Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
7-4
Cal State Northridge
4-7
Buffs Say 'Ole' to Matadors in Runaway Win
December 22, 2009 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - As non-conference play trickles toward a conclusion, Jeff Bzdelik continues to call for more intensity and consistency from his Colorado men's basketball team.
Call it an early Christmas present, but he received a nice dose of each - plus some fairly impressive three-point shooting - in his team's 92-58 victory over Cal State Northridge on Tuesday night.
"I'm very pleased . . . we need to keep getting better and continue to totally sell out to one another in what we do," Bzdelik said, citing the Buffaloes' unselfishness (27 assists on 32 baskets), five players in double figures, and the better defensive positioning that has been stressed since CU's last outing - a 77-62 loss at Colorado State on Dec. 10.
Improving to 7-4 and staying perfect (6-0) in the Coors Events Center this season, the Buffs recorded season-highs in points, three-pointers attempted (25) and steals (15). Their 10 treys made were second to the 11 hit against Colorado Christian earlier this month.
Senior Dwight Thorne II, coming off the bench for the first time in 10 games, led CU with 19 points. Freshman Alec Burks and junior Cory Higgins added 14 each, with junior Marcus Relphorde contributing 13 and sophomore Austin DuFault 12.
Higgins also was his team's main delivery man, recording a career-best eight assists. Seven came in the first half as the Buffs opened a 41-21 lead at intermission and effectively buried the Matadors.
Thorne called his team's intensity "the best all year" and said the Buffs approached the sort of full 40-minute effort Bzdelik has coveted.
"If we continue to do those things, we're going to be hard to beat," Thorne said, adding he maintained his focus although he didn't start.
"Coach said he was going to make some changes . . . I guess I was the change," Thorne said. "I was just going to take it like a grown man and do what I had to do."
But Bzdelik downplayed the importance of starting, saying Thorne "responded great . . . it's not about who starts."
CU is off until Dec. 29, when Yale visits the Events Center. Counting that contest, three games remain until Big 12 Conference play begins on Jan. 9 at No. 2 Texas. The Buffs are at Tulsa on Jan. 2, then returns to Boulder on Jan. 5 to play Miami (Ohio).
Mainly on the strength of seven three-pointers and a pair of conventional three-point plays, CU opened its 20-point halftime lead and put Cal State Northridge on the ropes.
But if there was a highlight reel in the making, three plays by Burks belonged on it.
The first was a thunderous dunk on an alley oop pass from Higgins that appeared to be well out of Burks' reach. Nonetheless, he skied, caught it and slammed it in one motion, bringing the appropriate "oohs" and "ahhs" from the Events Center crowd.
A couple of minutes later, with Matadors guard Vinnie McGhee fast breaking from the right wing for an apparent uncontested layup, Burks flew in from the left side and slapped away McGhee's shot.
Cue the "oohs" and "ahhs" once more.
Then, Higgins spied Burks cutting to the basket once more and delivered a bounce pass. Burks took it in stride and slammed it.
Repeat the sounds effects.
Said Burks: "It was an up-and-down game . . . I got to show my athleticism to the fans."
He finished the half with 11 points, four rebounds and an assist.
CU forced Cal State Northridge, which features 10 junior college transfers on its 15-man roster, into 15 first-half turnovers while committing 11.
The Buffs finished with 32 points off the Matadors' 26 total turnovers and outscored the visitors 34-18 in the paint.
Of the Buffs' 14 first-half field goals, half were treys, with three of them coming on consecutive possessions (Nate Tomlinson hit two, Thorne one) and enabling them to go up 17-3 with 13:05 before intermission.
CU's biggest first-half lead came following a trey by DuFault that opened a 41-19 advantage with 1:03 left.
The Matadors, winless (0-3) in true road games this season, steadily fell behind in the second half as the Buffs kept up their defensive pressure. The visitors trailed by 32 points (78-46) with just under 5:00 left and by 35 (92-57) in the final minute.
Bzdelik said his team benefited over the last three days from having finished semester final exams and being able to concentrate solely on basketball.
 Now, a holiday break awaits. The Buffs will take the next three days off before returning on Dec. 26 "ready to rock and roll," Bzdelik said.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
