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Fast and Furious Buffs Comeback Overtakes Crimson, 70-62
Nov 24th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Long before Sunday, Tad Boyle had no doubt about the competitive makeup of his Colorado basketball team. When he left the Coors Events Center late Sunday afternoon, his belief had been underscored.
After trailing for almost 35 minutes, the Buffaloes shifted gears offensively and defensively – and, yes, mentally – and overtook previously unbeaten Harvard, 70-62, improving to 50-7 under Boyle at the CEC.
“Our team has fight in it, no doubt,” Boyle said. “Our guys found a way . . . we’ve got competitors in that locker room.”
Sunday’s second half proved it. Down by 14 points in the opening minute of the final 20, the Buffs (6-1) used a 14-0 run in the last 8:23 to catch and surpass the Crimson (4-1). Sophomore forward Xavier Johnson contributed back-to-back three-pointers in the run, with junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie adding a third and edging the CEC crowd of 9,770 close to delirium.
Xavier Johnson’s two, 3-pointers allowed the Buffs to surpass the Crimson early in the second half.
“The three threes got the crowd going,” Boyle said. “Our fans were terrific.”
The win was CU’s biggest in a six-game November home stand that saw Boyle’s four-year record in the month climb to 15-0.
“The thing that’s so satisfying is how we got it and the team we got it against,” Boyle said, citing Crimson coach Tommy Amaker “and what he’s done with the Harvard program . . . that’s a veteran, well-coached team.”
Dinwiddie’s 17 points topped four CU players in double figures and further reinforced Boyle’s opinion of his 6-6 point guard.
“He’s playing at a very high level,” Boyle said. “Spencer has a good feel for the game; he’s a very calming influence our on team. I trust him – but I trust all of our players.”
Dinwiddie had scoring help from guard Askia Booker and forward Josh Scott with 12 points each, while Johnson added 11. Harvard also had four players reach double figures, led by Kyle Casey’s 13.
It was the second-half board work – especially on the defensive end – of Scott and teammate Wesley Gordon, who grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds apiece, that made a large impression on Boyle in a highly physical game. CU out-rebounded the Ivy League visitors 46-29.
The 6-10 Scott picked up a couple of first-half fouls and was limited to 12 minutes on the court. In the second half, he said, he didn’t feel encumbered by fouls and was able to get a feel for the game.
“That’s not an excuse,” he said, “it’s just of kind of how it works out . . . I wasn’t scoring and I wasn’t exactly blocking shots so I figured I’d play defense and rebound. The shots came afterwards and I shot well from the free throw line (a team best six-of-eight).”
The Buffs also held the Crimson to 23.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half and limited them to one three-pointer after allowing six treys in the first half. CU led only once in the first half – 3-2 on Johnson’s three-pointer to open CU’s scoring – and trailed by 12 (42-30) at intermission. After that brief one-point Buffs lead, Harvard went on a 14-1 run that featured four treys and ended with the Crimson up 16-4.
That surge – in reality, the entire first half – amounted to a long-range replay that Boyle might have believed the Buffs wouldn’t allow. The Crimson didn’t arrive in Boulder with the reputation of a dangerous bunch beyond the arc; they had shot just 26.3 percent on three-point attempts in their four previous wins.
Apparently, the word on CU’s susceptibility to the long ball got out. Harvard’s season-high for made three-pointers was six against Holy Cross, but in Sunday’s first 4 minutes the Crimson had drained four and they finished the first 20 minutes tying their season high (six).
Meanwhile, those six treys also tied three other CU opponents for the most allowed in a first half this season. CU allowed 11 treys in Thursday night’s win over UC Santa Barbara. The Buffs’ six opponents had shot 38.2 percent from behind the arc, with two foes – Baylor, UT-Martin – at 40 percent or higher. Harvard finished the first half at 50 percent (6-of-12).
But the second half was lock down time for the Buffs. Boyle’s halftime message about his team’s perimeter defense: “Respect them as shooters . . . Harvard moves the ball quickly (and) you have to move on the pass. We didn’t do it (in the first half) but we did a better job in the second half.”
After Harvard took its first 12-point lead, CU closed to within three points twice (19-16, 21-18) before the visitors pulled away again and fashioned their 12-point advantage at intermission. The Crimson shot 53.6 percent from the field (15-of-28) while the Buffs were well back at 42.3 percent (11-of-26).
Maybe the half’s most telling stat: Harvard scored 12 points off nine CU turnovers. But the Buffs committed only six second-half errors, leading to seven Crimson points.
Harvard’s Steve Moundou-Missi opened the second-half scoring with an inside basket, putting CU down 44-30, with that 14-point deficit matching the Buffs’ largest this season (first time vs. Baylor in the season-opening loss).
It might have jarred the Buffs awake. Over the next 31/2 minutes, they outscored the Crimson 9-0 to pull to within 44-39 on a layup Booker with 15:45 to play. The Buffs crept to within five again (46-41) on a short, falling-to-the-floor jumper by Xavier Talton, but three consecutive CU turnovers helped Harvard restore a 50-41 lead and prompted a timeout by Boyle.
“We were down nine, 50-41, and I said, ‘Guys, we don’t have a nine-point play. We have to get stops,” Boyle said. The Buffs did, getting stops on five Crimson possessions and creeping to within four points on two occasions (50-46, 52-48) before Dinwiddie hit a baseline runner with the shot clock winding down and brought the Buffs to within 52-50.
On Harvard’s next possession, a rejection by Scott gave CU a chance to go ahead – and the Buffs took advantage on an “XJ” triple with exactly 5 minutes left. When he hit from the right wing, the Buffs had their first lead (53-52) since his trey opened their scoring.
And he wasn’t finished. With Scott controlling the boards on the other end, CU moved back downcourt and Johnson drilled another three from the right corner.
“Pretty much it’s all just the game plan,” Johnson said. “Coach Boyle lays (it) out for us and I was able to hit the open shot. We had great ball movement, we played inside out and I was able to be open for the jump shot.”
The Buffs were up 56-52, and Dinwiddie was about to get into the act. His straight-away triple pushed CU ahead 59-52, and Scott followed with one of two free throws for a 60-52 advantage with 3:27 remaining and completed the Buffs’ 14-0 run.
During that stretch, said Scott, the Crimson players were drawing ragged breaths: “Breathing hard, their shooters for a good 10-minute span were short on a lot of shots or wide with their shots. They weren’t running as fast as they were in the first half, you could just tell . . . I think the altitude got to them.”
Harvard got as close as 66-62 on Laurent Rivard’s trey – the Crimson’s only triple of the second half – with 30 seconds to play. But CU closed it out by hitting five of six free throws – three by Talton, two by Booker – in the last 28.3 and matched the 11th largest comeback in the history of the men’s program.
The Buffs don’t play again until Saturday, when they travel to Air Force (2 p.m.), and Scott – from Colorado Springs – said a break in what has been a demanding November routine is welcome.
“We’re pretty excited to have a little rest time,” he said. “We’ve pretty much had an every-other-day game schedule, which is fun, but it wears on you. We’re on Thanksgiving break right now for school, so it will be pretty nice just to be on the basketball schedule and then chill out for the week.”
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Early Mistakes, Trojans’ ‘D’ Doom Buffs
Nov 24th
By: B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Southern California continued its mastery over Colorado on Saturday night, beating the Buffs 47-29 for its eighth consecutive win in the series and snuffing CU’s faint hope of reaching the postseason.
Their disappointing Senior Night at frigid Folsom Field dropped the Buffs to 4-7 overall (1-7 Pac-12) and sends them to Utah next Saturday to end their season. With an upset of the No. 23 Trojans, the Buffs would have moved within one win of bowl eligibility with the trip to Salt Lake City awaiting.
Now, Mike MacIntyre’s first CU team simply will try to end the season on an upbeat note. “To me this should be a fun week for us,” MacIntyre said, citing no classes because of Thanksgiving break, the focus on football, and the camaraderie he believes his players have established with each other and with his coaching staff.
“These young men, we have bonded with them and they have bonded with us,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve liked their effort, what they’ve done . . . they’ve been through a lot. It’s not always happened on the scoreboard for us, but we have made progress.”
“I think this year we’ve made incredible strides,” added sophomore receiver Nelson Spruce. “We’re on the verge of being able to compete in every game . . . I think we built a lot this year with this staff.”
CU’s seniors, said MacIntyre, “have helped this program move forward” and enabled him to chart progress in his first year. “But we need to start seeing more progress on the scoreboard . . . I’d definitely like to see that ‘W’ Saturday – just like Utah would.”
But in mid-20-degree temperatures Saturday night – the second-coldest game ever for USC – the Trojans showed the Buffs how much more work is ahead. CU, which has been outscored 277-76 by USC in their eight meetings, lost its 14th consecutive game to a ranked opponent. The Buffs’ last win against a Top 25 team was in 2009 against No. 17 Kansas (34-30).
USC (9-3, 6-2 – including 6-1 under interim coach Ed Orgeron) took advantage of a pair of late first-half turnovers by CU freshman quarterback Sefo Liufau to go ahead 23-0 at intermission. The Buffs converted a Trojans fumble into a score before the second half was a minute old, but never could generate enough offense to catch USC.
Buff QB Sefo Lifau had a good game but two turnovers in the first half gave the Trojans an advantage they would never relinquish
“I’m proud of how our guys kept fighting, kept battling,” MacIntyre said, “but we just couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half.”
Playing only three quarters, Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler completed 19-of-28 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. But USC did most of its damage with sophomore tailback Javorius Allen, who rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns before given the rest of the night off midway through the fourth quarter.
Liufau finished 17-of-33 passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His scoring passes went to Paul Richardson (5 yards) and Spruce (38). Richardson finished with eight receptions – all in the second half – for 88 yards and the score. Michael Adkins II led the Buffs in rushing with 63 yards on 13 carries (one TD).
MacIntyre said USC double-covered Richardson frequently in the first half, then went to more “quarters” coverage in the second half. “We were able to get him the ball a little more,” MacIntyre said. “And we moved him around a little more.”
USC outgained CU 449-312 in total offense, with just over half of the Buffs’ output coming in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, CU had 150 yards of total offense against a USC defense that ranks second in the Pac-12.
“Their front seven was by far the best we’ve played,” Liufau said. “They got pressure on us and their defensive backs covered really well . . . they were always in the right spots.”
USC left top receiver Marqise Lee at home to nurse a shin injury, but the Trojans really didn’t need him. The Buffs had no success against the Trojans defense in the first half, and CU’s offense was far too generous to USC. The Trojans capitalized on the pair of Liufau turnovers – one fumble, one interception – to go ahead 23-0 at halftime and put the Buffs in an all-too-familiar hole.
“It was a combination of things,” Liufau said of CU’s lack of first-half productivity. “We didn’t get anything clicking at the beginning.”
“It was a lack of execution, the coaches had a good plan for us,” added Spruce, who made four catches for 52 yards – including his 38-yard TD.
Although they able to generate only 36 yards in total offense in the first quarter, CU had stayed close, trailing only 9-0 at quarter’s end. USC drove 71 yards in 10 plays on its first possession and went ahead 7-0 on Allen’s 12-yard run and Andre Heidari’s extra point kick.
With 1:04 left in the quarter, USC’s advantage went to 9-0 when Soma Vainuku blocked Darragh O’Neill’s punt out of the end zone for a safety. Still, the Buffs have seen much worse than a nine-point deficit after one quarter.
But midway through the second quarter, things did get worse.
Pulled down from the backside by defensive end Leonard Williams, Liufau lost the ball and USC end George Uko gathered it in at the CU 20-yard line. Five plays later, Allen scored his second TD, this one on a 1-yard run. The Trojans went up 16-0, but still more problems for Liufau and the Buffs awaited.
On CU’s next series, USC free safety Dion Bailey pulled in a Liufau pass that appeared headed for the Buffs bench. At their own 34, the Trojans had 2:34 – but no timeouts – to make a push for the end zone. They didn’t need the timeouts; Kessler took them the distance in eight plays, hitting receiver Nelson Agholor with a 20-yard scoring pass.
The Buffs were looking at a 23-0 deficit – and Richardson was still looking for his first catch – when the second half opened. USC outgained CU 206-73 in the first half, including 169-43 on the ground. Liufau completed only four of 15 first-half passes for 43 yards, and his two turnovers were costly.
CU needed a break – and got it – to start the second half. On USC’s first possession, Allen was stripped of the ball by CU safety Jered Bell, who scooped and scored with a 31-yard run. With Will Oliver’s PAT, the Buffs trailed 23-7.
If CU had a comeback in mind, a defensive stop was needed. It didn’t happen; USC went 75 yards on the ensuing possession, getting a 46-yard run from Allen and scoring on a 10-yard pass from Kessler to tight end Randall Telfer. The Buffs were again looking at a 23-point deficit (30-7) with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Less than 5 minutes later, Allen took revenge on Bell, juking him with an outside fake and cutting inside on the way to a 23-yard TD. USC went up 37-7 and Allen went over 100 yards rushing (123) with his third TD of the night.
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Liufau and Spruce teamed for their 38-yard score, with Spruce taking the ball off the back of a USC defender at the 1-yard line and stepping into the end zone. Oliver’s extra point made it 37-14, but Heidari’s 39-yard field goal extended the Trojans’ margin to 40-14 with 10:14 to play.
A 30-yard Liufau completion to Richardson set up a 3-yard TD run by Adkins that got the Buffs to within 40-21. That was followed by a Liufau-to-Richardson 5-yard scoring pass and Liufau’s two-point conversion pass to D.D. Goodson that drew the Buffs to within 40-29.
CU attempted an on-sides kick, but USC recovered with 3:16 left and when Vainuku scored on a 52-yard run a minute later and Heidari booted the extra point, the night’s scoring and CU’s home season were done.
Now comes the final week week of practice and the season finale at Utah. “Coach said we could fall apart or end the season on the right note and go into next year,” Spruce said.
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Police shooting being investigated
Nov 24th
The Boulder County Investigation Team is investigating a fatal shooting after a Boulder police officer shot a suspect during a disturbance in an apartment building at 3009 Madison St. earlier today.
Boulder officers responded to a call at 12:30 p.m. from a neighbor who reported that a man, armed with a knife and a machete, was making threatening remarks and stabbing a post outside his apartment. When officers arrived, no one was outside. They knocked on the door of the apartment where the suspect lives. When they got no response, they forced the door open. A male suspect jumped out from near the doorway and came toward the first responding officer with a knife in each of his hands. Preliminary reports are that the officer ordered him to get down. When the suspect did not, the officer fired his rifle twice.
The suspect was transported to Boulder Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The officer, a 14-year veteran of the Boulder Police Department, was uninjured. He will be placed on administrative leave with pay, pursuant to departmental policy in these types of incidents. Several other officers witnessed the shooting.
Neither the suspect nor the officer is being identified at this time, as officers are working to notify their families.
The Boulder County Investigation Team is staffed by investigators from a variety of Boulder County law enforcement agencies. The team is responsible for conducting unbiased, objective investigations in cases when officers use deadly force or other incidents involving in-custody deaths.
Officer-involved shootings are unusual in Boulder. The last incident of this type involving Boulder police was in 2008 when a SWAT officer shot and killed a man who said he was wearing a bomb and threatened to detonate it inside Boulder Community Hospital.
Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
–CITY–
