FORT COLLINS — Two months ago, the thought of Colorado State making a postseason basketball tournament seemed unlikely, if not preposterous.

The Rams were 11-8 overall and 3-3 in the Mountain West coming off back to back blowouts at home to New Mexico by 13 and at Fresno State by 21. With reserves Kimani Jackson, Che Bob and Devocio Butler — each valuable pieces off the bench — failing to meet minimum GPA requirements in the fall semester, the Rams were down to just seven scholarship players.

But instead of folding, the Rams thrived.

They won 13 of their next 16 games, coming up just one win short of capturing the regular season Mountain West title and the conference tournament championship — with Nevada the only team standing in the way of both.

That improbable run came to a screeching halt in the second round of the NIT on Monday night at Moby Arena, where the fourth-seeded Rams were no match against eighth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners claimed an 81-63 wire-to-wire victory, advancing to face No. 6 seed Texas-Arlington in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

“I’ll always remember this team. It’s one of the most special teams I’ve ever had. You’ve seen some teams in those circumstances quit, and that’s the last thing we’re about, is quitting,” CSU coach Larry Eustachy said after wrapping up his fifth season with the program.

“A lot of positives in spite a lot of adversity. So it’s a team I’ll remember for a long, long time. Give Bakersfield all the credit. I know (coach) Rod (Barnes) well. I coached against him when he was a player. He’s one of the unknown great coaches in the country.”

With an opportunity to host again the next round, when a trip to Madison Square Garden would have been on the line, the Rams (24-12) simply came out flat, recovered briefly for a stretch in the first half but were otherwise thoroughly outplayed by the Western Athletic Conference regular season champs.

The Roadrunners (24-9) did what they do best, forcing 17 CSU turnovers and converting them into 20 points. But it was their shockingly great 3-point shooting in the first half that made the biggest difference.

A below-average team from behind the arc for the season (33.8 percent), Bakersfield took full advantage of the Rams’ poor perimeter defense in making 11 triples, including 10 of 13 in the first half to build a 20-point lead at intermission.

“They were just hitting 3 after 3 after 3. There’s nothing you can do because some of them were contested,” CSU senior guard Gian Clavell said. “Some people that shoot like 25 percent from 3, they’re making 3s. I think they like this gym, I don’t know. There’s something about this gym that they like.

“They’re a great defensive team, and then when they’re shooting the ball like that, you’ve got to play near perfect, ya know? It’s going to be hard to beat a team like that when they’re hitting on all cylinders.”

Clavell led all scorers with 21 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks, but he shot just 6 of 14 from the floor and had four turnovers to no assists. Prentiss Nixon was the only other Ram in double figures, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the first half. Emmanuel Omogbo, like Clavell playing his final game as a Ram, was held to just three points, matching a season-low, after struggling with foul trouble early.

Even if Omogbo had been at his best, Eustachy said, the Rams weren’t going to beat a streaky-shooting Bakersfield team known for its defense that held CSU to just 34.5 percent shooting on the night.

“I think Emmanuel is dealing with a lot of things. Obviously he’s been dealt so much in the last 16 months or so. I think he’s got a fear of leaving this place. It’s his home,” Eustachy said of Omogbo, who averaged 13.9 points and 10.4 rebounds this season after losing both of his parents and his niece and nephew in a house fire last January. “He’s struggled for a while now, and he’s lucky to have great teammates around him that have supported him through some tough times. But again, he could have had the best game of his life, but we weren’t going to beat that team. It just wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Jaylin Airington led four Roadrunners in double figures with 19 points, Dedrick Basile had 17, Shon Briggs added 14 and Damiyne Durham had 12. Fairview High School product Brent Wrapp totaled eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in front of a small group of family and friends. The production by Briggs and Durham accounted for a majority of the Roadrunners’ 31-14 advantage in bench points.

After trailing 52-32 at halftime, the Rams were never really able to make it game in the second half. They cut the deficit to 17 after a pair of free throws by Clavell at the 8:22 mark, but never got closer the rest of the way, trailing by as much as 26 down the stretch.

“Unfortunately we ran into a freight train today,” Eustachy said. “Toward the end of the game I was asking (assistant coach) Will Glover ‘who would’ve beaten this team tonight?’ I mean, they were out of character making 10 of 13 threes early.”

In front of an enthusiastic crowd of 4,203, the Rams stumbled out of the gates, missing their first six shots from the field and trailing by double digits a mere five minutes in. They quickly found a groove, making their next half-dozen shots to make it a one-point game, 18-17, after a 3 by Clavell midway through the first half.

But soon after that, the game was never in doubt. The visitors outscored the hosts 32-13 the final 10 minutes of the first frame to take the commanding 20-point halftime lead.

After defying the odds so often the past two months, the Rams and their seven-man rotation finally seemed to catch up to them, ending the 2016-17 campaign with the third-most wins in program history and the 11th-best win percentage (.667).

“It’s tough, just because I don’t want to stop playing with these guys,” Nixon said. “A great group of guys to play with. Especially Gian, I’ve learned so much the last couple years from him.

“I know (Clavell and Omogbo) are never going to stop teaching me new ways to help build this team and become the leader of this team. It hurts, but they had great careers here.”

Sean Star: 970-669-5402, sstar@reporter-herald.com or twitter.com/seanvstar

CS BAKERSFIELD 81, COLORADO ST. 63

CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (24-9)

Airington 7-13 2-2 19, Smith 1-3 0-2 2, Aly 2-3 0-0 4, Basile 5-12 5-6 17, Wrapp 3-5 0-0 8, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Suber 1-1 0-0 2, Ndoye 0-2 0-0 0, Pride 0-1 2-4 2, Durham 4-7 0-0 12, Briggs 5-11 5-6 15. Totals 28-58 14-20 81.

COLORADO ST. (24-12)

Omogbo 1-3 0-4 3, Carvacho 1-2 3-4 5, Nixon 5-17 5-6 15, Clavell 6-14 6-9 21, Paige 2-12 0-0 5, Koelliker 3-5 1-1 7, Sabino 0-0 0-0 0, Bonner 2-5 2-2 7. Totals 20-58 17-26 63.

Halftime — CS Bakersfield 52-32. 3-point goals — CS Bakersfield 11-19 (Durham 4-5, Airington 3-5, Wrapp 2-3, Basile 2-5, Pride 0-1), Colorado St. 6-26 (Clavell 3-6, Omogbo 1-3, Bonner 1-4, Paige 1-5, Koelliker 0-2, Nixon 0-6). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — CS Bakersfield 29 (Wrapp 7), Colorado St. 38 (Carvacho 13). Assists — CS Bakersfield 18 (Briggs 5), Colorado St. 5 (Carvacho 3). Total fouls_CS Bakersfield 23, Colorado St. 18. Technicals_Paige.