Turnovers wreck Ram road trip

The CSU men’s basketball team committed 70 turnovers and only

topped the 60-point mark once on its three-game road trip during

CSU’s Thanksgiving break.

However, the two losses on the trip were to perennial NCAA

contenders Auburn and No. 24 Oklahoma State. The Rams (2-2) are

looking to forget their road woes and get back on the winning track

at home tonight against Texas Southern (1-2) (7 p.m., Moby

Arena).

“I think our confidence fell,” said coach Dale Layer after the

84-54 blowout loss to Auburn Monday, according to a release.

“Nothing was falling through for us, and with the missed shots,

I think our confidence fell as well. We are a very tired team right

now. This has been a long road trip. We have been gone from home

for a week now, and it’s taken a toll on our guys.”

Layer said the early season schedule may have been a little too

tough for the early season.

Center Matt Nelson led the Rams with 12 points in the last game.

But turnovers coming primarily from the guard positions have really

hurt the Rams. Point guard Michael Morris leads the team with 19

turnovers and backup freshman Dwight Boatner has nine. To make

matters worse, point guard Derrick Stevens suffered a sprained

ankle in the Rams 75-69 wind at Drake on Nov. 29. Stevens is out

indefinitely.

“We’re frustrated because we may have bit off a little more than

we can chew with this schedule,” Layer said.

Texas Southern won the Southwestern Athletic Conference

Tournament last season and lost to North Carolina-Asheville in a

playoff to get into the NCAA Tournament. This season the team has

lost road games at Baylor and Southern Mississippi and won a home

game against Division II Texas College.

Senior forward Lionel Willis led the Tigers against Texas

College with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Sean Walker

added 17 points in the game.

The Rams are led by Nelson and senior swingman Ronnie Clark.

Nelson averages 14 points a game and is shooting .611 from the

field. Clark is the only other Ram to average double figures,

scoring 10.3 points a game and leading the team in rebounding with

five a game.