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.”
Boulder’s Caring Community: Rock Creek Church
Jan 10th
Mr. Roth approached BOHO to see how he could help in November of 2011. When he realized that our guests had to travel several miles from East Arapahoe early on Sunday morning, when RTD service is not available, he found his niche.
Seventh Day Baptist Church, at 6710 Arapahoe, opens an emergency warming center for BOHO guests on Saturday nights. At seven A.M. every Sunday morning, most of our guests head into central Boulder to take refuge from the cold in public buildings. A Mapquest search indicates it is almost five miles from the church to the public library – a long walk any time of day, but a tremendous trek through the cold and snow with a heavy backpack in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Through Mr. Roth’s vision and the work of church volunteers, our guests no longer face that Sunday morning ritual. A group of vans from the Rock Creek church started arriving at Seventh Day Baptist and driving into Boulder until everyone at the shelter was transported.
“They make sure nobody is left behind” said Mike Homner, a BOHO board member and volunteer at the centers. “That is their philosophy.”
This year, in addition to this transportation service, Rock Creek became an overflow site for Seventh Day Baptist Church, using it’s van pool on Saturday nights to transport guests to their location in Louisville. They then transport them back on Sunday morning and maintain their trips into central Boulder for all who need it.
Through a flotilla of volunteers, burritos, coffee, hot chocolate and granola bars are served to our guests in the morning before they face the next twelve hours of cold weather without the protection of a home.
“Tucker Roth is one of the most caring persons I have ever met.” Homer said.
Rock Creek Church is located at 225 Majestic View Drive, Louisville, CO,
From BOHO Buzz
Demand for Shelter Soars in Boulder
Jan 10th
Although our Fall weather was mild at times this year, we have had an unbroken sequence of severely cold and even stormy nights for over a month. BOHO’s EWC guests, homeless residents of Boulder, would not have had safe, warm and legal sleeping, as the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless has operated at or near capacity so far this season.
As we look ahead, we expect to provide EWCs virtually every night for another nine or ten weeks of harsh Winter weather. We have honed and polished our practices, and built up our reserves, trained our volunteers, and worked with the many congregations who provide facilities and support. We’ll still need your help as this time goes forward, providing a shelter safety net for the safety net to Boulder’s homeless residents.
Your support and donations have provided safe, warm and legal sleeping to BOHO’s EWC guests. There are more guests being served every night this year; the needs of the poor are increasing. Thank you for helping us to provide the fundamental human need of a safe, warm shelter for sleeping.
From BOHO BUZZ