Posts tagged Wyoming
Buffs’ b-ball: Young guns show up BIG at home opener
Nov 11th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Tad Boyle might be a long way from settling on an eight- or nine-player rotation for his Colorado men’s basketball team, but this much is settled: Freshmen will figure prominently in any plan he devises.
That became apparent Sunday afternoon at the Coors Events Center in CU’s 91-65 home-opening romp over overmatched UT-Martin. Boyle’s quartet of first-year scholarship players – Dustin Thomas, Jaron Hopkins, Tre’Shaun Fletcher and George King – and redshirt freshman Wesley Gordon made key contributions as the Buffs shook any residue from a 72-60 loss two nights earlier to No. 25 Baylor.
“I’m still getting used to the rotations,” Boyle said. “I’m not sure we have the rotations yet that we’re going to have as the year goes on. But I really like our guys . . . I thought our freshmen really grew tonight and gave us good minutes. It’s hard again with the rotations; I’d like to not have three or four (freshmen) on the floor at once, but sometimes there’s nothing I can do about that.”
And there are times – at least in early November – when it seems like a good idea, provided they contribute as they didSunday. Four of the Buffs’ first-year players combined for 36 points, with Gordon leading that pack with 13 and eight rebounds. He debuted against Baylor with nine points and eight boards.
“I’m pleased with the way he played against Baylor (and) the way he played tonight,” Boyle said. “If Wesley defends and rebounds like he did tonight he’s going to help this team.”
Thomas and Hopkins scored nine points each, with Hopkins contributing three – tying him for team high – of the Buffs’ 19 assists. Fletcher added five points and while King didn’t score, he grabbed three rebounds and made one assist in his 5 minutes of court time.
“We got a lot of guys in the rotation and I thought that was good,” Boyle said. “We’re awfully young, as I’ve been telling you guys, and I think it showed at times.”
CU didn’t begin pulling away from UTM, a first-time foe from the Ohio Valley Conference, until sophomore Xavier Johnson hit a three-pointer from the left wing to tie the score at 24-24 with 8:21 left in the first half. That trey ignited a 12-0 Buffs run that eventually went to 19-3 and resulted in a 40-27 advantage – CU’s largest of the first half.
The 6-7 Thomas, who appears to be proving his versatility nightly, and the 6-9 Gordon were instrumental as the Buffs pulled away. Thomas had five points and Gordon four in the 19-3 surge, and Fletcher capped the run with a three-pointer.
“I think the freshmen did a good job of coming in and not being timid toward the game,” Thomas said. “We played good and played with confidence.”
By intermission, the Buffs led by 10 (45-35) – courtesy of that big run. But CU had to overcome the early hot shooting of UTM’s Terence Smith, who scored 10 of his team’s first 14 points and helped the Skyhawks go ahead 14-8 – their largest lead of the game.
“I think we came out a little slow,” Gordon said. “But the game went on and we picked it up a little bit. Our energy is something we need to keep the entire game. We have to come out from the first tip with high energy.”
UTM shot 41.4 percent from behind the arc, hitting 12 of its 29 trey attempts and underscoring one of two main deficiencies Boyle observed. “We didn’t guard the three line,” he said, “and we turned it over 18 times . . . we had six (turnovers) against a top 25 team on Friday night.”
Boyle knew his team’s advantage Sunday was inside, “And anytime you have that you want to exploit it as best you can,” he said. The Buffs did, outscoring the Skyhawks 44-10 in the paint and outrebounding them 46-26. The most fault Boyle found with his team’s interior work was a nine-possession stretch that produced “only two paint touches. That can’t be. It’s got to be eight out of nine – not two out of nine.”
Still, CU’s post players had their moments. In addition to the 6-9 Gordon’s 13 points, 6-10 Josh Scott scored a team-high 15 and collected eight rebounds.
“In our league we’re not used to seeing guys that are 6-10 or 6-11,” said UTM coach Jason James. “We see guys that are 6-6 and 6-7. When you get those guys that are 6-10 and can play, I think it’s an issue.”
CU junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie added 13 points, hitting just two field goals in three attempts but going 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Johnson’s 12 points rounded out the four Buffs in double figures.
CU pulled ahead by 14 points twice in the first 4 minutes of the second half, the first time on a three-point play by Johnson (50-36) and the second time on a pair of “XJ” free throws (54-40).
But those double-digit leads disappeared after UTM three-pointers on three successive possessions. Marshun Newell hit the first, Dee Oldham the next two, cutting CU advantage to seven points (56-49) with just over 13 minutes remaining.
If the Buffs felt threatened, they didn’t show it. A pair of free throws by Scott and a fast-break layup by Hopkins restored CU’s double-digit lead (60-49) and that score held until Dinwiddie hit one of two free throws with 9:14 to play and converted his second miss into a layup to put the Buffs up again by 14 (63-49). They pushed ahead by as many as 27 points in the final 3 minutes.
The Buffs have given Boyle no reason to doubt their desire. “The fight in our team and our competitiveness is there,” he said. “I don’t worry about that with our guys.”
CU hosts Wyoming on Wednesday night (7 p.m.), the second of a six-game homestand. The Cowboys defeated the Skyhawks 78-60 on Friday night in Laramie, and Boyle reminded that “there’s not one player in our locker room, not one coach who’s beaten Wyoming.”
The Cowboys have defeated the Buffs in each of the past two seasons, winning 65-54 in Boulder and 76-69 in Laramie.
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A plague of ash borers? Not yet.
Nov 7th
In late September, the emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive pest of ash trees was identified within the city limits of Boulder. Since that time, staff from the City of Boulder Forestry Division and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) have worked cooperatively to complete a visual assessment of all public and private ash trees within a half mile of the initial infestation.
Staff visually assessed hundreds of ash trees from the ground, looking for symptoms of infestation, which include large branch dieback in the tree crown, woodpecker damage and excessive sprouting. Fortunately, no obviously symptomatic ash trees were discovered outside of the initial cluster of infested trees, however; EAB is very difficult to detect in early stages. To determine the full extent of infestation, a delimitation survey begins this week. The survey is being conducted by staff from city forestry, CDA, Colorado State University Extension, and forestry staff from other Front Range cities who have graciously offered to assist. It is anticipated to take up to six weeks to complete.
For the delimitation survey, the city has been divided into plots or grids of one-square mile each. Crews will remove two small branches from each of 10 ash trees near the center of each plot. The branch samples will be peeled and examined closely for the presence of emerald ash borer life stages. The branch sampling protocols were developed by the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). The CFS found by performing random branch sampling on asymptomatic trees with this technique, they were able to detect EAB several miles away from the original location before trees become symptomatic. The goal is to determine the full extent of infestation within the city limits. The results of the survey will also help guide the future city of Boulder EAB Response Plan to manage the infestation within the city and potentially slow the spread to nearby communities.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the city of Boulder is hosting an EAB “tree dissection” for forestry staff from other Front Range cities and Wyoming. Staff from CSU Extension, Colorado Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA APHIS PPQ) will be on hand to teach other forestry professionals what EAB looks like and to demonstrate branch peeling techniques to find EAB larvae. More dissections are planned to educate tree care companies.
There are approximately 38,000 city park and public street rights-of-way trees under the jurisdiction of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry Division; approximately 6,000 are ash trees (15 percent of the public tree population).
For more information, please contact the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s Forestry Division at 303-413-7245.
–CITY–
Playing inspired volleyball, Buffs whip No.11 UCLA
Sep 28th
The win snapped a 41-match losing streak to ranked opponents
BOULDER— The University of Colorado played inspiring volleyball on Friday night to defeat No. 11 UCLA in front of a crowd of almost 2,800 at the Coors Events Center 3-1 (27-29, 25-15, 24-26, 25-23, 15-12).
The win is the first ever for the Buffs against the Bruins and it’s also just the third time CU has ever taken a set or more against UCLA. CU improved to 9-2 (1-1 Pac-12) with the win, while UCLA fell to 9-3 (0-2 Pac-12).
“This is the most exciting night I have been a part of here, not just because of the victory, but because of the effort on the court and what the administration did [as far as marketing goes] to pack this place,” coach Liz Kritza said. “It was really a significant night for our program to be able to take out the No. 11-ranked team in the country in front of a crowd like this on our home court. It’s a milestone for our program. Excitement doesn’t do it justice.”
This was the first win for the Buffs over a ranked team since 2008 when they defeated No. 2 Nebraska in four sets (25-19, 27-25, 18-25, 25-16), snapping a 41-match losing streak to ranked opponents.
“I couldn’t be more proud about how we came back tonight,” Kritza said. “I like that these kids have guts, they’re fearless, and most importantly that they play different roles even when I am subbing people in and out. They all get the focuses and the purposes, that’s why we are able to do that, because we are a good team.”
“It’s so exciting to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson said about the win. “It’s so awesome that I can’t put it in words. I can’t wait to see what we do with the rest of the season.”
Simpson led the Buffs with 15 kills and both Nikki Lindow and Neira Ortiz Ruiz hammered 14 kills each. Lindow had a monster game as she also added a career-high 12 blocks, which tied the fourth best in CU history and hit a team-high .464 with just one error on 28 swings.
Kelsey English and Kerra Schroeder each had eight kills in the victory. English had three block assists and Schroeder helped defensively with 11 digs. Simpson also earned her fifth double-double this season with 15 digs and added six blocks. Nicole Edelman handed out a career-best 56 assists and added four kills and 12 digs. Cierra Simpson also came up with 15 digs in the victory.
As a team, the Buffs recorded 69 kills and hit .211 while UCLA had 66 kills and hit .169. The Buffs also out-blocked UCLA 17.0-12.0 and had the slight edge in digs (72-71).
“What’s even better is that we showed some serious teamwork tonight.” Lindow said. “It was the most calm feeling I have ever had on the court. We had confidence in our eyes and no question on how to handle this game even in the fourth set. It was the greatest feeling I have ever felt while being a part of this team.”
The Bruins had two players with 18 kills each, Mariana Aquino and Karsta Lowe. Karly Drolson led the Bruins with a career-high 23 digs and Zoe Nightingale recorded a team-high nine blocks.
Colorado played a very close set with the Bruins despite falling behind 12-6 to start the game. CU came back to tie the score at 20-20 and from that point, it was a back and forth battle to the end. The Buffs fought off four UCLA set points before the Bruins were able to put together two straight points to take the frame 29-27. CU had 19 kills in the set and hit .233 while UCLA recorded 14 kills and hit .286.
The Buffs used the momentum they gained from the end of the first set and pounced on UCLA, taking a 9-6 lead in the second set. The Buffs were hot and continued to add to their lead, going up 20-12. The Bruins didn’t have an answer and CU easily finished the set 25-15. The Buffs hit .233 in the set and held the Bruins to -.024.
UCLA took the advantage to start the third set (7-3), but the Buffs rallied back to even the score with a 4-0 run (7-7). The Buffs took their first lead of the set at 11-10 with a kill from Ortiz Ruiz and added to their lead with a 6-2 run to take a 17-12 advantage. UCLA got back within two points at 19-17 and tied the score two points later.
After a CU timeout, the Bruins took the lead back with a kill (20-19), but Taylor Simpson answered for the Buffs with her own kill (20-20). The score was tied again at 21-21 before UCLA went up 24-22. CU fought off two set points with kills from Lindow and Taylor Simpson to tie the set again (24-24). This time the Bruins used a timeout and took the first two points out of the break to win the set 26-24.
UCLA got out to a 12-2 lead in the fourth set. CU started to come back slowly and forced the Bruins to take a timeout at 12-6 after four straight points. After the break, the Buffs added three straight points to bring the score to 12-9 and completed the comeback by tying the score at 15-15. CU went ahead for the first time in the set at 18-17 after a huge block from English and Taylor Simpson. The Buffs took a two-point lead at 22-20 to force UCLA to call its final timeout of the set, after which CU would go up 24-21 on the Bruins. UCLA fought off the first two set points (24-23), which made CU spend a timeout. Out of the break, Ortiz Ruiz finished the set with a kill (25-23).
The fifth set was another battle for the two teams. CU took an 8-7 lead at the side-change and went up 9-7. After a quick UCLA break, the Buffs added to their lead, going up 11-8. The Bruins weren’t just going to go away and snatched the following two points, forcing CU to take a timeout. Lindow hammered a kill to give the Buffs a two-point cushion (12-10). UCLA took the following point, but the Buffs didn’t get discouraged and were able to finish the set and the match 15-12. CU hit .625 in the final set with 10 kills and no errors on 16 attacks.
“I do want to say thank you to State Farm, they sponsored this match,” Kritza said. “It was a significant contribution. It was a great atmosphere for our players. They got a bunch of tickets out to the community. It’s one of the best matches I have seen here for volleyball in the Coors Event Center. Thanks to the fans and to State Farm. I also have to give kudos to my assistant coaches for preparing this team and making good adjustments when needed.”
The Buffs will be back in action on Tuesday, October 1 with a contest against Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. at 5 p.m.
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