coach Tim Miles announced Nov. 13 his plans to redshirt freshman duo Trevor Williams and Greg Smith for the 2009-10 season. Smith, a 6-6 forward from Ralston (Neb.) High School, and Williams a 7-0 center from Denver (Colo.) Lutheran High School, will benefit from a year of additional work with Miles and his staff, before hitting the court for the Rams in 2010-11.
Colorado talent
The 2009-10 Rams roster features five players - Mike Annese, Arin Dunn, Pierce Hornung, Michael Lebsack, Adam Nigon and Trevor Williams - from the state of Colorado. You have to go back 28 seasons, all the way to 1981-82, to find a CSU basketball team that featured more local talent. Six players from the 1981-82 squad listed Colorado as their home state.
Rams juniors among top MWC returners
Junior forward Andy Ogide’s 2008-09 stats have landed him toward the top of several MWC categories among returning players. As a sophomore in 2008-09, Ogide averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, fourth among MWC returners. His .500 shooting is tied for third, while his 0.63 blocks per game are fifth.
Classmates Andre McFarland and Travis Franklin also return after strong sophomore campaigns. McFarland connected on 42.3 percent of his shots from three-point range last season, ranking among the best in the league, while Franklin led the Rams with 49 offensive rebounds a season ago, helping the Rams to finish second in the MWC in that category in 2008-09 with an average of 11.10 per contest.
On pace for 1,000
Entering the 2009-10 season, junior forward Andre McFarland ranks as the only Colorado State player on pace to reach the 1,000-point milestone for his career. McFarland - one of just two players (Adam Nigon) to have played in each of Head Coach Tim Miles’ first two seasons at CSU - poured in 525 points as a full-time starter in each of his first two seasons in Fort Collins. McFarland tallied 266 points (8.3 per game) in 31 starts as a true freshman in 2007-08. Last season, he averaged 8.4 points per contest, pouring in 259 points as the only Rams player to start all 31 contests.
McFarland came off the bench in each of the Rams’ first four contests this season, but has still provided an offensive spark for CSU, averaging 13..0 points per game, while shooting 58 percent (14 for 24) from three-point range early in the season.
Marcus Walker, who completed his playing career at CSU in 2009, is the last Rams player to reach the 1,000-point milestone, tallying an impressive 1,009 points in just two seasons in Fort Collins.
Next on the schedule
After playing four straight away from Moby Arena to begin the season, the Rams continue a stretch of six-of-seven contests in front of the home crowd, Sunday, Nov. 29 vs. the San Francisco Dons. The lone road game during that stretch is a bus trip to nearby Greeley, Colo. to take on the UNC Bears in the Rams’ next game on Dec. 1. The Rams will head then head toward Winter Break with home games against Denver (Dec. 5), Colorado (Dec. 10), Montana (Dec. 12) and Northern Arizona (Dec. 20).
