Courtesy of Braidon Nourse
The bench got ‘em going. Nique Clifford took ‘em home.
For the first time since 2003, the No. 2 Colorado State Rams are champions of the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Basketball Championship with a 69-56 win over No. 5 Boise State.
The biggest contributors have come from all over, each with different stories. Tournament MVP Clifford, a transfer for two years after a career at the Rams’ rival in Colorado. Jalen Lake, one of the longest-tenured Rams who has seen ups, downs and some of the best teams in school history come short of this mark. Ethan Morton, a transfer this year from Purdue whose only goal was to contribute to winning in any way he could.
A career-high 11 points in a title game? Not bad for the fifth-year guard.
“I get emotional. I did the same thing in high school: I went up and found my parents in the parents section and gave them a hug because they’ve been my rock steady through all the stuff,” Morton said. “I’ve been through a lot in my career, experienced a lot of stuff. As these guys (Clifford and Lake) can attest, it wasn’t always easy this year. They stuck with me and I’m so appreciative to everybody in here and in the locker room.”
The Rams got off to a slow start after a rough finish to Friday’s semifinal against Utah State, and the Broncos took advantage with a 6-0 run out of the gate.
Then Colorado State guards Bowen Born and Morton entered for CSU and almost couldn’t miss. Born hit his first 3 out of the timeout he subbed in on, then Morton hit back-to-back 2-point shots. Born hit another 3 after that. Another a bit later.
The bench scored the Rams’ first 15 points and had a total of 28 on the night.
“Those two guys (Born and Morton), the tears in their eyes,” CSU head coach Niko Medved said. “I remember coming here, Bowen had an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament and had been a go-to guy in Northern Iowa. He said he’d take any role he could get — Ethan, the same way.
“Those two embody the team. It’s crazy. We knew Bowen didn’t have his best game last night. He’s played big for us. Those two guys are the guys that sparked it, to be honest. They came in, we were down 6-0. Their energy changed everything. That guy (Morton) said, ‘I’m coming here for my last year. I’m not going to not go to the tournament.’”
Clifford finished the title game with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. He’s been the catalyst to an unprecedented 10-game win streak, all by at least eight points — which has never been done in the Mountain West.
He hit three of Colorado State’s 12 3-pointers, which was the most ever by a team in a Mountain West championship game.
The path early this season was as tough as the team turned out to be in March. After a 5-5 start to the year with a couple of tough losses, the Rams went 20-4 since.
“I’m a believer in that sometimes you have to go through the losses and the tough times and the adversity. That’s where the most growth happens,” Medved said. “And, ‘Oh, man, if you hadn’t lost that game early,’ but we did. Maybe we needed to — you know what I mean? — to figure things out. It’s just a testament to these guys and it’s a great life lesson for everyone.”
