4 takeaways: Colorado State men's basketball team fights off Boston College to stay undefeated

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This was going to be a brawl.

Boston College is a big, physical ACC team that is long and strong and plays with brute force.

The Colorado State men’s basketball team was up for the fight in an 86-74 win over Boston College.

This was the epitome of a team effort through and through. Five Rams were in double figures and eight scored as CSU picked up a solid piece to its resume Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Center.

CSU coach Niko Medved and the players received a loud ovation from the traveling CSU crowd.

"Really gritty effort by our guys today. I thought we showed a lot of toughness from beginning to end," Medved said.

Here are four takeaways from the win.

Holding off the surge

CSU (5-0) led by nine at halftime and for most of the night was in the 8-10-point advantage realm, but Boston College (4-1) cut it down to four with under 10 minutes remaining.

The Rams were wobbling and had several disjointed possessions with sloppy misses or turnovers.

It felt like a decisive turning point was on hand.

Josiah Strong dove on the floor to create a steal for Nique Clifford, who grabbed the ball and flipped it ahead to Kyan Evans, who passed to Joel Scott for a thunder dunk.

Scott then jumped a passing lane on the next possession and it led to a 3-pointer for Strong. Just like that, CSU was up nine (70-61) again.

"That was probably the turning point right there that gave us the confidence we needed to just secure the win and put the game away," Isaiah Stevens said.

Boston College never was closer than seven points after that, and the lead grew to 17 before settling in at a 12-point victory.

This is a veteran team and it played like it. The Rams never faltered.

"We talk about it all the time. We've got an older group, a mature group with a mix of young guys as well that can really play at a high level," Stevens said. "There's not too much we haven't seen with our different experiences in college basketball."

Big numbers: Tracking Isaiah Stevens, McKenna Hofschild records chase

Team rebounding, defense wins

Rebounding has been an Achilles' heel for CSU in previous seasons, and there was alarm when the Rams were dominated on the glass in a season-opening win over Louisiana Tech.

But this was an example of what CSU should be on the glass.

Boston College is a big, physical team and star center Quinten Post averages 20 points and 10 rebounds. His raw numbers (22 points and eight rebounds) were again strong, but CSU made him work for them.

He shot 6-15 and turned the ball over six times. Within that was CSU’s impressive rebounding display.

CSU won the glass 30-24 and had 11 offensive rebounds to six for Boston College.

"The tougher team mentally and physically was going to come out with the win. That was kind of our mindset going in," Scott said.

Scott led CSU with seven rebounds, but three players had five and everyone who played except point guard Evans had a rebound.

The Rams won the paint scoring battle 40-26.

Despite Scott and Patrick Cartier both facing foul trouble, CSU managed the minutes well and used its depth to keep the defensive effort sharp.

This offense hums

When this offense is clicking, it’s a sight to behold. And it usually clicks because there’s a smooth blend of talent, versatility and depth.

Clifford started the show, with a quick do-it-all-surge of points, rebounds, steals and assists in the opening minutes. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Scott had 14 points and three assists. Stevens had a second-half surge to take over and finished with 18 points and eight assists.

Strong hit six of his seven shots and scored 15 as he appears to be finding his shot after a long layoff. Cartier had 10 points and five rebounds.

The Rams shot 56% and had 21 assists.

Creighton up next

CSU now plays in the title game of the Hall of Fame Classic at 2 p.m. MT on Thanksgiving.

The Rams will face top-10 Creighton.

The Bluejays are considered a Final Four contender and are ranked No. 8 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the coaches poll.

Creighton beat Loyola-Chicago 88-65 on Wednesday.

More: Colorado State basketball schedule, results for 2023-24 season

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State basketball team fights off Boston College