Epic Nique Clifford performance leads Colorado State basketball to huge win at Boise State
Nique Clifford signs autographs in final game in Colorado Springs
CSU basketball star Nique Clifford had a hometown senior day of sorts Tuesday at Air Force and had a big fan club waiting for him postgame.
An all-time performance.
This will go down as one of the best individual games in Colorado State men’s basketball history.
Given the stakes, setting and production this is one of the best of the best from Nique Clifford.
The CSU star was electric as the Rams stole an 83-73 comeback win at Boise State Friday night in a result that could have huge March Madness implications.
Here are takeaways from the win.
The Nique Clifford masterpiece
This will be remembered forever from CSU fans.
Clifford is NBA-bound after this season and has had many memorable performances in his two seasons as a Ram, but none like this.
The 6-foot-6 wing did everything. He hit clever mid-range shots. He drove to the rim and dunked. He hit 3-pointers, including one in the second half when he was fouled and the four-point play put the Rams up five.
From there CSU (22-9, 16-4 Mountain West) controlled the game.
It was all Clifford, all the time.
He raced past his previous career-high (31 set early this season) and poured in 36 points. He shot 13-18 from the field, including 4-7 from 3-point range.
“Nique Clifford guys, that’s honestly one of the best performances I have to imagine in CSU history considering the circumstances, hostile environment, sellout on the road against a team that’s borderline NCAA Tournament team to come in here and do what he did. High, high level stuff,” CSU coach Niko Medved said on the postgame radio show on 99.1 FM.
Colorado State’s impressive comeback
It was tied at 34 at halftime but Boise State (22-9, 14-6 MW) quickly took control in the second half.
The Broncos had a 10-2 run to start the half and seemed in control. Three times in the second half the Boise State lead reached nine points but it never got to double digits and CSU never backed down.
It was 60-51 Boise State with 11 minutes to go when the Rams switched to a zone defense. It seemed to slow and stagger the Boise State offense.
The Broncos never had rhythm after that and CSU slowly worked back in.
Boise State shot just 10-26 (38.5%) from the field in the second half.
CSU out-scored Boise State 32-13 in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“The last 8 minutes of the game was just as tough of a team effort as you can have,” Medved said.
The Rams were being out-scored 18-0 in second-chance points at one point during the second half but slowly gained control of the boards and dominated offensively.
Colorado State’s huge Mountain West win
This is the biggest win of the season for Colorado State. The Rams were picked No. 7 in the Mountain West preseason poll and this win locks in the No. 2 spot.
New Mexico beat UNLV Friday to win the Mountain West outright, finishing a game ahead of the Rams.
It also keeps slim NCAA Tournament at-large hopes alive for the Rams. Most bracketologists had CSU roughly 5-10 spots outside the tournament entering Friday, but this will be a marquee, Quad 1 road win to lead the resume.
CSU still will have to win games in the Mountain West tournament next week in Las Vegas to have a chance to see their name on Selection Sunday, but the hope is still alive.
A surge of CSU superlatives
Boise State entered the game 13-1 in home games but the Rams handed the Broncos their second loss.
It means CSU ends the season 7-4 in road games, setting a program record for Mountain West road wins in a season.
CSU now enters the postseason with seven wins in a row and victories in 12 of the last 14 games. The win adds to the program record of conference wins in a season for the program.
The Rams were 5-5 early in the season and won 17 of their last 21 regular season games.
“It’s hard to be prouder of a group. I think it will sink in the next day or two when you really look at it. Look at where we were Dec. 15 and to think about this now, I mean, we’re right there,” Medved said.
“They’ve created a legacy here. People are going to remember this team and this group forever because of what they’ve done.”
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
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