The Colorado State men’s basketball team is used to having one or two different players step up and produce every night, but that wasn’t the case in their 81-64 victory over Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-2 on the season.
Instead of having one or two players carry the load to a narrow victory, the Rams saw solid contribution from just about everyone on their 10-man roster, a number that increased by one on Saturday as redshirt senior Gian Clavell made his season debut following an off-campus incident that led to his arrest.
Of the four Rams that finished the game in double figures in Clavell’s return, the biggest performances came from junior guard Devocio Butler and redshirt freshman big man Nico Carvacho.
Carvacho got the scoring started for the Rams but it was a stretch that came later in the half that showed that Carvacho came to play on Saturday. As UNC tied the game up for the only time, Carvacho rattled off six-straight points to give the Rams some breathing room.
Carvacho had nine points at half to go along with his six rebounds.
Butler, like Carvacho, also got hot early. The Rams struggled to find a rhythm from behind the arc early on, but it was clear that Butler wasn’t having any trouble. As a team, CSU shot 2-13 from deep with both of their made baskets belonging to Butler.
En route to his career night, Butler didn’t miss a shot from the field or the free-throw line in the first half. His 10 points lifted CSU to a 34-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“I was just playing the flow of the game, take what I can get,” Butler said of his night. “Wasn’t trying to force nothing honestly. Just playing in the offense.”
UNC seemed to be on the verge of upsetting the Rams for the second year in a row, but as they’ve done in just about every game this season, they woke up in the second half.
Butler continued to shoot, and dunk, the lights out of Moby Arena, notching a career-high 19 points and grabbing six rebounds, something Butler attributed to Clavell’s presence on the floor.
“My first two threes were off his penetration,” Butler said. “He’s a great player. I’m glad he’s back. We needed that.”
Despite coming of the bench, Clavell finished with 15 points on 28 minutes. The Rams’ bench outscored the Bears’ 41-22.
After not being able to help CSU in their loss to UNC the year prior, Carvacho finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds to help lift the Rams to their 17 point victory.
“Today just came to me,” Carvacho said. “It felt good to me. I was having fun.”
Colorado State head coach Larry Eustachy also had some kinds words about his young big man following his performance.
“I think he’s an absolute professional prospect,” Eustacy said. “He may not be here four years. I think he’s that good.”
The Rams will have a week off before taking on the Kansas State Wildcats at the Pepsi Center at 1 p.m.
