Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
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Iowa State
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| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 25 | 37 | 62 |
| Iowa State | 30 | 38 | 68 |
Buffs Fall To No. 7 Iowa State In Season Opener
November 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When he agreed to play a top 10 team in the season opener, Colorado basketball coach Tad Boyle said he did so because he wanted to get some answers early in the season about his team.
Boyle got some answers Friday afternoon. Matched against No. 7 Iowa State, the Buffs played the Cyclones tough down to the end before finally dropping a 68-62 decision at the Sanford Pentagon.
"I love this team," Boyle said after the game. "Our guys battled. I know this group is going to be a resilient bunch. But in the end, we're not interested in just being in the game late. We want to win these."
The Buffs trailed 30-25 af the half, one that saw both teams put together mini-runs, and neither squad ever build a bigger lead than five
But after CU's Josh Scott scored the first bucket of the second half, the Cyclones caught fire and raced to a 14-point lead, 43-29, with 13:21 left in the game. The Cyclones fueled the run off turnovers — the Buffs committed 18 miscues on the night — and a powerful inside game for which the Buffs had no answer.
"We've got to be smarter with the ball," Boyle said. "Our defense wasn't what it needs to be and our rebounding wasn't what it needs to be."
But the Buffs did produce some solid 3-point shooting, which helped them back in the game. Immediately after Georges Niang hit a free throw to give ISU its 14-point edge, the Buffs reeled off an 11-0 run, boosted by a pair of 3-pointers from George King and another from Dominique Collier to narrow the Cyclone lead to 43-40 with just over 11 minutes to play.
King, coming off a redshirt season, finished with a team-high 14 points — including four 3-pointers — and had six rebounds. Collier, the sophomore point guard, had 13 points with three 3-pointers, but also had six of CU's 18 turnovers.
But just as soon as the Buffs closed the gap to three, the Cyclones bumped it back to eight, again taking advantage of a pair of Buff turnovers. Colorado managed to cut the deficit to four again several times down the stretch, but could never completely close the gap.
Scott finished with an 11-point 11-rebound double-double, but endured a 5-for-16 night from the field.
For Iowa State, Niang tallied 17 points, Abdel Nader added 14, Naz Mitrou-Long chipped in 13 and Monte Morris scored 12.
Iowa State scored 16 points off CU's 18 turnovers while the Buffs converted 12 ISU turnovers into eight points. The biggest difference came in the paint, where Iowa State rang up a 52-24 edge.
“You've got to take care of the ball when you have it,” Boyle said. “We didn't defend great and we didn't rebound great (ISU held a 43-38 edge on the boards), but I also think we missed some shots that we will normally make.”
Indeed, Scott suffered through a rough shooting night, hitting just two of his first 11 shots. Fellow frontliner Wesley Gordon, meanwhile, was just 2-for-7 from the field.
But the Buffs did a solid job against Niang, a consensus preseason All-America pick. Niang had just four rebounds to go with his 17 points, and did not hit a 3-pointer all night.
“For the most part, I thought we did a pretty good job defending him,” Boyle said.
The Buffs will finish their two-game road trip Tuesday when the play at Auburn in a 1 p.m. nationally televised contest (ESPN).
“This is a game we can build on,” Boyle said. “This is an opportunity we're going to wish we had back later this season.”
The game started slowly, with both teams missing their first four shots. The Buffs finally got on the board first on a Gordon basket inside before a Collier 3-pointer gave CU a 5-0 lead with 16:50 left in the half.
ISU, however reeled off a 10-0 run, and at the halfway mark of the half, the Buffs trailed 10-5.
While Scott continued to struggle from the floor — he hit just 1 of 9 field goal tries in the first 20 minutes — he helped keep the Buffs in the game with seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Colorado finally ended a 6 minute, 30-second scoring drought when Scott his his only basket of the first half. The Buffs then kept the Cyclones within range, and finally took the lead again, 17-16, on a Tre'Shaun Fletcher 3-pointer. The two teams then traded the lead several times before a King trey put the Buffs up 25-22 with 3:15 left in the half.
That, though, was the last time Colorado scored, as the Cyclones scored eight unanswered points to end the half and take a 30-25 lead into the locker room at intermission.
