Posts tagged Sabatino Chen
CU Men Step Up, Beat Utes Without Scott
Feb 22nd
Courtesy: B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
BOULDER – With freshman center Josh Scott on the bench in jeans and a team pullover, the Colorado Buffaloes needed someone to fill the void Thursday night against Utah. Turns out it wasn’t a question of whom, but how many.
Getting stand-up performances from players in stand-in roles and a typical night’s work from Andre Roberson, the Buffs put away the Utes 60-50 at the Coors Events Center.
Rbberson was a force in the victory over Utah.
“It was a must win,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “It wasn’t pretty but we found a way to get it done.”
It followed a bitter overtime loss to Arizona State last Saturday and avenged an equally bitter loss in Salt Lake City earlier this month. Utah (11-15 overall, 3-11 Pac-12 Conference) won that one 58-55, withstanding a rally that almost brought CU back from a 22-point second-half deficit.
In the rematch, CU (18-8, 8-6) never got itself in that predicament, taking control with a 17-5 run to open the second half. The Buffs got 13 points from Spencer Dinwiddie, 12 from Sabatino Chen, 10 from Roberson and season-high nine from Jeremy Adams off the bench.
Roberson added 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and two steals. And among Roberson’s 11 boards was his 1,000th career rebound. He is in second place (1,006) at CU, trailing only Stephane Pelle (1,054).
“It means a lot,” Roberson said, mainly because of Boyle’s emphasis on defense and rebounding. Roberson said he took that emphasis “to heart . . . it’s a great accomplishment for me and I’m not done working.”
Boyle called Roberson “the best defender in America and without a doubt in the Pac-12 12 . . . he doesn’t get enough credit.” Boyle said Chen “was terrific defensively and getting the ball in the lane.” Adams, he said, contributed “critical minutes in both halves.”
And then there was Beau Gamble, whose contribution didn’t appear on the stat sheet and went unseen by the 9,823 at the CEC. According to Roberson, after the Utes “disrespected” the Buffs by banging on their locker room door at halftime, Gamble waded through and “messed up their huddle” before the Utes took the court.
Said Roberson: “We were behind him 100 percent. We’re not going to let anybody come in on our home court and punk us – so that’s how it is.”
If CU needed an edge to start the final 20 minutes, maybe Gamble’s “walk-through” provided it – although the visitors didn’t appreciate it. Whatever, the Buffs limited the Utes to 31.9 percent from the field and outrebounded them 22-14 in the second half.
Boyle also called for increased ball pressure and trapping Utah’s guards, which helped bring CU back in Salt Lake City. “They had to call some time outs (and) the traps took them out of some of their set plays,” Boyle said.
Scott was still in recovery mode from the elbow to the head received in last weekend’s brutally physical overtime loss to Arizona State. Boyle said Scott “is still day-to-day . . . I don’t know when he’ll be back. But until he gets back we’re going to need Shane (Harris-Tunks), Andre and everyone else.”
CU opened with a small starting lineup, using the 6-4 Chen in Scott’s place. Scott’s absence left the 6-11 Harris-Tunks as the Buffs’ biggest inside presence. Along with Roberson, Harris-Tunks was counted on to contend with Utah’s Jason Washburn, a 6-10 senior who entered the game averaging 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.
Harris-Tunks played five first-half minutes, with Roberson proving most effective against Washburn, who had scored in double figures in 14 of the past 16 games and had four double-doubles in Pac-12 play. One of his double-doubles (13 points, 11 rebounds) was against the Buffs on Feb. 2. Washburn finished Thursday night with 10 points and five boards.
“They were smaller, but they have a quick team,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “I thought the energy and movement really got them going. They kept the ball moving (and) we struggled to get the ball inside.”
Dinwiddie, who had averaged 23 points in his last three games, entered Thursday night having made 32 consecutive free throws. He went two-for-four in the first half but was the catalyst in the Buffs closing with a 9-2 run to take a 30-28 lead at intermission. He also hit four-of-four in the final 46 seconds, enabling CU to close out the win.
To Boyle’s chagrin, CU allowed Utah to shoot 50 percent (10-for-20) from the field in the first 20 minutes and gave up a two-rebound advantage (15-13). But minus Scott, CU’s bench made a contribution, outscoring Utah’s 8-2, with Adams getting six of his total in the first half.
“I was talking to some of my teammates and some of the guys who come off the bench and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make up for Josh, if not by scoring then by rebounding,’” he said. “And I think we did a great job.”
The Buffs’ second-half challenges: tighter defense and better ball movement that hopefully would produce a higher second-half field goal percentage (42.3). CU attempted 17 first-half treys (hitting four), but Boyle refrained from telling his players to cease and desist.
“It’s such a big part of our offense and we really need it,” he said. But knocking a few down would help, and in the second half the Buffs attempted just seven more and hit two. Revving up their rebounding effort in the second half helped the Buffs outscore the Utes 14-8 on second-chance points.
After Utah freshman Jordan Loveridge – a former CU recruit – canned a three-pointer to put the Utes up 31-30 to start the second half, the Buffs answered with an 8-0 run to go to up 38-31. CU got its points in that surge on a tip-in by Xavier Johnson and back-to-back treys by Askia Booker and Chen.
Sensing the night might be slipping away, Krystkowiak called a timeout. But the Utes whiffed on that possession and Booker hit one of two free throws (39-31) and Roberson added a layup to push the Buffs’ lead to double digits (41-31).
Utah crept to within five points but CU responded with six consecutive points, completing a 17-5 run for a 47-36 advantage with 12:22 remaining. The big lead didn’t last, but neither did Utah’s energy.
The Utes pulled to within five points three times in the final 6:25, but got no closer. The Buffs made five of six free throws – four of them by Dinwiddie one of two by Chen – to account for the final margin.
CU travels to the Bay Area next week to play Stanford (Wednesday, Feb. 27) and California (Saturday, March 2) on its final regular-season road trip.[includeme src=”http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html” frameborder=”0″ width=”670″ height=”300″]
Dinwiddie, CU Men Rally To Defeat Beavers
Feb 11th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Nothing came easy for the Colorado Buffaloes in Oregon, but they might like it that way – especially Spencer Dinwiddie.
On a night marked by his perfection, the Buffs rallied behind their stellar sophomore guard here Sunday to beat Oregon State 72-68 and sweep their two-game trip in the Northwest.
Dinwiddie’s long-range shooting and free throw accuracy brought CU back from a seven-point second-half deficit and kept the Buffs in prime position for a February ascent in the Pac-12 Conference.
Spencer Dinwiddie
The difference Sunday night in OSU’s antiquated Gill Coliseum, said CU coach Tad Boyle: “We had Spencer Dinwiddie and they didn’t.”
Dinwiddie scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, helping CU to go above .500 (6-5, 16-7 overall) for the first time this season in Pac-12 play.
Dinwiddie turned in a night of perfect shooting. He hit four-of-four from beyond the three-point arc (six-of-six overall from the field) and eight-of-eight from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, including six-of-six in the last 1:41.
“I can’t remember if I’ve ever shot like that before,” Dinwiddie said. “But every shot you take you think you’re going to make. It was one of those nights.”
CU also got double-figure scoring from freshman Josh Scott (17) and senior Sabatino Chen (10).
Oregon State (2-9, 12-12) was led by Roberto Nelson with 21 points. Teammate Ahmad Starks had 20, 17 of them in the first half before CU tightened its defense on him.
The Buffs return to the Coors Events Center this week. On Thursday they face No. 7 Arizona (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network), with Arizona State visiting on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPNU).
CU started with a feverish pace, hitting its first six shots before finally missing and going up by 13 points (19-6) on a pair of free throws by Askia Booker. But the Buffs hot hands didn’t remain that way.
A 13-4 run pulled the Beavers to within 27-25 and Starks took over from there, hitting consecutive treys to tie the score at 31-31 then adding a third to give Oregon its first lead, 34-33.
The half ended that way, and whatever early momentum the Buffs had was swept away.
Starks finished the half with 17 points, hitting five of his nine three-point attempts. And it wasn’t like the Buffs hadn’t been warned: Their scouting report on Starks said he was most dangerous going to his left off the dribble – and that’s what he did on four of his five first-half treys.
In the second half, said Boyle, CU wanted to deny him the ball – and Booker helped answer that challenge. Overall, Boyle said his team didn’t play its best game – just as it didn’t in a 48-47 win on Thursday night at Oregon.
“But you’re seeing this team grow up before your eyes,” he added. “When you don’t play your best in two road games and still win, it shows you something about your players.”
Added junior forward Andre Roberson, who finished with a career-best five steals to go with his 10 rebounds and seven points: “We’ve got heart. It showed in Oregon and it showed here tonight.”
Andre Roberson
CU didn’t have a player in double figures in the first 20 minutes and was outrebounded 21-17 – 39-30 for the game. The Buffs shot 41.4 percent from the field, the Beavers 45.6. But CU got 21 points off of that many OSU turnovers while committing only nine. The Buffs also had 13 second-chance points to the Beavers’ seven.
Nelson, tied for the conference scoring lead at 18.4 points a game, had only four first-half points. But he opened the second half with a long trey from the right wing, giving the Beavers a 37-33 advantage.
The Buffs caught and passed them with a 6-0 run, going ahead 39-37 on a pair of Dinwiddie free throws with 17:51 to play. From there, it was back and forth for the next 3 minutes, with neither team able to take more than three-point lead until Joe Burton converted a three-point play with 14:22 left to send the Beavers ahead 51-47 – their largest lead of the night.
And it got larger. When Starks drained another triple from just left of the top of the key, Oregon was up 56-49 – and with 12:50 remaining the Buffs were entering dangerous territory. No matter; they had been there before and survived.
CU crept to within two (56-54) on a three-pointer by Dinwiddie over Oregon’s 2-3 zone and a transition basket by Scott. Just under 3 minutes later, Dinwiddie got another triple and the Buffs suddenly were down just a point (58-57).
Then a short shootout began.
After Oregon freshman Olaf Schaftenaar answered with a trey, restoring the Beavers’ four-point lead, Dinwiddie struck again from beyond the arc and pulled the Buffs to within 63-62. Roberson made one of two free throws with 3:23 showing to tie the score at 63-63.
CU freshman Xavier Johnson’s tip-dunk at the 2:20 mark put CU ahead (65-63) for the first time in nearly 14 minutes, and the Buffs might have been flashing back to their final-minute win (48-47) in Eugene on Thursday night.
Dinwiddie made both ends of a one-and-one with 1:41 left, giving CU a 67-63 lead. But on the other end, he fouled Nelson beyond the arc, and Nelson’s three free throws cut the Buffs’ lead to 67-66.
At 1:10, Boyle called a timeout. With 3 seconds showing on the shot clock and 52.9 on the game clock, Dinwiddie was fouled and hit both ends of his one-and-one for a 69-66 lead.
Oregon missed, Roberson rebounded and Booker was fouled with 29.1 seconds to play. Making one of two foul shots, he put CU ahead 70-66, but Nelson scored in the lane to pull Oregon to within 70-68 with 16.7 seconds left.
Fouled by Nelson on the inbounds pass, Dinwiddie hit both free throws and the Buffs were up 72-68 with 14.2 seconds showing. Oregon’s Eric Moreland missed at point blank range, Roberson rebounded and was tied up.
The possession arrow favored the Buffs – and this one was done.
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Huskies Put The Bite On Frigid Buffs
Jan 17th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
SEATTLE – The Colorado Buffaloes dug themselves a hole with frigid shooting here Wednesday night and left Alaska Airlines Arena in a deeper Pac-12 Conference hole.
But despite their 64-54 loss to streaking Washington, which won for the tenth time in 12 games, Buffs coach Tad Boyle and his players believe positive steps were taken – particularly on defense. Boyle said his team’s defense “was good enough to win . . . our guys played great (defense). We played with pride and some toughness. We lost to a good basketball team.”
The Huskies, playing their first home game since Dec. 22, remained unbeaten (4-0) in conference play and went to 12-5 overall while the Buffs slipped to 1-4, 11-6. If CU’s ‘D’ was exemplary, its ‘O’ was of the OMG variety. Credit the Huskies for some of that misfiring; they’ve now held four Pac-12 teams to under 40 percent from the field.
The Buffs shot a season-low 29.2 percent in the first half and finished at 36.2 percent (21-for-58) for the game – the team’s second-lowest mark this season. CU also tied a season low in assists with six and made only one of 10 three-point attempts. But the Buffs held the Huskies to 33.9 percent (20-for-59) from the field and outrebounded them by one (38-37). It wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing game for either team, but UW coach Lorenzo Romar didn’t care.
Asked about “winning ugly,” Romar said, “You can color it any want to color it. I just know that when you go out and you play two games in a row and you have single digit turnovers (UW had 9, CU 12), you hold four teams to under 40 percent from the field, you outrebound three out of the four, you’re beginning to do things right. The only ‘ugly’ thing, if you want to call it that, is that we haven’t been making shots. Two out of the last four games we haven’t made shots. Other than that, I think we’re doing everything else OK.”
Boyle said the Huskies’ 15 offensive rebounds “really killed us in the second half. We had some stops and couldn’t finish the possession with getting the rebound. That hurt us. And then we put them on the foul line in the second half. For some reason we don’t get to the foul line on the road; I don’t know why.”
Sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie, who led CU with 15 points, said the Buffs played with more overall intensity than in previous conference losses to Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA.
“For sure,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s one thing we talked about. We talked our positives; we finally started playing with our principles – we rebounded the ball decently. There were a couple of possessions where they got three or four offensive rebounds. If we cut that out and they don’t make a run, the game’s different.”
The only other CU player in double figures was junior Andre Roberson with 10 points, marking the first time this season only two Buffs reached double digits. Roberson also had 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season and the 32nd of his career.
Roberson said the Buffs “stepped it up big time on the defensive end . . . we just didn’t get the rebounds when it mattered and we didn’t make the tough stops. Our offense has to get better; our motion is terrible right now. That’s one thing we have to improve on big time. Just executing on the offense end is a main thing. That’s why we struggled with this team.”
Sophomore guard Askia Booker fouled out with 34.4 seconds to play after scoring nine points, while freshman forwards Xavier Johnson and Josh Scott had nine and eight, respectively. Scott got all of his points in the second half.
The Huskies’ C.J. Wilcox, the conference’s leading scorer (21.3 ppg), finished with 25, while teammate Scott Suggs added 13. UW had no other double-figure scorers, but Desmond Simmons (12) and Aziz N’Diaye (11) accounted for 23 rebounds.
CU scored a season-low 20 points in the first half and trailed by eight at intermission. The Huskies opened 10-point leads three times in the game’s final 8 minutes, an 11-point advantage in the last 3 minutes, and never allowed their visitors closer than seven points during that span. Trailing 28-20 at intermission, the Buffs might have gone to their locker room thankful for that deficit. When they caught the Huskies at 17-17 on a layup by Johnson – he started against in place of Sabatino Chen – they appeared to have corrected their early problems.
CU committed four of its seven first-half turnovers – a high for a half in league play – in the game’s first 6 minutes and fell behind by seven points. Then the Buffs strung together an 8-2 run – their most productive offensive stretch of the opening half – and pulled even.
But things went south from there. After Johnson’s layup produced the tie at 17 with 8:56 left before the break, CU scored only three more points to finish with its lowest first-half total of the season.
The Buffs opened the second half with three points from Roberson and pulled to within 28-23. But the Huskies trumped that with a four-point play from Scott Suggs to take their largest lead of the night – 32-23 – to that point. The nine-point advantage became 10 (37-27) on a trey by Wilcox. But taking advantage of the 7-foot N’Diaye taking a rest, the 6-10 Scott hit back-to-back baskets to draw the Buffs to within five (39-34) with just over 11 minutes to play.
CU’s threat ended there. A 5-0 run restored U-Dub’s 10-point lead (48-38), leaving the Buffs just over 7 minutes to retaliate. Boyle called a timeout at the 7:12 mark, but the closest his team could get was 52-45 on a three-point play by Dinwiddie with 3:52 to play.
“With our defense tonight and our pride, I’m proud of our guys for the way they hung in there,” Boyle said. “It got away from us at the end there and you look at a 10-point loss on the road and we couldn’t shrink the lead because we couldn’t score. But it wasn’t because of our defense.”
The Buffs’ road trip continues with a Saturday game (8 p.m. MST) at Washington State. The team will fly via charter on Thursday morning from Seattle to Spokane, have Thursday and Friday practices at Gonzaga, then fly to Pullman on Saturday morning.
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