Posts tagged Askia Booker
#20 CU Buffs send the #10 Duck Nation packing
Jan 6th
BOULDER – Duck Dynasty might play well elsewhere, but not in Askia Booker’s and Spencer Dinwiddie’s house.
Colorado’s pair of junior guards took control Sunday afternoon, alternately pushing and pulling the No. 20 Buffs to a 100-91 Pac-12 Conference win over No. 10 Oregon at the raucous Coors Events Center. CU’s 13-2 record (2-0 Pac-12) matches the program’s best start since 1968-69 season.
Booker (career-high 27) and Dinwiddie (23) combined for 50 points as the Buffs overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and disposed of the previously unbeaten Ducks (13-1, 1-1). CU’s prized back-court duo was golden in nearly everything they touched: Booker hit 10-of-12 free throws, Dinwiddie sank 10-of-11 and they combined for 11 of CU’s 14 assists. Between them, they were four-of-seven from beyond the arc, with Dinwiddie going three-for-four.
“It’s pretty simple,” Dinwiddie said. “When ‘Ski ‘plays really well, we play really well. We kind of go as he goes . . . when he’s up, we are one good team.”
Booker called his and Dinwiddie’s combined productivity “wonderful” and said of his backcourt mate: “I think he’s probably the best point guard I’ve played with . . . it’s nice to have somebody like that on my side and know I can trust him.”
Their coach, Tad Boyle, said when his starting guards are dialed in on the same afternoon, the Buffs are not only hard to handle but fun to observe – especially when an opponent enters the CEC with up-and-down intentions: “I wish every team that came into Coors wanted to run . . . that’s the way we want to play. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to play, it’s fun to coach. Yeah, it was fun today . . .
“That was a high-level basketball game, a treat for anybody in the building . . . it’s a special win because of the respect we have for (coach) Dana Altman and the Oregon program.”
The Buffs have now won five of six meetings and four straight against the Ducks since joining the Pac-12 and are unbeaten (5-0 all time, 3-0 Pac-12) against Oregon at the CEC, where Boyle is now an imposing 55-7.
Boyle said his team is marked “toughness, resiliency . . . and they obviously believe in each other” – and that was never more apparent than in the second half when the Buffs rallied from a 10-point deficit.
CU also got double-figure scoring from Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson, who contributed 15 points each. Scott also collected 12 of the Buffs’ 39 rebounds (Oregon had 33) for his fifth consecutive double-double and seventh this season.
The Buffs shot 56.4 percent from the field, a dramatic upgrade from their 38.2 percent on Thursday night against Oregon State. The Ducks came in as the nation’s highest scoring team (89.2 ppg) and shooting 50 percent from the field. They got their scoring average, but the Buffs held them to 42.3 percent shooting.
CU was perfect from the foul line (13-for-13) in the first half and finished 33-of-39.
Ironically, the first missed free throw was by Booker, who hit one of three after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with just under 6 minutes left. The Buffs committed 16 turnovers – costing them 20 points – to the Ducks’ nine, but outscored the visitors’ 40-34 in the paint and got 17 second-chance points to Oregon’s nine.
“Obviously, they shoot 56 percent and out-rebounded us,” Altman said. “We just didn’t ourselves a chance.”
That wasn’t entirely true. With 14:22 to play, the Ducks were up 10 points (58-48), forcing a timeout by Boyle. Following that, the Buffs ratcheted up their defensive intensity and went on a 16-4 run that produced a 64-62 CU advantage. Oregon never led again.
“Luckily, we had same situation when it was 21-12,” Dinwiddie said. “We fought back and took the lead. You never want to start (a second half) in a hole . . . but we knew we could come back.”
Added Altman: “It turned there and we just didn’t get any stops. They are a good defensive team. They play with tremendous confidence here.”
The Buffs led 44-42 at the break, but only 3:15 earlier they had enjoyed their largest advantage of the half – 39-31 – courtesy of a 9-0 run. It appeared that CU would carry at least a five-point lead to the locker room, but Oregon’s Jason Calliste, left open for a 3-pointer, drained it with a second showing on the clock.
After an 11-2 spurt that wiped out CU’s first lead (10-8), Oregon took its largest first-half margin – nine points at 21-12 – before the Buffs calmed themselves and rallied. They would have to do it again.
Only 7 seconds into the second half, Oregon pressured CU into a timeout, then got possession on a jump ball and tied the score at 44-44 on a layup by Richard Amardi. A minute later, Mike Moser (24 points) hit a baseline jumper and the Ducks retook the lead, 46-44.
A Scott put-back produced a 46-46 tie – and a back-and-forth second half appeared to be unfolding. Wrong. Getting eight points from Moser, Oregon outscored CU 10-0 and took its first double-digit – 58-48 – lead with 14:22 remaining.
But the Buffs weren’t rattled. Over the next 5 minutes, they outscored the Ducks 16-4 to go up 64-62 on a 3-pointer by freshman Jaron Hopkins.
Then, it was Dinwiddie do-it time, with Booker’s magic to follow.
After hitting back-to-back treys, the junior guard sank two free throws to push CU up 72-66 with 7:58 to play. Oregon pulled within two points twice (72-70) on a pair of Dominic Artis free throws and a layup by Elgin Cook, but CU opened an eight-point (80-72) advantage with 5:03 left.
Booker then scored seven of the Buffs’ next 11 points as they went ahead 91-80 with 2:23 left. Oregon capitalized on two CU turnovers to creep to within 92-86, then got to within five (94-89) on a Joseph Young 3-pointer from the right wing at the 1:22 mark.
After a Duck timeout, Oregon got the ball back when Dinwiddie was whistled for a pushing foul on the inbounds play. But the Ducks couldn’t score on that possession, and Xavier Talton hit one of two free throws when fouled at the other end (95-89).
The conclusion was fitting: When Dinwiddie and Booker sank five of six free throws in the last 40.4 seconds to get the Buffs to 100 for the first time in Pac-12 play, the CEC crowd began chanting “over-rated, over-rated.”
Asked what kind of statement Sunday’s win made to the Pac-12 and the nation, Dinwiddie said, “We thought we kind of made a statement against Kansas (a 75-72 win over the then-No. 6 Jayhawks). We go on the board. It shows we ain’t going to lose at home (but) like coach says, now it’s time to take our show on the road.”
The Buffs play Washington State on Wednesday in Spokane, then play at Washington on Sunday, Jan. 12.
GAME NOTES
TEAM
• CU improves to 8-3 all-time and 5-0 at home against Oregon.
• The Buffaloes have won four straight against Oregon, and five of the last six in the series since 2011-12 season.
• CU is now 13-2 to start the season matching the 1968-69 team after 15 games (that team with All-American Cliff Meely started 14-2 & won the Big Eight Championship).
• An 11-0 home record matches Coach Boyle’s first season (2010-11) for consecutive wins after the first 11 home games.
• CU is now an impressive 55-7 (.887) at home under the Boyle coaching staff.
• Today was the first time since Jan. 26, 1997 that CU was ranked at home against another ranked opponent (17 years). CU was No. 18 in the AP Poll vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (77-68).
• Second time in four years, the Buffs have defeated a pair of nationally ranked Top-10 opponents in same season (defeated No. 6 Kansas, Dec. 7). Back in 2010-11, Buffs defeated No. 9/8 Missouri, 89-76 (Jan. 8) and No. 5/5 Texas in the second greatest comeback in school history (trailed by 22 pts.), 91-89 (Feb. 26), both games played at the Coors Events Center.
• CU improves to 2-2 this season against nationally ranked opponents and under Boyle is now 11-11 against the nation’s Top-25 teams (5-6 vs. Top 10).
• Marks the 2nd time this season CU has been perfect from the line at the half, hitting 13-of-13 (12-of-12 vs Georgia Dec. 28 2013).
• First time this season both teams have been perfect from the line at the half (18-of-18 combined).
• 3rd highest FG percentage in the first half this season (55%).
• CU’s four blocks in the first half are the most this season.
• Oregon becomes the first opponent to score 80+ points this season (last time was at Arizona Jan. 13, 2013 92-83).
• The last time CU had two players score 20 points in a game (Askia Booker: 27, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23) was against Cal on March 18, 2011 (Alec Burks: 25, Cory Higgins: 22).
• Four Buffs scored 15+ points (Josh Scott: 15, Xavier Johnson: 15, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23, Askia Booker: 27).
• Fourth time this season the Buffs have scored 90+ points.
• 1st time the Buffs have reached the century mark this season (last time was Dec. 19, 2010 against Longwood: 104).
• Most free throws made in a game with 33 since Oklahoma State Jan. 15, 2011 (34).
• CU’s 100 point total is the most in a PAC-12 game (scored 87 in a win against Washington Jan. 5, 2012).
Askia Booker
• Marks the 3rd time this season he has reached double figures in the first half this season.
• Moves up three spots on CU’s all-time scoring list to 34th with 931 points.
• Marks the 1st time this season he has scored 20+ points, 3rd in his career.
• Sets his career high in points with 27.
• Passes his season-high in rebounds with seven.
• 5th time he has led the team in scoring, 20th in his career.
Spencer Dinwiddie
• Moves to 24th on CU’s all-time scoring list with 1,102 points.
• Moves to 20th all-time on CU’s assist list with 224.
• 3rd time scoring 20+ points in a game this season, 11th in his career.
• Ties his career high in assists with 7, his 2nd time doing so this season.
• Led CU in assists for the 10th time this season, 37th in his career.
Josh Scott
• Ties his career-high in blocked shots with three in the first half alone.
• Ties his first half high of seven rebounds.
• Now has five consecutive double-double games, his 8th of the season and 10th in his career.
• Surpasses his career-high in blocks with 4.
• 11th time leading the team in rebounds this season, 16th in his career.
• 6th time this season he has led the team in blocks, 14th in his career.
Xavier Johnson
• 8th game this season scoring double-figures, 20th in his career.
• Tops his season high in points scored with 15.
• 1st time reaching 15 points this season, 7th in his career.
CU MBB: Dinwiddie lights up the Rams for a Buff victory
Dec 4th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
FORT COLLINS – Spencer Dinwiddie has little difficulty believing in himself or his game. His lone hang-up – and it’s receding by the day, maybe by the hour – is knowing when to turn it up and take over.
Just past the halfway mark of Tuesday’s first half in frenetic Moby Arena, Dinwiddie sensed he should be doing both. So he did. Getting help in a second-half stretch run from freshman Jaron Hopkins, Dinwiddie pushed Colorado past rival Colorado State 67-62 for the Buffs eighth consecutive win.
“I’m proud of our guys and Spencer was the big difference,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “He was the best player on the floor and it wasn’t even close.”
In passing 1,000 points for his career, Dinwiddie finished with a game-best 28 – one off a career-high set in last season’s win against CSU in Boulder. But Tuesday night’s production might have been more impressive; Dinwiddie scored 19 of his total in the second half as the Buffs were trying to overcome themselves, hit seven of seven second-half free throws (he was 11-of-11 for the night), and scored seven of CU’s final nine points.
The 6-6 junior also capably defended CSU’s Daniel Bejarano, who surpassed his 13.6 average with 15 points but hit only four of 15 from the field. Redshirt freshman Wes Gordon held CSU’s leading scorer, J.J. Avila (19.0), to 16 points, and like Bejarano, Avila didn’t do much that wasn’t contested by the 6-9 Gordon. Avila needed 19 attempts to make his four field goals.
Boyle called Gordon’s defense “terrific” and said the Buffs “battled . . . we made plays when we had to make plays and got stops when we had to get stops. It wasn’t a pretty game offensively when you go three for 19 from three (point range). I mean it’s tough – and there were some good looks.”
Two of CU’s three treys came from Hopkins, who scored eight straight points – a steal/stuff, two consecutive threes – in the second half when the Buffs were rallying from a five-point deficit. He finished with 10 points, and teammate Askia Booker added 12 – including a pair of free throws with three seconds to play that sealed CU’s first win at Moby Arena since Dec. 22, 2007.
Boyle called Hopkins’ steal and slam “the biggest play of the game.” And while Hopkins wouldn’t go that far, he did concur, “It was pretty big. I read the play; I’m pretty good at reading the plays.”
Tuesday night’s two-for-two trey performance followed a three-for-three three-point Saturday at Air Force. “Shooting is all about confidence,” Boyle said. “You’ve got to feel like you’re going to make it and he’s feeling it right now.”
The Buffs handed the Rams their first home loss this season and now have beaten all three Front Range schools – CSU, Air Force, Wyoming – in the same season. That hadn’t happened in six previous tries.
“We want and expect to be the most dominant team in the region,” Boyle said. “But you can’t do it by talking about it; you’ve got to go out and do it.”
The game’s first 10 minutes hardly qualified as an offensive clinic . . . maybe clinically dead was a better fit. At the 7:38 mark the Buffs and Rams had combined to make seven of their 31 field goal attempts, with 14 turnovers between them (seven each).
CU finally cracked the ugly code and took a two-point lead (14-12) on a pair of Dinwiddie free throws – that’s when he sensed he should be taking over – and proceeded on a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the half (19-12) with 7 minutes before intermission. After his pair of foul shots, Dinwiddie added a three-pointer and Xavier Talton hit a jumper to get the Buffs to 19.
“We weren’t scoring very well,” Dinwiddie said. “We had 12 points with about eight minutes to go (in the first half). That’s when I decided to get more aggressive. If we had been up 20 and Josh (Scott) was working and ‘Ski’ was working, you might have seen another ten-point, five-assist type game. When that’s not happening it’s my job to get more aggressive . . . I still am trying to get guys open shots, but if they’re not falling then it’s my job to score.”
And that awareness is what Boyle says makes Dinwiddie special. He had told Dinwiddie on Monday that being more aggressive would be necessary in Moby, adding, “Keep your mouth shut before the game, let your play do the talking . . . he’s smart; he’s going to do whatever this team needs him to do to help win games. It’s awful nice to have a point guard like that.”
Dinwiddie still has flashes of guilt about not being aggressive early enough in the Buffs’ only loss – 72-60 against Baylor in the season opener. “I waited too late in the Baylor game,” he said. “That’s why that loss is still really hard for me and I feel like I let the team down.”
Although his take-over in Tuesday night’s first half got the Buffs (kind of) untracked offensively, the Rams led 34-30 at the break. CU’s nine first-half turnovers were a season-high, with CSU at the same number. The Buffs committed only five more in the second half, but the Rams matched their first-half total and had 18 for the game, leading to 18 Buffs points.
The pace – and the efficiency – smoothed out in the opening minutes of the second half. After CSU extended its lead to six on two occasions, CU rallied behind Dinwiddie and Booker, outscoring the Rams 10-4 to knot the score at 40-40 on a Dinwiddie layup with 16:50 to play. Maybe ugly was done: The Buffs opened the half by hitting five of their first seven field goal attempts.
When Dinwiddie converted two free throws, CU was back in front, 42-40. But ugly wasn’t done: Over the next 31/2 minutes, the Buffs missed six shots until Scott scored on a put-back for a 44-44 tie. The rivals stayed within two or four points of each other until Bejarano’s triple from the left wing pushed the Rams up 51-46 with 10:56 remaining.
The Buffs pulled to within 53-52 on Hopkins’ steal and stuff at the 7:12 mark. Just under 4 minutes later, Hopkins answered again, draining a trey from the right corner to tie the score at 55-55. It was only CU’s second make from behind the arc in 18 attempts, but Hopkins was feeling it.
He canned his second straight trey (and his eighth straight point) to put CU up 58-57, then fed Dinwiddie for a layup and a subsequent three-point play for a 61-58 Buffs lead with 2:54 showing. Dinwiddie drove the lane for another layup (63-58) and CU appeared to be in control.
But the Rams weren’t rolling. Carlton Hurst hit a put-back (63-60) and Joe DiCiman went to the free throw line after Xavier Johnson fouled out and hit one of two free throws (63-61). The Buffs couldn’t control DiCiman’s miss, and Avila was fouled by Scott with 24.8 seconds to play.
Avila hit one of two free throws (63-62) and CU again put the game in Dinwiddie’s hands. With 14.3 seconds left, he hit both ends of a one-and-one (65-62), leaving CSU desperate but not done.
Avila tried a straight away trey that flirted with the net, but Booker controlled the air ball, was fouled on his rush downcourt and hit two free throws to seal it. After Booker hit his first free throw, Dinwiddie walked toward one CSU student section talking to them more than himself.
“I was in a very, very, very polite manner going to the student section that was heckling me constantly during the game and telling them to please be quiet,” he said. “We just won the ball game and now they have nothing to say to me.”
The Rams had the Buffs’ full attention, and Hopkins said he and his fellow freshmen were well-prepped for the Moby madness: “Beau Gamble talked a lot about how it’s going to be crazy and it’s our first real away game. He was right on the money. It was a tough atmosphere to play in and I look forward to playing in more atmospheres like that.”
Although not as hostile, the atmosphere will be even more raucous at the Coors Events Center on Saturday when No. 6 Kansas visits (1:20 p.m., ESPN2). The game, Dinwiddie understated, “is big. It’s about us taking that next step. We believe inside the locker room we’re top 25 but we haven’t proved it. That game is kind of what can put a stamp on our season.”
“It’s really big for us,” added Hopkins. “That’s a game the coaches are looking forward to and we’re looking forward to it as players, too. It’s really big for us and our confidence is pretty high.”
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CU MBB: Scott returns home to rousing ovation
Dec 1st
Beats AFA 81-57
COLORADO SPRINGS — After more than a year of waiting, Josh Scott finally returned home on Saturday. An afternoon that began with a rousing ovation from the Clune Arena faithful culminated with one of the finest performances of his young career.
The 6-10 sophomore from nearby Monument had 16 points and a season-high 13 rebounds as the Buffs led the Air Force Falcons from wire-to-wire en route to a convincing 81-57 victory. Scott reached his third double-double of the year half way through the second half and then sat for the game’s final five minutes while the Buffs coasted to their seventh straight victory.
“It feels good, it’s good to show up for the home crowd,” said Scott. “I won’t lie, so it’s nice.”
After being held to zero points and just three rebounds for the first 12:17 of the game, Scott sprang off the mat to score 16 points and grab 10 boards over the remainder of the afternoon. His tenacious and spirited play in front of the hometown fans helped break a close game wide open in the second half.
Scott’s first bucket came at the 7:43 mark of the first half, as the Buffs were clinging to a tenuous nine-point lead. By the time he scored his final bucket nearly 18 minutes later, the Buffs lead had ballooned to 28 points mostly on the strength of the big man’s domination of an undersized and overwhelmed Falcon front court.
“Once I got the ball in the high-post, I was just looking for Josh down low and we executed well,” said freshman forward Wesley Gordon.
Scott’s play may have been the highlight of the game, but it was an effective Colorado defense that won it. The Buffs out-rebounded the Falcons 42-25 and forced them into a resounding 18 turnovers as AFA was held to a season-low 57 points. The 57 points were the fewest the Buffs have allowed in a road game since they gave up 47 at Oregon last year.
Despite all of the Air Force mistakes, the turnover issues were far from one-sided. The Buffs turned the ball over nine times themselves in the first half and it was the sloppy play that kept Air Force in the game for more than a half. The Falcons, who had more than twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (5), were down only 10 at halftime.
CU coach Tad Boyle later attributed the first-half carelessness to an Air Force zone that took his young team more than a half to decipher. After a few halftime adjustments, the Buffs then turned the ball over just five times in the second half.
“It’s not fun playing against the zone for 40 minutes,” said Boyle. “We tell our guys all the time, the reason they are playing a zone is because they don’t feel like they can guard you (in man-to-man defense). So, we have to be patient, and get the ball moved. Our guys would rather play 40 minutes against the (man-to-man defense), but we’re going to see a lot of the zone. It’s just the way college basketball is being played now, and people trying to stay out of foul trouble.”
Scott wasn’t the only Buff player who triumphantly returned to his hometown on Saturday. Gordon, who also hails from the Colorado Springs area, scored six points, pulled down three rebounds and had two blocks in his own successful return to the city.
“It was a big game for them, in front of their friends and family,” said Boyle. “Colorado Springs, and this community, means a lot to both those young men and their families – their families are obviously both still here and part of this community. So, it was big for them, and I was happy that they both played well. So, it was a good, good feel-good victory for both those young guys.”
The game began under a barrage of Askia Booker jump shots as the trigger-happy junior hit his four shots, two of them from three-point range, and scored eight of the team’s first 10 points. Booker’s success from the field came as the rest of the team combined for just four field goals in the game’s first 12 minutes.
Booker’s hot early shooting helped the team weather the initial struggles of the other go-to players on offense and gave them each time to find their own rhythm in a slow-paced first half. Booker then scored just three points after the game’s first four minutes, but by end of his hot streak the rest of the CU offense had gained their footing and was more than happy to take the weight off Booker’s shoulders.
“It was nice to see (Booker) come out and hit some shots and get us kind of going, and then we kind of took it from there,” said Boyle. “We came out first part of the second half and made some buckets and extended that thing and never let them get back in the game.”
After a season-opening loss to the Baylor Bears, the Buffs have now won seven straight for the first time since January 2011 as they now head into the gauntlet of their non-conference schedule.
The Buffs will travel to Fort Collins to play a solid Colorado State team on Tuesday at Moby Arena, where they haven’t won since 2007. CU will then play two of the following three games against teams currently ranked in the top five in the country – hosting No. 2 Kansas on Saturday, Dec. 7, then taking on No. 5 Oklahoma State in Las Vegas on Dec. 21.
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