FORT COLLINS — Moby Madness is back.

It had been MIA for the last year-plus, but Saturday it made its triumphant return.

Finally playing in front of a home crowd worthy of their standing atop the Mountain West, the Colorado State Rams did not disappoint.

Despite playing one of their worst halves of the season, the Rams somehow found a way to erase their largest halftime deficit of the season to earn a most improbable 56-55 win over visiting San Diego State.

The nearly sold-out crowd of 7,856 clad in orange witnessed what has made this season’s CSU team so special. And on the top of that list has been Emmanuel Omogbo, who rattled home a 3-pointer with just 4.7 seconds left to lift the Rams (20-9, 12-4 MW) to victory.

“I was unconscious,” said Omogbo, who 13 months ago lost four family members in a house fire, including both of his parents. “That was probably my parents that forced that ball to go in, and my niece and nephew. So, I knew it couldn’t have been only me.”

Omogo’s 3, which sent the student sections flooding onto the floor after the final buzzer, came just minutes after the Rams took their first lead of the game with 2:20 to go in the contest.

They seemed to have all the momentum in the world at the point after erasing a 33-21 SDSU halftime lead, but the Rams came up empty their next three possessions, allowing a three-point play by Dakarai Allen with 23 seconds to go to reclaim the lead for the Aztecs — nearly spoiling all the fun.

But as seems to be the case when Moby is filled to near capacity like it was Saturday, the Rams were destined to win this one.

Following Allen’s three-point play, Zylan Cheatham blocked Prentiss Nixon’s layup with 9 seconds to go, setting up Omogbo’s dramatic game-winner.

Rather than call a time out and draw up a play, CSU coach Larry Eustachy did what he always does in these late-game situations by letting his guys on the floor decide the game.

J.D. Paige took a baseline inbound and found a wide-open Nico Carvacho just a few feet from the rim. But instead of going for the tie, Carvacho dished it out to Omogbo, who hesitated, pump-faked and launched a shot over the outstretched arms of SDSU defender D’Erryl Williams.

At first the shot looked long but somehow rattled down and in — for now, the pinnacle of a CSU season filled with so many ups and downs.

“I believe what’s supposed to happen has already been determined,” Eustachy said. “I believe the up-and-down season, and what’s transpired, is supposed to happen just to make you tougher.

“I was driving over here (thinking), ‘maybe it’s just our year.’ I don’t know. But good gosh. I saw it in J.D.’s eyes. He just had the eye of the tiger with a couple minutes to go.”

The comeback victory keeps CSU in control of its own destiny in search of the program’s first regular season title since 1990. Win their final two games — Tuesday against Wyoming and Saturday at Nevada — and the Rams will be Mountain West champs for the first time ever.

“To be honest with you, if we’re putting all the cards on the table, I figured we had to win one of these next two,” Eustachy said. “It’s all going to come down to the game at Nevada, really. If we beat Nevada at Nevada, and it’s a tie … we can call ourselves the true champs.”

Omogbo finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for his 17th double-double this season while Gian Clavell totaled a game-best 18 points, 14 of which came in the second half comeback, to go with 10 boards while shooting just 6 of 24 from the field. Nixon added 10 points, while Carvacho pitched in six points and 10 rebounds.

But the MVP of the night was arguably the CSU fans, who erupted to near-deafening levels down the stretch to help fuel the comeback.

“The crowd was really big for us. We knew we couldn’t let them down,” Omogbo said. “It was lit.”

The Rams’ second-half defense was also a huge factor, holding the Aztecs to 25 percent shooting from the floor after they shot 48.1 percent in the first half.

“I got a steal and got a dunk, and all of a sudden I hear the crowd and I got goosebumps,” Clavell said of his transition slam three minutes in the second half that got the Rams within four. “I ain’t gonna lie. I was like, ‘oh my God.'”

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

COLORADO ST. 56, SAN DIEGO ST. 55

SAN DIEGO ST. (16-12)

Pope 4-11 0-0 10, Izundu 0-0 0-0 0, Kell 4-14 0-0 10, Allen 4-6 4-5 12, Hemsley 3-10 0-0 7, Cheatham 3-6 2-2 8, Shrigley 0-5 0-0 0, Hoetzel 2-5 0-0 6, Williams 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-59 6-7 55.

COLORADO ST. (20-9)

Omogbo 3-7 4-6 11, Carvacho 3-7 0-0 6, Paige 2-7 0-0 6, Nixon 3-9 3-5 10, Clavell 6-24 4-4 18, Koelliker 1-3 0-0 2, Bonner 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 19-60 11-15 56.

Halftime — San Diego St. 33-21. 3-point goals — San Diego St. 7-22 (Pope 2-3, Hoetzel 2-4, Kell 2-5, Hemsley 1-5, Shrigley 0-5), Colorado St. 7-30 (Paige 2-3, Clavell 2-15, Bonner 1-2, Omogbo 1-4, Nixon 1-4, Carvacho 0-1, Koelliker 0-1). Fouled out — Kell. Rebounds — San Diego St. 33 (Cheatham 9), Colorado St. 43 (Omogbo 11). Assists — San Diego St. 6 (Kell, Allen, Hemsley 2), Colorado St. 9 (Omogbo, Paige, Clavell 2). Total fouls_San Diego St. 16, Colorado St. 11. A — 7,856 (8,745).