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Monday, March 1
Fort Collins, Colo.
8 p.m. MT

Colorado State

74
vs
44

Air Force

2020-21 CSU MBB - David Roddy
David Roddy posted his eighth double-double of the year
Photo by: Emily Tuckwood/CSU Athletics

Rams Dominate Defensively, Pull Away For 74-44 Win Over Air Force

3/1/2021 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

CSU's 13 conference wins ties the most for the program all-time in any conference

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In their second meeting in three days, Colorado State again came out with a strong final 20 minutes to put away a pesky Air Force team for a 74-44 win Monday evening in Moby Arena. With their fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games, the Rams improved to 16-4 and 13-3 in Mountain West action, while the Falcons slipped to 5-19 and finished 3-17 in the league.
 
It was an almost identical game to the meeting between the two teams on Saturday afternoon. The first half was a battle to score, as both teams were playing strong defense. Then the second half started and CSU asserted its strength, outscoring Air Force 19-5 over the first seven minutes to take a 17-point lead that would continue to extend the rest of the game.
 
For the game, Colorado State shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the second half. Air Force was limited to 33.3 percent (15-of-45) for the game and just 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from the three-point arc. CSU won the battle of the boards, 41-26, including a commanding 22-9 advantage in the second half. The Rams also controlled the paint to the tune of 32-18.
 
CSU had three players in double figures, led by forward David Roddy with game highs of 22 points on 9-of-13 from the field and 12 rebounds. Guard Isaiah Stevens had 15 poitns, while guard Kendle Moore added 10. Air Force was led by Chris Joyce, the only Falcon in double figures with 10.
 
STAT OF THE GAME
• The Rams used their defense to set the tone, forcing 18 Air Force turnovers while only giving up 11 (nine less than Saturday) and using it for a 22-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
 
NOTES
• The 13-3 mark in Mountain West play is the best 15-game conference record in program history and the 13 wins ties the most conference wins in any conference for CSU.
• Colorado State has controlled this series, owning an 84-33 lead, including 59-22 in conference play. At home, CSU has gone 46-11 overall.
• CSU has won 18 of the last 20 meetings between the two schools, with the only losses both coming in 2017-18.
• CSU leader Niko Medved has a 6-0 record against Air Force as a head coach.
• The Rams are 7-4 (5-1 at home) against Joe Scott's led Falcons, dating back to 2000-04 in his first tenure at USAFA. Including his time at Denver (2007-16), CSU is 13-6 (8-2 at Moby) against Scott's squads.
• Roddy had his 8th double-double of the year, 10th of his career (t-20 on CSU's career charts)
• Thistlewood had a season-high nine rebounds, just one shy of his career high.
• This was the first time since 2014-15 that CSU has held an opponent in back-to-back games under 50 points.
• Freshman Jacob Jennissen saw his first action for the Rams after an ACL injury his senior season. He logged two points and one rebound for CSU in the closing minute.
 
NEXT UP
• The Rams will wrap up the home portion of the 2020-21 schedule hosting New Mexico on Wednesday, March 3 at 6 p.m.
• The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
• The audio will be on the Colorado State Sports Radio Network (along with online at CSURams.com), with Brian Roth and Adam Nigon 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.