Multiple second-half runs failed to produce the desired outcome for Colorado State during the Rams’ 87-72 loss to Utah State in Logan on Saturday evening.

As has been the case multiple times this year, CSU (7-11, 2-3 Mountain West) settled into the game too late to come out victorious. Though they hung around deep into the second half, a late run from Utah State (14-5, 4-2 MW) secured their victory.

“We knew they’d be ready to play and prepared and they came out the more physical team,” coach Niko Medved told Brian Roth and Adam Nigon after the game. “It took us a while to wake up and get going. I told our guys that’s a good team to play. They’re a top-of-the-conference kind of team.”

CSU found itself in a hole early as Utah State came out quick and efficient on offense to open a 14-2 lead. The Rams found their footing on offense, though, and cut into the lead to four on multiple occasions.

The Aggies had answers for every small CSU run, mainly in the form of Brock Miller. The guard nailed five of his team’s seven 3-pointers in the first stanza to help give the hosts a 44-35 lead at the break.

“I thought we played pretty hard tonight, we didn’t give in,” Medved said. “But at some point, playing hard is just the price of admission. We just had too many errors of discipline at both ends. That’s a team that’s gonna make you pay when you do that.”

Both teams started slow offensively in the final half before they began trading buckets. Like the opening to the game, Utah State had a response for most of CSU’s baskets as the Rams struggled in their perimeter defense.

Though CSU stayed within striking distance for much of the half, those woes on the perimeter caught up to them near the 10-minute mark. The Aggies knocked down another pair of triples, and combined with empty offensive possessions from the Rams, they extended the lead to 18 with about eight minutes remaining.

With time for a comeback waning, Nico Carvacho found life on the offensive end. Held to six points until that point, the forward scored on back-to-back possessions to reenergize his team. Kendle Moore scored a fastbreak layup off a Kris Martin block and Adam Thistlewood knocked down a 3 to cut the deficit to 10.

Following two Aggie baskets, the Rams installed a full-court press and it lead to two steals and four three throws, again bringing the lead down to 10. Despite the offensive sparks, nothing came of them as the Aggies always bounced back at the other end.

“Obviously we had to be a lot better defensively,” Medved said. “We were able to get the shot clock down several times but just weren’t able to finish. A couple of real key communication errors — simple switches or different things where we fell asleep.”

For the Rams, the loss keeps them winless on true road games this season in five attempts. Similar to the road loss against Fresno State, their inability to find a groove early proved too difficult to overcome. While they played well for much of the second period, a full 40 minutes evaded them.

Five different Aggies reached double-figures, led by Miller and Neemias Queta each with 18. Sam Merrill entered the contest as the Mountain West’s second-leading scorer and he finished with 16. Queta also brought down 11 boards and contained Carvacho for much of the night as the Aggies won the rebounding battle 39-24.

CSU played six players for nearly the entire game, five of whom scored double-digits. JD Paige scored 17, Hyron Edwards 14 and Carvacho and Thistlewood 12 each. Carvacho also pulled down 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

After two games of successful ball movement, CSU finished with only 13 assists compared to Utah State’s 23. They were also outscored 38-20 in the paint.

The Rams return to action on Wednesday in Reno against No. 10 Nevada.