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Buffs Get Payback and Revenge Over Sun Devils
Feb 20th
Story By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Tad Boyle cringes at the mention of revenge as a motivator, but he probably doesn’t object to pay-back. His Colorado Buffaloes got that (and maybe just a little revenge) Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center, out-gutting and out-grinding Arizona State, 61-52.
CU’s win broke a three-game Pac-12 Conference losing streak to ASU and gave Boyle’s fourth Buffs team its fourth 20-win season – a school-record. The Buffs (20-7, 9-5) now have back-to-back 20-win regular seasons and improved to 60-8 at the CEC under Boyle, including 16-1 this season with only No. 4 Arizona remaining on the home schedule.
Boyle was noticeably dialed in and demonstrative in front of his bench.
“I’m tired of losing to these guys, number one, and number two, I knew what was at stake,” he said. “They’re a physical team and you’d better buck up and be physical back, otherwise they’ll punk you. I wanted to make sure I was dialed in. I feel that way every game. I may not show it every game, but I wanted our fans to know and our players to know how important this game was – and I think they really fed off it.”
Boyle was “dialed in” to letting the fans and players know how important this game was
He called the grueling win “great for our program and it came at a very instrumental time in our season . . . our guys stepped up and our crowd was fantastic for a 9 p.m. tipoff. I can’t be more thankful and my hat goes off to them . . . now we need them one more time – Saturday.”
If pay-back was on someone else’s mind beside Boyle, it was Josh Scott. In a low-post entanglement last season with ASU’s 7-2 Jordan Bachynski, CU’s 6-10 Scott was flung to the court and suffered a concussion. The Buffs lost 63-62 in overtime.
Wednesday night was day-and-night different. The energized Scott was the banger, Bachynski the bangee. Scott got his 11th double-double of the season – 13 points, 13 rebounds as CU out-boarded ASU 48-27 – and held Bachynski to four points and three rebounds.
“Josh takes this matchup personal,” Boyle said. “What went on here last year in this building, we didn’t like it, we didn’t appreciate it and he hadn’t forgotten about it. Neither had I. And I don’t think our fans had either. I’m proud of Josh, he’s a battler; I’ll take that guy any day of the week.”
Boyle also called Scott “such an underrated post defender,” and except for losing track of ASU sharpshooter Jonathan Gilling, all the Buffs were fairly solid on defense. Gilling, a 6-7 junior, scored nine of his 10 points on consecutive 3-pointers in the second half and brought the Sun Devils (19-7, 8-5) back from a nine-point deficit.
But ASU finished shooting 31.5 percent from the field (17-of-54) while CU was at 37.0 percent from the field (20-of-54). The Buffs committed 14 turnovers to the Sun Devils’ 11, but got 12 points off of the ASU miscues to seven for the visitors. Maybe the night’s most telling number: CU scored 12 second-chance points to zero by ASU.
Boyle called the win grittier and gutsier than it was pretty, adding, “Sometimes Arizona State has a lot to do with that . . . Arizona State makes you earn your shots.”
CU’s Askia Booker and ASU’s Jahii Carson each scored 18 points, and Xavier Johnson contributed 11 for the Buffs. Booker scored 16 of his total in the second half. He got the Buffs’ first six points of the half, then closed out the Sun Devils by making six consecutive free throws in the final 39 seconds.
And the last of Booker’s three assists – CU finished with 11 – was a bullet pass to Dustin Thomas underneath for a layup that made the score 53-48. “In my mind,” said Boyle, “that was the play of the game.”
The importance of the game, said Booker, registered with him and his teammates four minutes into the game “at the first media timeout . . . You could tell how intense coach was in the huddle. This may be the most emotion I’ve seen out of him this year. You could tell he really wanted to win and I think that translated to the players.”
CU ran at every opportunity, and Boyle theorized that ASU “got tired some, I could see some heavy legs and burning lungs out there.”
The Buffs led 27-26 at the end of an intensely physical first half. If you craved defense, the CEC was your kind of venue.
Booker, averaging 19.6 points in February’s five previous games, didn’t get his first basket until the 5:23 mark, converting a steal into a layup and a 21-19 Buffs lead. Johnson, averaging 18.4 points in February, didn’t score until the 2:04 mark with a put-back.
Boyle was forced deep into his bench as Booker, Xavier Talton and Dustin Thomas – all starters – had picked up two fouls each with just over 6 minutes left before the break.
Nonetheless, the Buffs took a one-point lead to their locker room. But once back on the court, it quickly disappeared. ASU scored the second half’s first six points, getting two layups from Carson and a jumper from Jermaine Marshall to go up 32-27 – the largest lead by either team to that point.
But after a timeout, it was Booker time. He scored CU’s first six points of the half – two layups and a short jumper – to give the Buffs a 33-32 lead, then smoothly fed Scott for a fast-break dunk and a 35-32 lead.
CU got a tip dunk and one of two free throws by Johnson to go up 38-34 with 12:31 to play. Two minutes later, Johnson hit consecutive free throws and the Buffs were up 40-35.
It went to nine points — 45-36 – before Gilling connected on three consecutive treys to pull ASU to within 47-45 with 5:28 remaining. The Sun Devils got no closer and the Buffs closed out their 20th win on Booker’s free throws.
Boyle said winning 20 games for a fourth consecutive season “means we’ve recruited good players (and) we’ve coached good players. It takes good players to win games and our staff’s done a great job, our fans have really taken the homecourt advantage to heart. They’ve shown up through thick and thin. It’s a great feeling; we want that to be the standard.”
BLACKOUT SATURDAY: With College GameDay here on Saturday to see the Buffs play No. 4/4 Arizona on ESPN at 7 p.m., fans are encouraged to wear black and make it the Coors Events Center’s best BLACKOUT ever. In addition, Saturday is Senior Night, honoring fan favorites Beau Gamble and Ben Mills. The doors will open Saturday at 6 a.m. (no admission charge) for the morning broadcast hosted by ESPN analysts Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jalen Rose and Jay Williams. Live look-ins during the SportsCenter broadcast will start at approximately 7 a.m. Need a reason to get up early? Take your choice:
• Free breakfast food, coffee, Kickstart, and other giveaways for students;
• Free Illegal Pete’s burrito cards to first 250 students;
• Make your own poster at the CEC for the broadcast;
• Show off your CU Pride and Passion on National TV;
• A chance to win CU vs. Arizona tickets;
• One lucky student will win $1,000 and get the chance to make a half-court shot worth $18,000.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team
• Colorado wins its 20th game of the season, the fourth time in history the Buffaloes have won that many in the regular season (1968-69, 1996-97, 2012-13, 2013-14).
• The 20 wins in a season is the eighth team in school history (113 years) that feat has been accomplished (Boyle owns four of them).
• It’s also the fourth-straight season CU has won 20-games in a season – all under head coach Tad Boyle .
• CU breaks a three-game skid to ASU, evening the all-time series at 5-5 and evening its record to 3-3 in Pac-12 games against the Sun Devils.
• CU improves to 4-1 at the Coors Events Center against Arizona State (the lone loss coming last season).
• The Buffs improve to an impressive 60-8 (.882) record at the Coors Events Center under the Boyle-coaching staff.
• Colorado is now 16-1 at home this season, the second-most wins at home in school history.
• CU improves to 37-21 (.638) against Pac-12 teams in the Boyle era.
• The Buffs end their three-game streak of scoring at least 40 points in the first half (27 tonight). CU didn’t break in to the 40’s until 10:34 left in the second half.
• ASU went on a 6-0 run to start the second half (20:00-15:52). This gave the Sun Devils their largest lead of the game (5).
• CU has held the opponent to below 39 percent shooting 11 times this season, six times in Pac-12 play (Arizona State, Washington, USC, UCLA, Oregon State, at USC). ASU shot 31% tonight.
• Just the fourth time CU has 8 or more league games four years in a row: Once in the RMAC, once in the RMAC/MSC, once in the Big 8 (1962-65), so nearly 50 years.
• Arizona State’s 52 points is the lowest scoring performance by an opponent this season.
• Colorado’s 61 points is the lowest points scored in a win by the Buffs since their 60-50 win over Utah Feb. 21, 2013.
• Six Buffs had five or more rebounds (Johnson-6, Thomas-6, Scott-13, Booker-6, Gordon-5, Hopkins-5).
• CU is an incredible 27-0 at home when out-rebounding the opponent AND holding the opponent under 40 FG% (CU outrebounded ASU 48-27 and held ASU to 31.5% from the field).
• Under the Boyle staff at the Events Center, the Buffs are 50-1 when outrebounding the opponent (last year outrebounded Arizona State, 41-26, OT loss).
Dustin Thomas
· His eight points tonight is the most he has scored in Pac-12 play (previous high was 7 vs. USC).
· Career-high six rebounds.
Askia Booker
- 13th time this season with over 15 points (18 tonight).
- Perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line.
- Season-high 17 field goal attempts.
Josh Scott
- 11th double-double this season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
- 11th time this season with 10 or more rebounds.
- Fourth time this season with 13 rebounds (ties season-high).
Xavier Talton
• Handed out a career-best 5 assists.
Andrew Green | Assistant Director Sports Information
Department of Intercollegiate Athletics | University of Colorado Boulder | 357 UCB | Fieldhouse Annex 50
WBB: Buffs avoid a meltdown, still come up short
Feb 17th
CU’s inside game, led by Swan and Reese, was excellent, but a couple of bad shots in the last three minutes doomed the effort
http://www.cubuffs.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3200918
http://www.cubuffs.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3200918
By: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Another chance at a close-game breakthrough eluded the Colorado women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon. Following what has become a painfully familiar script, CU faltered in the final 5 minutes and lost 80-77 to Washington State at the Coors Events Center.
“Well, it seems a little bit like déjà vu,” said Buffaloes coach Linda Lappe, whose team lost its fourth Pac-12 Conference game this season by three or fewer points.
Lappe credited the Buffs for competing throughout and staying close enough to win but again lamented their inability to “make key stops, free throws, passes and shots down the stretch that would have helped us have the outcome we wanted.”
Jamie Swan and Jen Reese both scored 19 points
After trailing by as many as nine points midway through the second half, CU (14-11, 4-10) rallied to tie the score at 71-71. But the Buffs clanked four of their next five free throws, not hitting one until Ashley Wilson converted a pair with 2:52 to play, then sank one of two to put CU up 75-73 with 2:17 remaining.
From there until the final buzzer, the Buffs got only a field goal by Jen Reese in the last 2 seconds that made it a two-point (79-77) game. After one of two foul shots by WSU’s Shalie Dheensaw with 1.1 seconds left put WSU (14-12, 8-6) up 80-77, Reese threw a three-quarter court length pass to Jamie Swan, who caught the ball then passed to Wilson instead of shooting.
Time expired before Wilson could attempt a shot.
Lappe said Reese’s long pass went a step or two too deep, forcing Swan inside the 3-point circle to catch it – thus Swan’s decision to kick it back to Wilson. Reese said the play was designed for Swan to catch-and-shoot, but added, “If there was more time, Ashley could have shot the ball. The pass was there; she had it.”
Swan, again coming off the bench, and Reese led the Buffs with 19 points each, while Ashley Wilson added 12. Arielle Roberson was a point away from a double-double in points and rebounds – nine in each category. Brittany Wilson left the game with 12:19 to play and did not return after suffering a possible concussion.
The Buffs had problems with Washington’s backcourt of Kelsey Plum (25 points) and Jazmine Davis (24) in an 87-80 loss on Thursday night. This was part of Lappe’s déjà vu: On Sunday, CU surrendered 42 combined points to WSU guards Tia Presley (32) and Lia Galdeira (10).
Presley got 22 of her total in the first half, then picked up eight more points in the first 4:55 of the second half. She didn’t get her 32nd point until hitting a layup with 1:27 to play, putting the Cougars up 77-75.
That nearly 14-minute span of keeping Presley in check, said Ashley Wilson, came from “focusing on keeping the ball out of her hands” in the second half. “We had a couple of different players on her (and) when she was driving, just have our bigger post players waiting for her at the basket. It turned out to work in our favor.”
Lappe also thought a different lineup might work in the Buffs’ favor; she used a bigger five of Swan, Reese, Roberson and Rachel Hargis, with Ashley Wilson at guard, in the first half and again to close the game.
But it didn’t matter in CU making enough late plays to win. “There’s no magic formula,” Lappe said. “You just have to do it. You have to figure out that enough’s enough and decide to be tough enough to do that. You have to understand that every team is going to get tougher down the stretch and that’s when the stars are really born. It’s where players step up.”
The Cougars swept the series with the Buffs, winning 70-60 last month in Corvallis, Wash. With their loss to the Huskies on Thursday, the Buffs gave up 80 points or more for the second consecutive game and the fourth time in Pac-12 play. And it marks the first time CU has allowed 80 or more points in back-to-back games since the 2008 WNIT.
The Buffs trailed 44-40 at halftime, surrendering a 25-22 lead taken on a 3-pointer by Roberson with 8:37 left before the break. But CU didn’t get another field goal for nearly 4 minutes, and during that time WSU was building its largest lead of the half – 34-25 – with Presley scoring eight of her 22 first-half points in that stretch.
“She played too many minutes tonight (36), but you really can’t take her out,” said WSU coach June Daugherty. “She’s such a fierce competitor.”
A defensive upgrade had to be among CU’s second-half goals, but that message – if delivered – apparently took a while to register. The Cougars outscored the Buffs 7-2 to open the half, with Presley scoring consecutive baskets to kick off that run. WSU again stretched its lead to nine – 51-42 – on a traditional three-point play by Shane Romberg (14 points, 12 rebounds).
By the 10-minute mark the Buffs still trailed by seven – 64-57 – but they were about to make their move. With Reese getting four points in a 6-0 run and freshman Zoe Beard-Fails scoring on a put-back, CU pulled within 64-63 with 9:07 remaining.
The Buffs finally tied the Cougars at 71-71 when Swan hit both ends of a one-and-one with 4:23 left. On the previous possession, With 5:51 to play, Swan scored what would be CU’s next-to-last field goal – the last being Reese’s jumper with 2 seconds left.
After Ashley Wilson hit one of two free throws to give CU its 75-73 lead with 2:17 left, WSU got four free throws from Galdeira, Presley’s layup and one of two foul shots from Dheensaw to account for its 80 points.
The Cougars were up 80-77 and the Buffs needed a nearly full-court pass and full-blown miracle to force overtime. They got the first but not the second.
“We have to forget about this game, but we have to learn from it as well and move on,” Reese said. “We just have to finish down the stretch . . . hopefully good things will come.”
CU is at Arizona State on Friday night (6:30 p.m.) and at Arizona next Sunday (3 p.m.). The Buffs close out the regular season at home against UCLA on Feb. 28 and USC on March 2.
Buffs take USC, split in So Cal games
Feb 17th
By Anthony Lepine, CU Sports Information Student Assistant
LOS ANGELES – After playing a forgettable second half in a loss at UCLA on Thursday, Colorado responded with 40 solid minutes of basketball and an 83-74 victory over Southern California on Sunday night at the Galen Center. The Buffaloes (19-7, 8-5 Pac-12) finished with five players scoring in double-figures, led by Xavier Johnson with 20 points and Josh Scott with 17. CU is now 5-0 on the season when five players score 10 or more points in a game. USC (10-15, 1-11) was able to rally late and got as close as eight with 28.5 seconds remaining, but it would not be enough. The Buffs smothered the Trojans with defense, forcing 17 turnovers. USC was led by Byron Wesley, who finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Johnson got the Buffs going offensively with five of his team’s first seven points. But two quick fouls put him on the bench.
Freshman Jaron Hopkins provided a spark from the bench with career-high 10 first-half points
Freshman Jaron Hopkins provided a spark from the bench with career-high 10 first-half points, including a three-pointer and a layup in transition that gave the Buffs a 10-point lead on two separate occasions. CU led by as many as 11 in the first half after Xavier Talton capped a 9-2 run with a trey, making the score 36-25 with 3:28 remaining in the half. The half ended with USC’s 12th turnover and CU on top 40-32; it was the third straight game in which the Buffs had scored 40 in a half, with 13 of those points coming off Trojan turnovers. CU picked up its fourth win in four games against USC in Pac-12 play. The Buffs are also perfect against Washington State (4-0) since joining the league in 2011. Colorado returns home for its final two home games against Arizona State on Wednesday (9 p.m. MT, ESPNU) and then No. 2 Arizona on Saturday, February 22 (7 p.m. MT, ESPN) when College GameDay will be in town for CU’s Senior Day.
