FORT COLLINS — Colorado State beat Boise State at its own game.

Facing off against the Mountain West’s best defense, Niko Medved’s Rams put together arguably their best defensive performance of conference play on the way to a 75-62 win over a Broncos team loaded with talented offensive players capable of putting up big numbers on any given night.

“I thought we played with a lot of physicality,” Medved said. “I thought we did a good job of fighting for real estate, not allowing those guys to get set up where they wanted. I thought we did a terrific job of not being lazy and going under a screen. I thought we challenged shots and when we did that, we were able to rebound. I think we’ve really guarded well here (lately) and that’s something we’re going to have to continue to do moving forward.”

Boise State leading scorer Tyson Degenhart got his on Tuesday night, leading all players with 25 points on an efficient 10-for-14 shooting from the field, but he was the only Broncos player who had more than 11 points in the game.

Whether it was on reigning conference player of the week Max Rice — who scored a career-high 35 points last week at New Mexico — or another sharpshooter in Chibuzo Agbo, the Rams made life tough on the rest of Boise State’s roster and held the Broncos to their lowest point total of Mountain West play.

“We knew coming in that (Rice) was coming off of a very impressive game down at the Pit,” Rams senior Isaiah Stevens said. “Coach Medved made it very clear that he’s capable of changing the game. We just didn’t want to give him anything easy.”

Nique Clifford, Josiah Strong and Jalen Lake on the perimeter made sure of that.

On the offensive end, it was a balanced effort for CSU.

Isaiah Stevens led the way with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field to go with 11 assists. Joel Scott (13 points) and Patrick Cartier (10) were also in double figures, but it was the bench who delivered in key spots.

The team’s top three reserves — Lake, Rashaan Mbemba and Joe Palmer — combined for 23 points off the bench as the Rams outscored Boise State by 15 points in that category.

“They really brought an edge to the game,” Stevens said. “They played confident, they played fast and they played sharp. They really kinda gave us some of that extra oomph late in the first half to make some runs and definitely throughout the second half with different guys in the lineup.”

Offense is never going to be an issue for this team. At least, that’s how they feel.

“I think it comes down to the defensive end and the glass on both ends for us,” Stevens said. “We believe we can score on, essentially, anybody in the country. We just trust each other so much, we share the ball really well.”

The win keeps the Rams unbeaten at home in conference play and keeps them just one game out of first place in the conference. With how good the Mountain West has been this season, it’s no surprise there are now four teams tied atop the standings at 7-3.

Medved wouldn’t know, though.

“I haven’t even looked at the league standings,” he admitted.

For now, that’s exactly how he wants it.

“I just wanna win the next one,” Medved said. “If we’re playing well, we can beat anybody.”

GAME RECAP

What happened: Colorado State (18-5, 6-4 Mountain West) had its best defensive effort in conference play, holding league leaders Boise State (16-7, 7-3 MW) to its worst offensive performance since December in a 75-62 win on Tuesday night at Moby Arena. Isaiah Stevens led the Rams with 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 11 assists.

Star of the night: The CSU reserves showed up in a big way, as Jalen Lake, Rashaan Mbemba and Joe Palmer combined for 23 points to give their team a 15-point advantage in points off the bench in the 12-point victory.

Quotable: “Everything felt pretty good. The coaches put a good game plan out. We played physically, we were in the right places, we did what we needed to do and we rebounded, too. I think it was just all those things combined.” — CSU forward Joel Scott on the defensive effort

Up next: The Rams remain at home and will play former coach Tim Miles on Friday night as San Jose State comes to Fort Collins. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on FS1.