Last Minute Rally Propels Rams to 78-69 OT Win Over Falcons
Some nights it feels like the basketballs gods have conspired against you.
Some nights, for some inexplicable reason, you don’t bring your A game and your opponent does.
And most of those nights you find yourself on the south side of the final score.
Unless you find a way to make just enough winning plays in the final minute, including clutch free throws and a steal to overcome a 4-point deficit in the final half minute. Enough to send a game into overtime that you had trailed for nearly the entirety. And when that overtime comes, you magically find a way to put the game to bed.
And that the Colorado State Rams did, finding a way to finish on the front foot and the north side of what became a highly entertaining affair.
The Rams opened the scoring with a Joel Scott three-ball and little did anyone know it would be their largest lead of regulation time. The visitors from Colorado Springs forced their way into the lead as their matchup zone was giving the hometown team troubles and their version of the Princeton offense was clicking inside and out. Three balls from Ethan Taylor and Beau Becker were dropping, and CSU Coach Niko Medved was forced into an early timeout as the Falcons forged a 16-8 lead.
The Falcon precision would continue to build their lead to 27-15 at the 6:18 mark and the Rams were definitely riding the struggle bus. A mass substitution with just over 4 minutes remaining in the half brought Scott, Joe Palmer, and Jalen Lake on the floor alongside Isaiah Stevens and Nique Clifford. And for the first time all night, the Rams found some traction.
Stevens was sitting on goose eggs, but opened his scoring account with an assist on a Clifford three-ball, followed by a trademark midrange jumper. The Rams concluded the half on a steal by Stevens and a flying dunk by Palmer, ending on a 12-0 run to bring them within 27-24.
The joy entering the second half was short-lived as the Falcons got back to their ways, grinding it out on the offensive end and making it difficult for the Rams to score. The Falcons lead hovered between 4 and 7 until a quick burst punctuated by a Josiah Strong three ball gave the Rams a 51-50 lead. The Falcons’ Rylis Petraitis took things in to his own hands, scoring the games’s next five points from the charity stripe (4 of them on a rather interesting flagrant foul call).
Back and forth the game went as the Falcons held their lead into the final minute. Heroic CSU steals and blocks on the defensive end led to sloppy turnovers. The Rams seemed finished as they trailed 64-60 with only 27 seconds remaining.
A pair of Clifford free throws brought them within 2 with 20 seconds remaining and they chose not to foul (or did they?) on the following sequence. An early trap, some chaos at mid court, a steal by Stevens, a long pass to Clifford for an open layup and the Rams were tied at 64.
Late heroics by Petraitis fell short and it was on to overtime where the Rams finally asserted themselves. An early three by Strong, followed by makes from Clifford, Stevens, and Strong again, and the Rams looked to be home free as they pushed the lead to 73-66 midway through the stanza. They closed smartly, securing a game that had looked to have been lost more times than Jennifer Lopez’ innocence.
They had played solid defense throughout, forcing five shot clock violations over the entirety of the game. The Falcons had made many tough shots and important free throws, finishing 10-22 from beyond the arc and 13-17 from the line. A large early rebounding advantage for the visitorshad been reeled in by games end. and somehow the Rams found just enough offense to get over the top.
Nique Clifford led the Rams with 18 points. Scott finished with 13, Stevens 12, and Palmer came off the bench to score 11. The Falcons were led by their three-headed monster of Petraitis with 22; Taylor and Becker scored 18 each. The three Falcons had performed valiantly but it wasn’t enough to overcome the grit and the fight of a Ram team that somehow found a way.
Headband Joe Continues His 6th Man of the Year Candidacy
Early in the game, Joe Palmer came off the bench and immediately brought energy to a lifeless arena. Said Niko Medved postgame “I thought Joe Palmer changed the game for us tonight. We really had nothing going and he brought a ton of energy. Offensive rebounds, knocked down a few shots, had a huge block.” It’s that kind of performance that has endeared him to CSU fans. More importantly, it’s that kind of performance off the bench that allows the Rams to wear their less deep opponents down. And win.
The 719 Boyz Refused to Lose
Joel Scott and Nique Clifford both hail from Colorado Springs, home of the Air Force Academy. Both were integral to the Rams’ victory. With Pat Cartier struggling, Scott was forced to do much of the dirty work inside on his own. Only a pair of field goals to show on the scoresheet but 8-10 from the free throw line alongside 7 rebounds. Clifford did what he does all over the entire 94’. Plenty of highlights but none better than an acrobatic reverse layup after rebounding his own miss.
AAU Brethren
Sometimes games feature more than opponents matching up. In this case, the Rams’ Jalen Lake and the Falcons’ Rylis Petraitis were AAU teammates back in Texas several years ago.
Petraitis is a talented sophomore who nearly slayed the Rams last night. He is the poster child for all that is good at AFA but also might become anotherposter child for how hard it is to build a successful program at the Academy. In todays day and age or portals and NIL, Air Force players are easy targets after two years there. Jake Heidbreder transferred to Clemson after an All MWC level season. Petraitis will certainly be a target after this season and he’ll have a tough decision to make. Whether he want to commit to 2 more years at the academy and six more years of service, or whether he wants to pursue a different path. It will be something to keep an eye on at season’s end.
”Hey Padilla, You Stink…”
Something that just might have been shouted directly at official Tony Padilla last night. Just maybe from Section F, Row 7.
On paper, the officiating crew was about as good as you can expect for a regular season game. Three well-respected officials with Final Four experience. And to be honest, the officiating in the first half was first class.
But then something happened. A flopping technical foul was called on CSU’s Tavi Jackson and a free throw was awarded to Air Force. Only 20 seconds prior, CSU’s Rashaan Mbemba scored over an Air Force defender who had gone to the ground exactly as Jackson had. No call on that one. Padilla explained it by saying that the second call was his and the first call wasn’t, essentially throwing officiating partners Verne Harris and Randy McCall under the bus.
Minutes later, Joe Palmer was ruled to have committed a flagrant foul on an air ball where he accidentally undercut Petraitis. Palmer’s back was to Petraitis so he had no idea he was even there. Petraitis took a hard fall. A common foul yes, a flagrant no way. It turned what looked like an empty possession for the Falcons into a 4-point possession, nearly giving them the cushion they needed down the stretch.
And there were several CSU attempts at the rim where there was contact. The most egregious was a 4-footer from Isaiah Stevens that resulted in an air ball. The contact on his arm could be heard all the way up in Row 7. That one was Padilla’s call and he whiffed it.
But I guess you could say it was made good in the final sequence of regulation when CSU trailed by 2. After Air Force had broken a trap and it looked like CSU was trying to foul. There was certainly enough contact to call a foul but the refs chose to swallow the whistle. CSU steal, Clifford layup, game tied. I guess I should be happy that there was more drama than necessary. But make no mistake, it was a missed call seen by virtually everyone I talked to postgame.
But the absolute best of the night came in overtime. CSU had jumped out to an early 7-point lead when The Falcons nailed a three. For some reason, Air Force coach Joe Scott went apoplectic, running onto the court waving his arms while the ball was technically still in play. Referee Verne Harris didn’t want to T him up so he signalled that Air Force had called a timeout. When Harris informed him of the timeout, Scott yelled back at Harris that he hadn’t called for a timeout. Scott had no idea that Harris was trying to protect him. It was comedy.
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