John Tonje guides CSU basketball to season-opening blowout over Oral Roberts

FORT COLLINS –– After falling 2 at-large invitations abbreviated of reaching the NCAA Tournament past season, the Colorado State men’s hoops squad took its 2021-22 nonconference docket upon itself.

Rather than half-heartedly filling its pre-Mountain West slate with seemingly trivial opponents, fourth-year manager Niko Medved crammed the campaign’s aboriginal stages with resume-building opportunities.

This way, if propulsion comes to shove with the enactment committee this clip around, the Rams volition presumably ain amended chances of winding up connected the close broadside of the March Madness bubble. Well, that’s assuming CSU takes vantage of said marquee matchups.

Time volition archer however the Rams so fare against the likes of Saint Mary’s, Mississippi State and existent No. 14 ranked Alabama among different daunting foes. However, for now, the greenish and golden tin joyfully assertion it got disconnected connected the close ft aft defeating Oral Roberts 109-80 connected Tuesday evening astatine Moby Arena.

ORU traveled to Fort Collins for each program’s run opener caller disconnected a acheronian equine task into past year’s Sweet 16 –– besting No. 2 Ohio State successful an attention-grabbing first-round upset earlier besides bouncing No. 7 Florida arsenic a No. 15 seed.

Despite losing apical rebounder/second-leading scorer Kevin Obanor among respective starters, the Golden Eagles inactive participate the caller play arsenic the projected runner-up successful the Summit League –– which relates to sharp-shooting defender Max Abmas’ highly anticipated return.

A preseason first-team All-American (by Sporting News), Abmas led the federation successful scoring (24.5 points per game) portion shooting 42.9% from 3-point scope implicit the coronavirus-shortened campaign. And connected Tuesday, the inferior surely made his beingness known portion accruing 20 points.

Nevertheless, guided by inferior defender John Tonje’s compelling display, the Rams prevailed past their Summit League adversary alternatively effortlessly up of a astir sold-out crowd.

During a archetypal fractional successful which CSU proved poised but struggled to propulsion away, Tonje kept the hosts’ heads supra h2o upon accumulating a contest-most 18 points disconnected 5-of-8 shooting. And helium was obscurity adjacent finished.

After notching a career-best successful scoring implicit the opening 20 minutes, Tonje commenced the last fragment successful likewise red-hot manner portion helping CSU widen its borderline into comfy territory.

Specifically, highlighted by a nifty head-fake and people successful the paint, the sharp-shooting inferior knocked down 4 consecutive shots implicit the 2nd half’s archetypal six minutes –– stretching the Rams’ vantage from 50-43 astatine fractional to 70-52 by the 13-minute mark.

In total, Tonje nailed 10-of-14 shots for 31 points, 13 of which occurred implicit a 2nd fractional wherever CSU seamlessly broke the crippled open.

To accidental the least, aft averaging 6.6 points per crippled arsenic a sophomore, Tonje felt his changeable to a caller grade connected Tuesday.

Though Tonje undoubtedly stole the season-opening show, Medved’s squad enjoyed plentifulness of violative equilibrium elsewhere portion outshooting a Golden Eagles squad that averaged 82 points per nighttime past twelvemonth (10th successful the NCAA).

Overall, the Rams converted astatine a 58.9% clip from the level arsenic guardant Dischon Thomas added his archetypal vocation double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Additionally, Isaiah Stevens posted 13 points portion Division II transportation Chandler Jacobs enjoyed an effectual CSU debut –– nailing 6-of-6 tract goals for 15 points.

After dashing past Oral Roberts with a lights-out 2nd half, CSU welcomes Arkansas-Pine Bluff to Moby Arena connected Friday evening for an 8 p.m. tip-off.