CU men lose to Golden Bears, throwing NCAA bid in doubt
Mar 3rd
CU, ranked fifth in the Pac-12 Conference going into Saturday’s game, falls to 19-9 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12. The third-ranked Golden Bears, winning their seventh consecutive game, improved to 20-9 overall and 12-5.
Colorado struggled offensively Saturday with a season low in points, field goals made (15) and field goal shooting percentage (23.1). Freshman forward Xavier Johnson was the only CU player in double figures with 14 total points. Freshman Josh Scott returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. He scored four points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Cal’s Justin Cobbs and Tyrone Wallace scored 16 points each, while David Kravish added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Wallace also hauled down 11 boards.
“We didn’t have one guy offensively make a shot tonight, but you have to credit Cal, they man-handled us,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “Our first shot defense was pretty good but those second-chance shots were tough.”
The Buffs came into Saturday’s matchup looking to smother guard Allen Crabbe, the leading scorer in the Pac-12 at more than 18 points per game. But when Crabbe recorded his third personal foul with 5:11 remaining in the half, he took to the bench.
An improving Cal team executed offensively without its star scorer, though. The Golden Bears went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to go up 22-15, and while senior guard Sabatino Chen hit a three to end the half on an energetic note, the Buffs were still down four (24-20) at intermission.
The Golden Bears held the Buffs to just 26 percent shooting in the first half, CU’s worst first-half field goal percentage this season, and the Buffs’ 20 first-half points tied a season low recorded earlier this season at Washington.
Much of CU’s shooting woes came from a failure to capitalize off of Cal turnovers, as CU had a +2 turnover margin going into halftime, but had five fewer points off of turnovers than its opponent.
The Buffs found some energy out of the locker room, closing the gap back to two on a Xavier Johnson trey with 14:16 left in the game. Cal responded, though, with an 8-3 run over the next five minutes capped by a SC Top-10-worthy dunk by guard Tyrone Wallace.
Cal had widened its gap to nine by the 5:32 mark — and with a final shooting percentage of 23.1 from the field, the Buffs’ comeback attempt came nowhere close. By the final buzzer, CU was down 16 for a 62-46 loss.
“Cal wasn’t this Cal when they came to Boulder a month ago,” said Boyle, whose team won the first meeting 81-71. “So they’ve improved We were the best defensive team in the league for a stretch there but these guys have overtaken us and you can see why.”
CU returns to the Coors Events Center next weekend for its final two regular season matchups, against No. 24 Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Oregon State on Saturday (2:30 p.m.).
Boyle called Saturday’s contest “a big time game and we didn’t answer the bell. But it wasn’t because of our lack of effort and we can’t get too down on ourselves. We have two big games at home to finish out the season.”
At 12-4 in the Pac-12, the Ducks currently hold the top spot in the conference, while the Beavers are ranked 11th at 3-13.
CU women’s tennis loses another close one as PAC-12 play begins
Mar 3rd
Recent close game losses haven’t dimmed the coaches enthusiasm for her team. Colorado tennis team fell 4-3 to Princeton on Saturday.
“After seven hours, we lost a close one 4-3 to Princeton,” CU head coach Nicole Kenneally said after the match. “It came down to the wire. I couldn’t be more proud of our players. They really left it out there, and I think if you look at the scores, you’re going to see that we really gave it our best effort as a team today. I believe that in matches like this, obviously we’ve had a lot of close 4-3 losses, this team is going to grow stronger, and they’re going to get better from it. We’re going to get the better side of it at some point. As long as we keep going and keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep putting ourselves in position to take one. I believe this group will do that, and it’s just a matter of time.”
The Buffaloes take a 5-5 record into Pac-12 Conference play. CU is 1-1 all-time against Princeton and 1-1 against ranked teams this spring. Princeton holds a 5-2 record, with each of its losses coming against ranked opponents.
In what was a true marathon of a day, four singles matches were pushed to three sets, with two Buffs coming out victorious. Freshmen Dhany Quevedo and Mazy Watrous both fought off first set deficits to claim victories. After Quevedo dropped her first set against Katherine Flanigan 6-4, she lost only four games total for the remainder of the match to claim the win. Quevedo now has a 2-0 record when dropping the first set. Watrous shined against Emily Hahn for her second career win and her first victory in three sets. After falling 6-3 in the opening set, she dominated the rest of the match, 6-2, 6-1.
Julyette Steur stands out in the No. 1 singles position, defeating Lindsay Graff 6-4, 6-3. Steur leads the Buffs with 13 wins this season. She is on a four-match winning streak and has dropped just two matches this spring. All but one of her eight wins in the spring have been in straight sets.
The Buffs continue their home-stand by starting conference play. CU takes on Arizona in the conference opener at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 8 and Arizona State at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 10. Stay tuned to CUBuffs.com for location updates.
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