Posts tagged Sabatino Chen
CU Men Outlast Trojans – With Much Difficulty
Jan 11th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes’ road woes of a week ago disappeared Thursday night in the Coors Events Center against Southern California . . . sort of.
Once again, CU lost a large lead – but this time held on to a game. The Buffs outlasted the Trojans 66-60 for their first Pac-12 Conference win of the season and set up a get-to-.500 date with UCLA on Saturday.
“Hopefully our guys understand we have to play for 40 minutes,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “We have to do it Saturday or UCLA will come in here and beat us . . . this is not rocket science.”
Improving to 8-0 at home this season and 39-4 at the CEC under Boyle, the Buffs (11-4, 1-2) used a 23-5 run in the first half to overtake the Trojans (6-10, 1-2) and avoid their first 0-3 conference start since the 2008-09 season.
CU encountered the same problem with prosperity it had last week in conference-opening road losses at No. 3 Arizona and Arizona State. The Buffs were outscored 20-9 over the game’s final 8 minutes, helping them squander a 17-point second-half lead. Plus, they hit only 14 of 26 free throws and were outrebounded 39-30.
But the Trojans provided an assist in the turnover department, committing a season-high 23 that the Buffs converted into 21 points. A chest injury slowed Trojans point guard Jio Fontan; he got 16 first-half minutes (no points, three assists, three turnovers) but didn’t play in the second half. CU had 16 fast break points and outscored USC 34-20 in the paint.
“In league play, you figure out a way to win when you don’t play your best basketball,” Boyle said. “The first half I was pleased; our second half wasn’t very good . . . thank God for Sabatino Chen and Josh Scott; those two kids really picked us up when we needed it.”
Scott, the 6-10 freshman, led the Buffs with 14 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field. Chen, a senior on a mission, had 10 points and four steals. Each of his five field goals were of the pick-the-Buffs-up variety.
CU sophomore Askia Booker added 12 points and junior Andre Roberson had 11. Boyle didn’t start Roberson for the first time this season, keeping him out for 41/2 minutes as a penalty for the player being late to a team function.
“He overslept . . . it’s not a big deal,” said Boyle, who started freshman Xavier Johnson in Roberson’s place.
Eric Wise led USC with 16 points, while J.T. Terrell added 11 – all in the second half – and Byron Wesley and DeWayne Dedmon added 10 each. The 7-foot Dedmon also collected a game-best nine rebounds.
Roberson entered the game with 15:30 left in the first half and CU up 8-6. That’s the way the game’s first 8 minutes went, with six lead changes and five ties – and USC made the initial attempt to pull away.
The Trojans, who had beaten Stanford and lost to California in league play, might have felt good after a 7-0 run that opened their largest lead of the first half – 17-10 – with 12:01 left before halftime.
But it paled alongside what was coming from the Buffs. After a three-pointer by Eli Stalzer from the right corner turned them on, they stayed hyperactive for the rest of the half and were up by 15 (41-26) by intermission.
Over the half’s final 12 minutes, CU outscored USC 31-9, limiting the Trojans to four field goals during that span. The Buffs’ take-control run – 23-5 – occurred immediately following a banked-in jumper by Dedmon that gave the Trojans their seven-point advantage.
During that surge, Scott collected seven of his team-high 11 first-half points. All 10 players used by Boyle in the first 20 minutes scored. “Our bench was good – and that’s a positive sign,” he said. “But we have to get better.”
But as dominant as the Buffs appeared over the first half’s final 12 minutes, that dominance disappeared in the opening 5 minutes of the second half and again in the final 8 minutes. The Trojans outscored them 10-2 to open the final 20 minutes and cut their 15-point deficit to seven (43-36).
If CU had established any bad traits on its two-game Arizona swing, the most apparent was letting leads wither. It was something the Events Center crowd (10,344) had no taste for – and neither did Boyle.
Chen surmised the Buffs might be losing leads because they get “too comfortable and relaxed” when their opponents fall behind and “get in desperation mode . . . it’s hard to say.”
But Boyle wasn’t buying the comfortable angle: “I’m not comfortable on the bench (and) until our guys play for 40 minutes we’re not going to beat good teams . . . why (his players) would feel comfortable, I don’t know.”
After a sheer hustle play by Chen – he made a diving steal, got to his feet, retrieved the ball and drove for a layup for CU’s first second half points – the Buffs temporarily righted themselves.
Over the next 71/2 minutes, the Buffs held the Trojans to a pair of free throws and outscored them 14-2 to take a 17-point (57-40) lead – their largest of the night to that point – with 7:55 remaining.
But as they did in the desert – losing leads of 17 and 13 points respectively at Arizona and Arizona State – the Buffs had great difficulty staying in control.
The Trojans pulled to within 63-55 with 1:31 to play, then 64-57 with 38 seconds left. After Booker converted a layup (66-57), Byron Wesley answered with a three-pointer. It was 66-60 . . . and fortunately for the Buffs, time ran out on the Trojans.
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“We’ll learn from this like we learn from every game we play,” Boyle said. “These young guys have got to grow up quick before Saturday at noon.”
Buffs Hammer Hawks, Eye Pac-12 Opener
Dec 30th
By B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor
BOULDER – When the Colorado Buffaloes step onto the basketball court next week in the Arizona desert, the degree of difficulty will soar. But based on their final two non-conference games, the Buffs believe they are very close to being Pac-12 ready.
CU hammered Hartford 80-52 on Saturday afternoon at the Coors Events Center, opening 10-2 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Eight days earlier, the Buffs polished off Northern Arizona 98-51 – but don’t expect a repeat of those kinds of scores anytime soon.
On Thursday, CU opens its Pac-12 schedule at No. 3 Arizona. Figure on the Wildcats playing with an extra-large chip on their shoulders; the Buffs defeated them 53-51 in last season’s Pac-12 championship game in Los Angeles. And following the trip to Tucson, CU visits Arizona State on Sunday, Jan. 6.
Starting in Tucson, reminded Buffs coach Tad Boyle, “the price of poker goes up, the intensity goes up, the level of competition goes up . . . but I think we’re ready for conference play.”
Rather than concentrating on Saturday’s final snapshot of non-league work, Boyle preferred to reflect on the big picture – the Buffs’ 10-2 non-conference record.
“Right now, what’s on my mind is perspective,” he said. “We’re 10-2 and for the most part I’m happy. There are still areas for us to get better and taking care of the ball is one of them (CU had a season-worst 21 turnovers). But when you look at our schedule and the strength of our schedule, 10-2 feels good. We’re not satisfied, but we’ve taken care of most of the opportunities in front of us.”
He said the Buffs “should dominate Northern Arizona and Hartford, but now the test comes. Can we dominate Arizona? They’ve got men, they’ve got animals. I’m not sure we can dominate, but we can stay with them . . . our guys love challenges; they’re competitive and believe in themselves.”
CU quickly disposed of Hartford (7-6). In fact, the Buffs hardly were challenged, romping to a 45-21 halftime lead and holding at least a 25-point lead for most of the second half. Their largest second-half lead was 37 with just under 12 minutes to play.
Freshman post Josh Scott led CU with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Askia Booker added 19 points. Junior wing Andre Roberson had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his 31st career double-double – the sixth this season. Sophomore point guard Spencer Dinwiddie added 11 points, his second straight game in double figures after getting five total in the previous two contests.
The Buffs hadn’t played since Dec. 21, but the long Christmas break left no ugly marks on any part of their game. After bolting to an 11-0 lead, they increased their advantage to 31-9 with 6 minutes remaining before intermission, then led by 24 points at the break.
Said Dinwiddie: “I think that every time you have an extended period of time off (and) have a lot of practices between games you’re more focused.”
Hartford was a long way from home and way out of its league, which happens to be the American East. The Hawks lost 71-63 in early December at Arizona State, and they will reflect on that loss as their closest call with a Pac-12 team. Their first 20 minutes in Boulder were seriously forgettable; they shot only 25 percent (7-for-27) from the field and didn’t reach double digits (12) until the 5:51 mark of the half.
Meanwhile, CU was in another holiday sharing mood, particularly in the game’s first 6 minutes. After recording a season-high 24 assists against Northern Arizona, the Buffs dished out 10 assists in Saturday’s first half. That helped them hit 60 percent (18-for-30) from the field and also was instrumental in outscoring the Hawks 28-0 in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
The first-half board battle wasn’t close to even being a skirmish: CU outrebounded the visitors 28-6 and finished with a 52-21 board advantage. The Buffs prevailed in the paint 44-11.
Said Scott: “We’re always trying to get a hefty rebound margin . . . we just went out and did it.”
By intermission, three CU players already were in double figures – Booker and Scott with a dozen points each and Roberson with 11.
Large halftime leads sometimes can result in an early second-half malaise, but it didn’t work that way for the Buffs. Not quite 4 minutes into the second half, they had increased their lead to 33 (56-23) and showed no signs of slowing to rest. Still, with 7:35 remaining, playing mostly against Buffs reserves, the Hawks cut their deficit to 25 (68-43), prompting Boyle to return his five starters to the court.
He said his bench “is not where it needs to be mentally. With 11 minutes to go, I wanted to let our bench take us home.”Instead, Boyle’s reserves gave up some layups, committed a handful of their 21 turnovers and were generally not as crisp as Boyle envisioned. When conference play opens, Boyle conceded “our bench has to get better – and I think it will. There are guys there we’re going to have to count on.”Of the turnover total, Dinwiddie said, “We definitely heard about that (from Boyle). We went to keep our turnovers in an eight to ten range and today, we didn’t do that. Our turnovers continue to be a work in progress. Part of it is a product of how we play, because we try to play fast. So we’re going to be higher than most teams. But we always want our (assist-to-turnover) ratio to be positive, of course.”
By the 5:07 mark of the last half, the Buffs had righted themselves and surged to a 32-point advantage (75-43) on a pair of Sabatino Chen free throws. A three-point play by Jeremy Adams brought a 78-43 lead, and at that point, Boyle inserted sophomore center Ben Mills for the second time in two games.
Just under 3 minutes later, sophomore guard Beau Gamble left the bench, marking the second time in two games Boyle has used all of his players.
Boyle said his starters “are playing together, playing at a high level, sharing the ball, moving the ball . . . I told our team that there’s not one guy who can beat the Pac-12 on his own; we’ve got to do it together as a collective group. I like where we are.”
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Buffs Win Big, Get In The Spirit Of Giving
Dec 22nd
BOULDER – ‘Tis the season . . .
On a name-your-score night for the Colorado Buffaloes, coach Tad Boyle was more impressed by his team’s willingness to share than its point total.
Oh, CU’s points – 98 of them – were impressive, especially considering overmatched Northern Arizona managed only 51 on Friday night at the Coors Events Center.
But by halftime, Boyle’s Buffaloes had dished out 13 assists, tying their full-game season high. Sharing the ball more effectively has been on Boyle’s mind for a couple of months, and Friday night his team offered him an early Christmas present – 24 assists.
“We played unselfish . . . we made the extra pass it was contagious on our team,” a beaming Boyle said. “It’s a great way to go into Christmas break . . . a great team victory.”
On the switches-and-ashes side, the Buffs also committed 16 turnovers. Yet at halftime, when they were up 57-21, their assist-to-turnover ratio was a sparkling 13-to-5, so Boyle couldn’t leave the building overwrought about second-half ball handling that he termed “just a little careless.”
He used all 12 of his players and 11 of them scored – five reaching double figures. Askia Booker and Xavier Johnson each had 17, with Spencer Dinwiddie adding 15, Josh Scott 11 and Andre Roberson 10. Reserves Ben Mills and Beau Gamble got in the game late and scored their first points of the season.
Said Boyle: “To give them some time and minutes was something everybody felt good about.”
Added Dinwiddie: “Everybody is happy. We had people getting off the bench. We are each other’s biggest supporters. Most of the time you see the guys on the bench supporting us (starters) and it was just a great opportunity we had to be able to support them.”
CU, improving to 9-2, has one non-league game remaining before beginning Pac-12 Conference play on Jan. 3 at No. 4 Arizona. The Buffs play Hartford on Saturday, Dec. 29. It is part of a men’s-women’s doubleheader at the Events Center, with the CU women taking on New Mexico. The men’s tip time is noon.
NAU came to Boulder with a 4-6 record, a pair of losses coming against Pac-12 opponents. The Lumberjacks lost November games at Oregon (83-73) and at Arizona (93-50), and NAU coach Jack Murphy left the CEC believing CU can compete with the upper tier Pac-12 teams.
“When they shoot the ball like they did tonight, they’ll compete with anybody in the league,” Murphy said. “I think that those three teams, and I obviously haven’t seen the other nine, but those three I’ve seen are very, very good. I know right now as it stands they have the three best records in the conference and they all are well coached.
“I think Arizona’s size will present problems for a lot of teams in the league but Colorado, they have great guard play . . . and with Roberson and Scott and the high-low action in the front court, they can be really tough to beat.”
In the run-up to Friday’s game, Boyle promised that his bench would be utilized more in the Buffs’ final two non-conference games. He held true to his promise, using 10 players in Friday’s first half as CU cruised to its 36-point lead at intermission. CU’s bench wound up outscoring NAU’s 39-11.
“We really need to get those (bench) guys going,” Boyle said. “Those guys are going to be important to us throughout the season. We know pretty much what we’re going to get from our starters.”
The Buffs’ 98 points were the second most in the Boyle era, as was their 47-point margin of victory. Their 57 first-half points were the third highest for a first half since the 1954-55 season.
Booker got CU rolling early by hitting five of his first six shots. When NAU pulled to 8-6 on an inside basket by 6-8 Max Jacobsen, Booker answered with a jumper and a layup to open a 23-2 Buffs run that effectively finished the Lumberjacks.
Boyle said it was “key for ‘Ski’ to come off . . . I was hoping he could get out of his funk.” Taking extra shots has never been an issue for Booker, said Boyle: “He’ll spend time in the gym. When he gets his mojo going, he’s pretty darn good.”
Booker said his hot start “felt pretty good,” adding that the Lumberjacks defenders were “forcing me to the baseline a lot . . . their big guys are a little slower, which allowed me to get a few more open shots.”
At the 9:18 mark, CU led 31-8 and was just getting untracked. With just over 2 minutes left before intermission, the Buffs’ lead had ballooned to 40 (55-15). Consecutive layups by Sabatino Chen got CU to 55, and along the way there were plenty of highlights, including the 6-10 freshman Scott’s first three-pointer of the season. He drained his trey from the top of the key and followed with the Buffs’ next two baskets.
CU finished the half with an eye-popping 71.4 percent from the field (25-for-35) and 60 percent from three-point range (6-for-10). The Buffs shot 66.7 percent (40-for-60) for the game – the best shooting percentage by a CU team in 23 seasons – and were at 55 percent (11-for-20 from beyond the arc.
The only area that found the Buffs lacking was their free throw shooting. They made only one of seven first-half attempts, with three of the misses spoiling opportunities for three-point plays. They finished 7-of-15 from the line.
But with all else CU was doing right, misfiring from the foul stripe was forgivable. The Buffs’ defense was stifling and their board work overwhelming; they held the Lumberjacks to 31.1 percent from the field (19-of-61) and outrebounded them 45-22.
The Buffs opened the second half with as much effort and efficiency as they did to begin the night. At the 12-minute mark, they were up by 50 (78-28) and showing no signs of easing up.
About 4 minutes later, with CU ahead 83-35, Mills – the 7-foot junior center – left the bench for only the second time this season, much to the delight of the CEC crowd. He scored his first points of the season on a layup with 4:32 to play, sending CU up 90-39.
Boyle completed the emptying of his bench by inserting Gamble, a sophomore guard who attended Fairview High School, with 5:33 remaining. Gamble got in the scoring column with a three-pointer in the final 90 seconds.
The Buffs missed an opportunity to reach 100 points for the first time this season, but really didn’t care. They dribbled out the final 16 seconds without taking a shot. The crowd wasn’t overly pleased – but the displeasure passed quickly.
CU now has a four-day Christmas break, which Boyle called “an eternity” compared to previous holiday off periods he has experienced. “The most I’ve ever had was maybe three days,” he said. “These guys will have to do some cardio work at home; they can’t sit on the couch and eat ham and turkey. I trust our guys.”