ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — Clearly, island life is quite agreeable with the big man from that noted tropical paradise, Minnesota.
Colorado State's David Roddy continued to put on a show in the US Virgin Islands, leading the Rams to a historic performance as CSU raced past Creighton for a 95-81 win on Sunday in the semifinals of the 22nd annual Paradise Jam.
CSU improved to 5-0 and will face Northeastern in the championship game on Monday night at 6 p.m. MT.
"I'm just trying to compete as hard as I can and do the best that I can for my teammates," Roddy said. "As long as we keep doing that and we win, I'm happy."
Roddy posted a career-high scoring effort for the second consecutive game and the third time in four games, scoring 36 points to lead an electric all-around offensive performance by the Rams. CSU went a torrid 20-for-34 from 3-point range, setting a program record for 3-pointers in a game while also breaking the Paradise Jam record. Roddy's 36 points tied for the 11 th-best single-game scoring performance in team history. CSU's previous 3-point high was 19 against New Mexico on Jan. 15, 2020.
After watching Roddy punish Bradley inside for 30 points during CSU's tournament-opening win on Friday, Creighton opted to sag off Roddy along the perimeter. He gladly took advantage. The junior forward finished 13-for-20 overall and 7-for-10 on 3-pointers. He entered the game with a 3-for-10 mark on the season from long range. Roddy joined a long list of CSU players tied for eighth all-time with seven 3-pointers.
While Roddy was a one-man wrecking crew against Bradley, he received much more help from his friends on Sunday. Dischon Thomas knocked down five 3-pointers and posted a career-high 21 points.
Guard Isaiah Stevens, who struggled to a 2-for-12 mark with only five points against Bradley, bounced back to produce a double-double against Creighton, finishing with 17 points, 11 assists, and zero turnovers in 36 minutes.
"What a great performance all the way around," CSU head coach Niko Medved said. "Our guys got into great rhythm. I thought that Creighton obviously did a lot of changing defenses there in the second half. I think our guys just handled it beautifully whatever they threw at them. (Creighton) is a really good ball club. Really talented. They obviously made a run at us in the second half, and like our guys always do I thought they responded."
CSU led 42-36 at halftime and extended the lead to nine points on a Thomas 3-pointer immediately after the break.
That's when Creighton made its run, using a 14-2 burst to take its first lead of the game. Consecutive 3-pointers from Stevens and Jalen Lake reasserted the momentum for the Rams, and CSU started to run away with the victory moments later after an all-Roddy 11-0 run.
The Rams set a championship as the goal ahead of the long road trip, and while the potential title-game showdown against the Colorado Buffaloes was wiped off the board with CU's opening-day loss, CSU's final goal remains unchanged.
"We came down here expecting to compete to win," Medved said. "The one thing about our guys, in the locker room (afterward) there wasn't a lot of hooting and hollering or anything like that. The guys were happy. It was a really good win for our program. But without me saying it, we've got a tough game tomorrow night. We're going to have a battle tomorrow night, and that's what we have to turn our attention to."
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