FORT COLLINS — Kyle Jorgensen uttered a phrase that could’ve been said a few times now in the month of February.

“About a month ago, I don’t think we were winning that game,” the sophomore forward said after Colorado State’s 74-70 win over Fresno State on Tuesday night at Moby Arena. 

Jorgensen is right.

The Rams’ inability to close out games and shake off slow starts haunted them en route to a 3-8 start to Mountain West play. But this new-look team, which returned only Jorgensen and junior forward Rashaan Mbemba from last year’s team that made the NCAA Tournament, has flipped a switch in the last 24 days, starting when they returned home from a disheartening loss in Laramie to archrival Wyoming.

CSU has rattled off six straight wins in Ali Farokhmanesh’s first season to get above .500 in conference play for the first time all season and they’re doing it by being the balanced, deep and complementary team their coach believed they could be.

“For us to find a way to win this game, that was key,” Farokhmanesh said. “It didn’t need to be pretty, we just needed to find a way.”

Farokhmanesh could feel that first-half performance coming. After an emotional stretch of games and with the Rams playing their third game in a span of six days in a “trap game” against a team near the bottom of the Mountain West standings, Farokhmanesh knew it was human nature for his guys to not have the right energy from the jump. 

But even when CSU went down by as many as 13 points in the first half, there was never any panic on the court.

“I was probably more panicky than they were, so it was fun to watch them be calm, cool and collected,” Farokhmanesh said.

Little by little, the Rams battled back. They trailed for nearly 29 minutes in the game, but once they retook the lead on a free throw by Jase Butler with under four minutes to play, they never looked back.

Even amid all of the struggles for the first 35 minutes or so of the game, CSU never lost sight of what has fueled this hot stretch.

“The thing that we’ve really worked on is being a player-led team,” Jorgensen said. “I think that’s something we struggled with very early on. It’s not just been the returners or people that have been here, it’s been everybody as a collective. At the end of the day, it’s a team effort and it’s a team game. Everyone matters.”

That was the case again against the Bulldogs with all five starters in double figures, led by Brandon Rechsteiner’s 16 points. Four of those starters also had multiple assists and they all played a role in the strong collective defensive effort late — something that simply wasn’t happening in January.

“We had to adjust our mentality, we had to adjust as a group and it’s been cool to see,” Farokhmanesh said. “We had a long talk about the physicality, the mentality and the connection. That’s been showing up. The 50-50 balls, we’ve been winning at a higher rate. The huddles have been so tight. There’s small, little invisible things that you don’t see all the time.”

Everyone in Fort Collins is starting to notice, though, and it’s because the run this team is on feels awfully similar to one Ram fans saw this time a year ago when the Nique Clifford-led squad rattled off seven straight wins heading into the Mountain West tournament.

With still three games left until they head to Vegas, there’s still time for this year’s team to match and surpass that mark and they’ll keep chugging along on Saturday at San Jose State (3 p.m. Mountain West Network).

Not before getting some rest on Wednesday, though. The hottest team in the conference has earned it.

“I don’t want to see anyone in the gym,” Farokhmanesh said. “We need a day off.”

GAME RECAP

Colorado State 74, Fresno State 70

What happened: The Rams (18-10, 9-8 Mountain West) trailed for nearly 29 minutes, but completed a late comeback to defeat the Bulldogs (12-16, 6-11) for their sixth straight win, one that takes them above .500 in conference play for the first time this season. 

Star of the night: Brandon Rechsteiner hit a bunch of timely 3-pointers in the second half to give him a team-high 16 points for the Rams. He’s stepped up in the past week and a half with fellow starting guard Josh Pascarelli still out with a lower left leg injury. Rechsteiner has scored in double figures in four straight games after a four-game stretch where he failed to score 10 points in each game. 

Quotable: “I just think we’re more connected. Every halftime, every timeout, it’s player-led. It’s not quiet. Now, I think we know what the task is and what everyone’s role is in that task … and we’re getting it done.” — CSU junior guard Brandon Rechsteiner on the team’s recent adjustments 

Up next: The Rams hit the road for a weekend trip to the Bay Area with their game on Saturday at San Jose State set for 3 p.m. on Mountain West Network.