Rams fail against Aztecs

The San Diego State Aztecs used 18 points from junior guard

Wesley Stokes and 17 from freshman forward Marcus Slaughter to beat

the CSU men’s basketball team 72-64 Monday night at Cox Arena in

San Diego.

The Rams were looking for momentum going into the Mountain West

Conference Tournament but instead they suffered their sixth

straight loss. They had a solid effort but could not contain the

inside-outside tandem of Stokes and Slaughter.

Rams head coach Dale Layer was still proud of his players saying

in a post game interview on KIIX 1410 AM, “I thought our effort was

terrific. The intensity was where I wanted it but we had a few

lapses.”

Those lapses came in the form of 13 turnovers. Late in the game,

Jon Rakiecki had two key steals to help boost CSU’s second-half

play, but the Rams couldn’t convert, committing simple mistakes

when possessions were important.

The Rams have now fallen to 11-14 overall and only 3-9 in the

MWC. They have two games remaining before the MWC Tournament begins

March 11.

Freshman Dwight Boatner had 13 points for CSU and continued to

be one of the best stories for the Rams all season.

It was also a big night for Rams senior forward Ronnie Clark,

who added a team-high 17 points.

“It’s arguably the best he’s played here at Colorado State,”

Layer said. “I thought he got it rolling in the second half but we

didn’t get him or (Matt) Nelson nearly enough touches.”

Clark was upbeat despite the loss saying on KIIX, “We’re taking

steps forward and getting better as a team and it’s going to help

us win the Mountain West Tournament. I had it going tonight, but it

just wasn’t enough for us to win.

Nelson added 16 points for the Rams, going 6-of-8 from the field

and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

The Rams face the Wyoming Cowboys for the Border War in Laramie

on Saturday to try and halt their longest losing streak of the

season.

“Any win is good,” Layer said. “We have to step up and play well

and if we take care of a couple of little things, we’ll have a good

chance of winning.