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CU men dispatch lowly Utes in overtime
Feb 1st
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – It was the kind of game that Tad Boyle had challenged his team to win – down-and-dirty, back-and-forth, blink-and-you’re-done.
Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes didn’t blink. Never considered it either. Down 12 points in the second half, the Buffs caught Utah, got caught by a late Utes 3-pointer, then mustered enough want-to to win 79-75 in overtime Saturday at the Coors Events Center.
“Holy cow,” Boyle said afterwards. “We needed that one bad and our guys responded . . . because of what we’ve been through, it doesn’t matter who you are, you need to win your games at home and hold serve. We dropped one already (to UCLA) we’d love to have back. But it doesn’t work that way so this was a big game for us.”
Maybe bigger than big; monstrous wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Losers in four of their previous five games without Spencer Dinwiddie and Tre’Shaun Fletcher, the Buffs needed step-up performances from stand-in players and command performances from their veterans. Finally, the afternoon came together on both fronts.
CU (16-6 overall, 5-4 Pac-12) had five players in double figures – four of them starters and two of those (Xavier Johnson, Josh Scott) finishing with double-doubles. Scott scored a game-high 20 points and tied Johnson, who scored 11, with a game-best 10 rebounds. Forward Wesley Gordon added 12 points and six rebounds as the Buffs blasted the Utes on the boards, 42-24.
CU was no less productive in the backcourt, with guards Askia Booker and Xavier Talton combining for 32 points. Booker’s stat line was near staggering: 18 points, eight rebounds, seven of the Buffs’ 13 assists, 7-of-10 from the free throw line and one steal.
But it was Talton who might have been the Buffs’ biggest force. Scoring a career-high 14 points, the sophomore from Sterling hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 14-2 second-half run that brought CU back from its 12-point deficit. He also opened the OT scoring with another trey –
– as the Buffs finally put away the Utes (14-7, 3-6).
Talton, who with an angry cut under his left eye looked as if he’d gone 10 rounds in the ring rather than 22 minutes on the court, said he’d never experienced such a game – “Not on both ends. I think everybody just found me and I was feeling more confident. Just being in the gym this last week we talked about competing . . . we’ve been in the guy shooting a lot, so I think that’s something that’s helped out.”
The Buffs needed good rhythm and good vibes – more than desperately – and ultimately found both. At home for three games, CU couldn’t afford a loss to Utah to precede visits by Washington State (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network) and Washington (Sunday, Feb. 9, 6 p.m., ESPNU).
“This was a big game no matter how many we’d won or lost before,” Scott said. “It was a home game and you need to win at home. So, to me it was a next step for this team . . . a big step forward and hopefully it can keep going forward from here.”
Somewhere down the line – March perhaps? – losing at home to Utah would have left a bad mark. The Buffs had beaten the Utes in six of seven previous meetings, and Utah came to Boulder with a five-game road losing streak and having lost 10 road games in a row stretching to last season.
Those streaks almost ended at the CEC. After CU rallied from its 47-35 deficit to tie the score at 49-49 on the second of Talton’s back-to-back treys, Utah stayed close in the final 10 minutes and sent the game into overtime on Brandon Taylor’s fifth 3-pointer with 6 seconds left in regulation.
Utah had come into the game shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc, but the Utes shot 50 percent (four-of-eight) from long range in the first half and finished the game at 45.8 percent (11-of-24). Taylor and Delon Wright finished with 17 points each, with the versatile Wright adding 11 assists and seven steals – five of those in the first half.
They contributed to CU’s 10 first-half turnovers that produced 17 Utah points. But the Buffs settled themselves in the second half, committing only five more miscues, and amped up their board work to finish with a 42-24 advantage.
“We got out-rebounded by 18 – that’s the difference in the ball game,” said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. “Getting exposed in our last two games by that number of offensive rebounds by the other team, we don’t have a chance to compete against anybody.”
Boyle, meanwhile, called gathering offensive boards a large part of the mental makeup he’s been calling for: “Toughness shows up in rebounding stats . . . plus-18, that was the difference in the game.”
The Buffs fell behind 4-0, but quickly gathered themselves and led by as many as seven points on three occasions before the Utes stormed back with a 14-0 run and went up 33-26 with 2:53 left before halftime.
Utah stretched its lead to 12 by outscoring CU 10-4 to open the second half. The Utes added to their 3-point field goal total, getting a trey from Wright that followed a conventional three-point play by 7-foot center Dallin Bachynski, whose 7-2 older brother plays for Arizona State.
Down by 12 with 16:42 to play, the Buffs were sliding toward the abyss, but they never got there.
A 6-0 run – courtesy of two free throws by Xavier Johnson and baskets by Gordon and Eli Stalzer – sliced the Utes’ lead in half (47-41). And just over 3 minutes later, a 3-pointer by Xavier Talton from the left wing brought the Buffs to within 49-46 with 12:05 to play.
“You always want people to step up when their number is called,” Talton said. “I think Eli did a good job of that when he came in (and) Wesley definitely did on the boards getting the put backs and everything . . . Xavier Johnson as well. I think that if we continue to share the ball the sky’s the limit for our team.”
And “XT” wasn’t done; his trey from the left corner – set up by a Booker inside-out assist – completed a 14-2 CU run and tied the score at 49-49 at the 11:11 mark.
The last 10 minutes produced six lead changes and five ties – the final one at 62-62 after a Booker follow shot was waived off when the officials ruled the shot clock had expired.
After that, Gordon hit one of two free throws with 25 seconds left and Scott hit both of his after a Utah turnover with 19.2 seconds showing. The Buffs were up 65-62, but at the 6-second mark, Taylor drained his fourth trey of the game, tying the score and leaving time for a straightaway Booker 30-footer as time expired.
It bounded off the back of the rim and OT was next. Talton’s fourth trey of the afternoon put CU up 68-65 and Utah never caught up. After Talton added a 15-foot jumper to send the Buffs up 73-69, Booker hit five of six free throws in the OT’s final 45.8 seconds and Johnson added one of two. Another late Taylor trey pulled the Utes to 79-75 – but this one was over.
Boyle said he was most proud of Johnson’s performance and the maturity the sophomore is showing: “He’s a guy I challenged. He doesn’t like sitting on the bench but when he gives you the kind of effort he did today on both ends of the floor and rebounding the basketball, holy cow is he good.”
While conceding the game’s importance and what it might mean to the remainder of the home stand and season, Boyle refrained from calling it a “must-win.” Instead, he pared it down to this: “I want to talk about the ‘must’ possessions, because if you take care of the ‘must’ possessions the wins take care of themselves. And so do the losses when you don’t.”
More often than not on Saturday, the “must” possessions went to CU. And eventually, so did the “W.”
WBB: Buffs hang tough until final minute, lose by 2
Jan 26th
BOULDER – Colorado stayed with No. 14 Arizona State for the better part of 40 minutes Sunday at the Coors Events Center. Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, the final half minute was no time to come undone.
Getting a pair of free throws from Adrienne Thomas with 4.4 seconds to play, the Sun Devils edged the Buffs 68-66. CU (12-7, 2-6) had hoped to sweep the Pac-12 Conference’s desert entries after a 68-47 win against Arizona on Friday night that broke a four-game Buffs losing streak.
But it wasn’t to be against the opportunistic Sun Devils (17-3, 6-2).
With the score tied at 66-66, CU coach Linda Lappe called timeout with 21 seconds to play to set her final strategy. It didn’t go as planned; Brittany Wilson lost her dribble, ASU got the loose ball and Thomas was fouled with 4.4 seconds to play.
After Thomas hit both free throws, Wilson lost the ball coming up court, recovered, but could manage only a three-quarter court heave that only added to CU’s afternoon of frustration.
Of CU’s 12 turnovers, none were more costly than the final two. Said Wilson of the miscue coming out of the timeout: “I felt I got tripped, it was a no call. . . nothing much more to say.”
Added Lappe: “Just about everything bad that could have happened did at the end of the game . . . we have to learn how to finish. We’ve got to get a shot off, no matter what happens. (The officials) were calling fouls (23 on each team); we can’t make excuses.”
Lappe declined comment on Wilson’s alleged un-called trip: “I’m not going to comment on that . . . bottom line, we have to make plays.”
Jen Reese, who matched her career high with 22 points for a second straight game, said she believed the Buffs were focused coming of their timeout when the score was tied at 66. “But we should have gotten a shot up,” she added. “We didn’t finish . . . they were fouled and hit their free throws.”
Aiding Reese in the scoring column were Brittany and Ashley Wilson with 12 points each and Jamee Swan with 10. Deja Mann scored a team-high 17 points and was one of three Sun Devils in double figures, and ASU got 25 points from its bench.
CU outrebounded ASU 42-35 and hit 20-of-23 free throws – including 11-of-11 in the first half. Lappe said those two numbers were among positives to be taken away from the loss, the others being a “toughness level” that is becoming what she wants, overall execution in the final 8 minutes, and her team’s turnover total (10) before the final minute.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” Lappe said. “ASU is tough, well-coached. They find ways to win games this year; they make plays down the stretch. Give them credit, they’ve done this to a lot of teams. Tonight we were the victim.”
ASU led by 10 points in the first half before CU regained its shooting touch and made the afternoon competitive in the second half. The Buffs hit six of their first eight shots, took a 12-9 lead – their largest of the half – then went mountain stream cold.
From the 15:05 mark until 7:23 before intermission, they dropped from 75 percent shooting to 35 percent – going one for 12 and watching the Sun Devils launch a 12-0 run. That surge enabled ASU to take a double-digit lead – 24-14 –and appear to be in control.
But CU wasn’t ready to roll. If their shooting touches from the field occasionally went icy, it was a different story at the free throw line. For only the second time this season, the Buffs were perfect at the foul line, hitting all of 11 of their attempts – which kept them in the game. By halftime their field goal percentage was a humbling 30.3 (10-of-33), while the Sun Devils checked in at 42.9 percent (12-of-28). CU finished the afternoon shooting 38.3 percent from the field, ASU 41.5.
Free throw perfection in the first half’s final 5 minutes – all of CU’s fouls shots came in that span – kept the Buffs within three points (34-31) at intermission. Yet to catch and pass ASU in the second half, CU couldn’t count on doing it with free throws – their shooting had to improve, and the opening 4 minutes of the second half showed signs of that happening.
After Mann scored consecutive baskets to open the scoring and push ASU ahead 38-31, Reese – her nine field goals were a career high – hit a put-back to open a 6-0 run that pulled the Buffs to within 38-37. It was the closest CU had been since 13-12.
The Buffs got their first lead since 12-11 on a layup by Roberson that sent them up 39-38 with 15:16 remaining. CU matched its largest lead to that point – three points at 43-40 – on back-to-back baskets by Reese.
But Promise Amukamara matched Reese’s two buckets, giving ASU a 44-43 advantage and promising a back-and-forth final 10 minutes – if the Buffs didn’t encounter another Ice Age. They didn’t, and even a five-point ASU lead (52-47) didn’t deter them.
The Buffs lost their perfection from the foul line when Ashley Wilson finally missed the first of two with 8:58 to play. But “A-Wil” hit the second attempt, followed with two more on the next possession and tied the score at 52-52.
Neither team led by more than two points over the final 8 minutes, with CU taking a two-point advantage (66-64) on a three-point play by Ashley Wilson with 2:51 left.
With the Buffs leading 66-65, Reese missed a foul line jumper with 45 seconds left and ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne called a time out with 41.9 seconds to play. Fouled by Brittany Wilson on a loose ball battle, Kelsey Moos hit one of two free throws to tie the score at 66-66 at the 28.5-second mark.
Reese controlled the rebound on Moos’ miss and it was CU’s turn for a timeout to set its final strategy in the last 21.1 seconds. If both of the Buffs’ final possessions went bust, the Sun Devils have been there and conquered that.
“A majority of our games have come down to one possession,” Turner Thorne said. “We have a lot of experience in these situations. This team has a lot of confidence, and because of that, we’ve been able to out on top of every single one of these close games.”
The Buffs travel to Utah on Wednesday night (7 p.m.) before returning to the CEC to face the Utes again on Sunday, Feb. 2 (noon).
WAHL HONORED: CU’s first women’s athletic director, Jane Wahl, received the inaugural Jane Wahl Legacy Award Sunday, at both a pregame reunion luncheon with dozens of former players in attendance and again at halftime. The award will be presented annually to a member of the women’s basketball community who through their achievements brings honor and recognition to the program.
Wahl accepted the award from Ceal Barry, CU’s associate athletic director for student services and former women’s basketball coach. Barry noted that the first decade of women’s athletics set the table for future success, and in the case of basketball, began several traditions, including making the Coors Events Center the tough place it has become for opponents to play.
“I view this like a relay race,” Wahl said. “I worked the first leg and then handed the baton to others who went on to bring women’s athletics at CU to where it is today. The work I did at CU was some of the most meaningful of my life. To help create opportunities for women to participate in varsity athletics that didn’t exist before 1974. It was rewarding to do work that empowered women, life-changing work that served them well for the rest of their lives.”
Missing Dinwiddie, the Buffs fall apart against Sun Devils
Jan 26th
By Anthony Lepine, CU Sports Information Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz. – After struggling early in a Thursday night loss at No. 1 Arizona, Colorado’s difficulties in the desert continued here Saturday night as Arizona State rolled to a 72-51 Pac-12 Conference win.
Minus point guard Spender Dinwiddie and wing Tre’Shaun Fletcher now for four complete games, the Buffaloes were held to season-low point totals in Tucson and Tempe. Their 57 points against Arizona – the Wildcats had 69 – had been their lowest output of the season until Saturday night.
“This was just a bad game overall,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “There was nothing we can point to that we can even look at as a positive. The message to the team after the game was that it’s never as good as it seems when things are going well, and it’s never as bad as it seems after days like this.”
The loss was the Buffs’ (15-6, 4-4) fourth in their past five games, dropping them to 15-6 overall and 4-4 in the conference. The Sun Devils (15-5, 4-3) led 34-23 at halftime and put the game away with a 17-6 run to open the second half.
ASU beat CU for the third consecutive time and now lead the overall series 5-4. The Sun Devils were the only Pac-12 team to sweep the Buffs last season – winning 65-56 in Tempe and 63-62 in overtime in Boulder.
Xavier Johnson, who led the Buffs with 21 points at Arizona, paced CU with 12 points Saturday. Josh Scott added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Askia Booker contributed 10 and went over 1,000 points for his career.
ASU guard Jahii Carson joined Booker in the 1,000 point club – surpassing the milestone in only his second season – after leading the Sun Devils with 18 points on Saturday night. Jonathan Gilling added 12 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
7-foot-2 center Jordan Bachinski finished with three blocks (15 in three games vs. CU) and is now only 10 blocks away from breaking the Pac-12 record held by Anthony Cook (Arizona 1985-89).
CU endured a rough first half in the Wells Fargo Arena and trailed by 11 points at the break. The Buffs allowed the Sun Devils to shoot 52 percent from the field and committed a season-high 12 turnovers. CU’s last lead was 8-7 following a three-point play by Booker with 14:38 before intermission.
An 8-0 Sun Devils run produced a 15-8 lead, but the Buffs pulled to within two – 15-13 – on a 3-pointer by Johnson and two free throws by “XJ” on the next trip down court.
But from there, it was all ASU for the remainder of the half and the game. The Sun Devils led by as many as 13 points (32-19) as the Buffs’ turnovers continued to mount, pulling their total closer to the 16 they committed in Tucson.
They finished with 19, and the Sun Devils capitalized with 28 points off turnovers. In addition to their errors, the Buffs managed to hit only six of its 12 first-half free throw attempts and finished nine of 24.
The Buffs needed to regroup, rediscover an offensive rhythm and start the second half more efficiently. It didn’t happen. The Sun Devils outscored them 17-6 in the half’s first 8 minutes and rolled to a 19-point lead (51-29).
“We let our frustrations (on offense) leak over to the other end of the floor and we’re not good enough to do that,” Boyle said. “You put that together with our turnovers, with our lack of defense, and with getting out-rebounded and you have a recipe for disaster.”
ASU increased its lead to 25 points in the final 5 minutes.
The Buffs now have a week to correct their mistakes from the winless trip to the desert. With no mid-week game, they are off until they play host to Utah on Saturday, Feb. 1 (1 p.m.) at the Coors Events Center.
“We have some work to do,” Boyle said. “It’s never as bad as it seems, and right now it’s not good, but we have a bunch of competitive guys and talented guys and we’re going to get better.”