Sports
Sports News in Boulder, Colorado Includes CU Buffs, Rockies, Nuggets, Bronkos, Avs, cycling, running, skiingand anything else sports that hits our sports desk. Send sports press releases to sports@BoulderChannel1.com To advertise please call 303-447-8531
CU vs USC: The “Wilson Show” was not enough
Jan 4th
LOS ANGELES — Southern California held No. 12 Colorado scoreless over the final four minutes here Friday night, as the Trojans scored the final 13 points of the game to defeat the Buffaloes, 55-45.
USC blocked 10 shots and held Colorado to just 28 percent shooting in holding the Buffs to their season low in points in handing CU its second loss in its last three games, both on the road. It was just CU’s second loss to an unranked team in the last 36 games over the past two seasons.
Colorado overcame a horrific start in which it missed its first dozen shots and 16 of its first 17 to rally from 12 point first-half deficit to take small leads in the second half. The game’s first time came early after intermission, as buckets by Lexy Kresl and Jen Reese knotted the score at 24; a soon after 10-4 run gave Colorado its big lead of the night at 34-30 with 14:06 to play.
But the Buffs would endure nearly a six-and-a-half minute stretch without a field goal, though USC could only muster a 7-1 advantage in that window to take a 37-35 edge with 8:57 left. CU then countered with a 10-5 run to go up 45-42 with 4:01 remaining.
For CU, it was basically the “Wilson Show,” as the twins, senior guards Ashley and Brittany from nearby Long Beach Poly High School, played the first of their last two games in their home area and combined to score 25 of Colorado’s points. Brittany scored CU’s last field goal at the 4:54 mark and finished with 13 points, while Ashley converted two free throws for the last Colorado points with 4:01 on the clock to end with 12.
Brittany Wilson
Cassie Harberts led the Trojans with 19 points, seven coming down the stretch. She made two free throws that put the Trojans ahead for good, 46-45, with 3:08 remaining, and grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup for a 48-45 lead with 2:20 to go.
Brianna Barrett’s layup in traffic with 48 seconds left made it a two-score game at 50-45, and 15 seconds later, Harberts sunk another pair of free throws to all but seal the win for USC. Colorado came up empty on its last eight possessions.
Colorado (10-2, 0-1 Pac-12) had trouble on offense in its conference opener for a second straight year, having fallen to Stanford, 57-40, at home last January 4.
Southern California (9-5, 2-0), which opened the week and Pac-12 play with a 56-54 win at rival UCLA on Monday, snapped a 16-game losing streak against ranked teams. Unfortunately, only a sparse crowd of 372 was on hand to witness the defensive battle and USC’s first win over a ranked school since beating No. 24 Gonzaga in December 2011.
“We’ll learn from this, and we’ll be fine,” CU coach Linda Lappe said. “We have a great group of seniors that provides us with great leadership. This was one of those games where we just didn’t play well in numerous spurts, especially the last eight to 10 minutes.”
“The problem was we were out rebounded, they made great stops, and we either fouled or did not make plays,” she continued. “We were tentative, not moving into the right spots on our drives.
“Most of (USC’s) games are won on defense. We became stagnant, and they brought all their players on drives. We had no kick-outs, they’re big and long and blocked plenty of shots inside.”
“It’s time for us to regroup,” Brittany Wilson said. “It was great to play in front of friends and family, but I also do that in Colorado and they give me support as well.”
Colorado didn’t get on the board until there was 13:23 remaining in the first half, when Brittany Wilson’s floater from the lane got a friendly bounce and dropped through. The Buffs missed their first 12 shots before that one fell, but trailed only 9-2 at that point; USC was just 1-of-5 from the field with four turnovers and built the lead converting all six of its early free throw attempts. The Trojans also blocked five of CU’s first dozen field goal tries.
USC built the lead up to 12 on two occasions, the last following a Cassie Harbert layup to make it 17-5 with 9:05 left in the half. Those were CU’s largest deficits of the season, as previously the Buffaloes had yet to trail in double figures, trailing the most at Wyoming when the Cowgirls led at nine at one point.
It was then the Trojan’s turn to get cold; USC failed to score on its next 12 possessions, missing 11 field goals and turning it over three times, and Colorado used the 6:23 scoring drought to climb back into the game. The Buffs reeled off the next 10 points to pull to within 17-15, with Ashley Wilson scoring five of the points in the run.
CU would close the half on a 15-8 spree overall to cut the USC lead to 23-20 at intermission. While CU opened just 1-of-17 from the floor, it made six of its last 16 shots, while the Trojans weren’t clicking any better, finishing the half 7-of-27. Ashley Wilson had seven of CU’s points for the half, topping her season average of 6.1 coming into the game in just the first 20 minutes.
Colorado remains in the Los Angeles area to face UCLA Sunday in an 8:30 p.m. MST tipoff; the game will be televised nationally on the Pac-12 Networks.
Lappe already knows what CU needs to do ahead of that game.
“We’ll work on our overall toughness and rebounding, we need to pass it more efficiently to our scorers,” she said. “Our passes tonight were often low or high and not very crisp. You can’t score 45 on the road and expect to win. We have to make more free throws (CU was 9-of-16) and it’s tough playing from behind almost the entire game.”
CU men surge to first Pac-12 victory
Jan 3rd
By B.G Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – The launch of Pac-12 Conference Thursday night at the Coors Events Center sprang very few surprises on Colorado coach Tad Boyle. The biggest might have been 6-10 Eric Moreland and his 11th hour reinstatement, but Boyle’s Buffs eventually adjusted to Moreland’s presence, as well as Oregon State’s 2-3 zone, and earned a difficult 64-58 win.
“Good win . . . welcome to Pac-12 Conference play,” a relieved Boyle said. “Nothing’s going to be easy. Anybody who saw the game saw the talent and skill Oregon State has (and) with Moreland back, they’re a different animal . . . they just keep coming at you with athletes off bench.”
That’s where Moreland, a junior, spent 12 non-conference games, suspended by coach Craig Robinson for a summer violation of team rules. Robinson initially levied a 14-game suspension, but late Wednesday night – on the eve of conference play – announced that Moreland had satisfied whatever was required to return to the court.
The Buffs (12-2, 1-0) had prepped for Moreland’s backup – 6-10 senior Angus Brandt – but CU post Josh Scott claimed Moreland’s unexpected return didn’t surprise him: “To be honest I was kind of expecting him to play . . . I don’t know why I figured it but I just did.”
In three games against CU last season, including a 64-58 win at the CEC that stands as the Buffs’ last home loss (Boyle is 54-7 at home), Moreland averaged 10.2 points and 10 rebounds. But his length and athleticism is typical for the Beavers. Said Boyle: “We’re not going to win a jumping contest with Oregon State.”
And in Thursday night’s first half, the Buffs didn’t win the rebound battle either. Moreland got eight first-half boards (10 total, with two points) as Oregon State (8-5, 0-1) out-boarded the Buffs 21-13, marking the first time this season CU has not had a first-half rebounding edge. But after a “come to Tad” halftime address, the Buffs regained their intensity and out-rebounded the Beavs 21-13 in the second half. That might have made Oregon State’s 37-34 edge for the night a little more palatable for Boyle.
His team held the visitors to 37.5 percent from the field – Oregon State arrived shooting 50 percent – and converted 17 OSU turnovers into 25 points. Those numbers, bolstered by the Buffs’ nine steals, helped them overcome a mediocre shooting night; CU finished 38.2 percent from the field (21-of-55) and hit only five of its 20 3-point attempts.
“The best thing is we won when we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Boyle said.
CU overtook Oregon State with a 13-3 run in the final 8 minutes, but sealed the win by hitting five of eight free throws in the last 1:49 after the Beavers rallied from a 12-point deficit and closed to within four points.
Three Buffs were in double figures – Jaron Hopkins, Askia Booker and Josh Scott, each 13 points. Scott also had 10 of the Buffs’ 34 rebounds. The Beavers got 23 points from Roberto Nelson, the Pac-12’s leading scorer with a 21-point average. Nelson got 16 of his total Thursday night in the second half and was three-of-five from 3-point range.
Jaron Hopkins started at guard and finished with 13 points
The Buffs led 28-23 at halftime, but getting that five-point advantage was a major struggle. The Beavers’ 2-3 zone, which reminded Boyle of Syracuse’s traditional defense, made almost everything the Buffs attempted a challenge, most notably shooting and rebounding. Neither team led by more than five points in the first 20 minutes, with Oregon State’s largest advantage being 10-5 on a pair of Nelson free throws at the 13:26 mark.
Moreland entered the game with 16:33 left before halftime and right away collected the first of his eight first-half rebounds. In 13 minutes, he also had an assist and a blocked shot – but his rustiness showed in committing four of Oregon State’s 12 first-half turnovers. Those led to 15 CU points and were largely responsible for the Buffs’ halftime advantage.
The Buffs opened the second half with a steal by Booker that led to an inside basket by Scott to take a 30-23 lead. And the Beavers were about to see more of Scott, who delivered a soft jump hook for the Buffs’ next basket.
After a Spencer Dinwiddie trey put CU up by seven (35-28), Wes Gordon hit one of two free throws and Scott added a put-back to push the Buffs to their first double-digit lead – 38-28 with 16:28 to play. But it wouldn’t last; Oregon State outscored CU 12-2 over the next 51/2 minutes to tie the score at 40-40 with 10:35 left.
The Buffs had an immediate answer in forwards Xavier Johnson and Gordon. “XJ” contributed a pair of tip dunks – the second following a Gordon block – and Gordon hit a short jumper to ignite a 13-3 run that restored the Buffs’ 10-point (53-43) lead.
“I mean, coach preaches defensive rebounding,” Johnson, who finished with nine points and nine rebounds, said of his tip-dunks. “I pretty much just followed Spencer and Wesley up on the shots and was able to get the tip dunks. They were good momentum swings for the team.”
Two minutes later, the Buffs would stretch their lead to 12 (58-46) on a three-point play by Johnson. But the Beavers were far from done. They closed to 60-56 on a 3-pointer from the right wing by freshman Malcolm Duvivier with 2:11 left, prompting a timeout by Boyle.
Dinwiddie hit one of two free throws (61-56) at the 1:49 mark, added two more (63-56) with 41.2 seconds to play and when Buffs guard Xavier Talton chased down a long rebound in the final 15 seconds, the Beavs were done. Johnson hit one of two foul shots for CU’s final point.
Boyle pointed to Talton’s late rebound and “XJ” outdueling OSU’s Devon Collier for a “50-50” ball as the plays of the game. Said Boyle: “Those were hustle plays, the 50-50 balls, the long rebounds, the loose balls that we had to come up with – and we did tonight.”
He’s hoping the intensity remains at a high level on Sunday afternoon. No. 10 Oregon, which remained unbeaten (13-0, 1-0) with an overtime win Thursday night at Utah, visits the CEC. “We need a sellout, we need this place rocking,” Boyle said. “We need a Kansas-type crowd effort on Sunday.”
Roberson’s late scoring frenzy puts close game away
Dec 29th
BOULDER – If Sunday afternoon was a tune-up for Pac-12 Conference play, the No. 12 Colorado women’s team likely left the Coors Events Center knowing the fine-tuning isn’t finished.
But putting into practice what they had emphasized recently in practice, the Buffaloes showed if they continue to grind they can succeed. Applying the brakes to stubborn Southern Utah Sunday in the last 8 minutes, the Buffs finally put away the Thunderbirds 75-59 and now can turn their full attention to the Pac-12.
CU opens conference play on Friday at Southern California, then plays at UCLA next Sunday. The Buffs’ Pac-12 home opener is Friday, Jan. 10 against No. 23 Cal, with No. 4 Stanford visiting on Sunday, Jan. 12. The Pac-12 features four ranked (AP) teams, with Arizona State at No. 25.
Roberson scored 18 points, including seven back-to-back points with just minutes to play, to stop a Southern Utah comeback
Although CU did enough against Southern Utah to claim its 10th non-conference win (10-1), the Buffs often had difficulty getting in synch offensively and let a 14-point second half lead dwindle to two with 8:09 to play.
But that was as close as the Thunderbirds (7-3) would get. After Carli Moreland hit a pair of free throws to bring Southern Utah to 54-52, the Buffs launched a 19-2 run to take a 19-point lead (73-54) with 1:24 remaining.
Outscored 21-7 over the final 8:09, the T-Birds were toast.
“Overall, I liked how we responded to the last three days of practice,” CU coach Linda Lappe said, noting the Buffs had focused on rebounding, tighter defense and setting screens. “I saw all three things improve.”
Most apparent, according to guard Jasmine Sborov, was the defensive factor: “To be honest, it didn’t really feel like the score was that close leading up to the two-point deficit . . . we looked at scoreboard and we were like, ‘All right, we need to get down, get some stops and just extend our lead.’ I think that’s one negative thing with this game – we were up and then we were down and we were up and we let them get closer. We didn’t step on their throats and just keep going.”
Not until they needed to, anyway. During the decisive 8-minute surge, Arielle Roberson scored seven of her team-best 18 points while Ashley Wilson, who finished with career highs in points (14) and assists (5), contributed four points. Roberson added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in five games and seventh of her career.
Wilson’s performance came in 21 minutes off the bench. “That’s kind of my role – to provide energy off of the bench,” she said. “It just happened; it’s a credit to my teammates, they gave me energy.”
Down by 12 points at halftime, the Thunderbirds crept to within four before the Buffs answered with a 12-2 run to take what appeared to be a comfortable 50-36 lead. Not so. The visitors kept competing, climbing back to within 54-52 before CU delivered its final answer.
“We relaxed instead of keeping our foot on the gas,” Wilson said. “They play hard (but) we responded every single time; it shows what kind of team we have.”
Lappe agreed: “They’re a feisty group, well-coached and have lot of energy . . . at times we didn’t look very good, didn’t get stops and our offensive sputtered. Southern Utah made us play a half-court game, made us become stagnant (offensively) at times.”
But, noted Lappe, compensating with solid defense down the stretch was good for the Buffs with the Pac-12 schedule looming: “In terms of playing defense and unleashing our aggressiveness, we needed to do that against an opponent.”
CU also got double-figure scoring from Jen Reese (11) and Jasmine Sborov (12), who also recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds.
Desiree Jackson led Southern Utah with 21 points and was her team’s only player in double figures.
“Slow start” doesn’t come close to describing what the Buffs overcame to eventually pull away and take a 36-24 halftime lead. Just under 9 minutes into the first half, CU had one more turnover (five) than baskets (four) but still led 10-7.
But after Moreland, a 6-1 senior forward from Broomfield, tied the score at 13-13 on a 3-pointer, CU made its move. Over the next 6 minutes, the Buffs outscored the Thunderbirds 17-6 to take their first double-digit advantage (30-19) on a basket by Ashley Wilson.
Southern Utah rallied briefly, closing to within six points (30-24) before CU used a 6-0 run – four free throws by Roberson, a layup by Jamee Swan, who made her second career start – to establish its 12-point halftime advantage. But the T-Birds quickly cut into that, forced the Buffs to make a run, then the whole process was repeated.
Neither team shot impressively from the field – CU checked in at 37.9 percent, Southern Utah at 34.0 – and between them the Buffs and Thunderbirds committed 45 turnovers (CU 21, Southern Utah 24). And long-range accuracy was lacking: the teams were a combined 2-of-26 from beyond the arc, with each getting one trey in 13 attempts. The Buffs also clanked 12 free throws, giving them 25 misses in their last two games – which Lappe conceded concerns her.
Still, noted Wilson, “We’re happy with this win. There were a lot of different things we worked on the last three practices that definitely showed up in the game. We wanted to ramp up our defense a whole lot more going into Pac-12 because we know there are a lot of good teams that are going to come after us . . . so, it was a great win.”
CU redshirt freshman Lauren Huggins did not dress; she is recuperating from a lower leg injury and is hopeful of returning for the Pac-12 opener. In Huggins’ absence, freshman Desiree Harris saw her first playing time of the season, getting 5 minutes.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Colorado Buffaloes
