Colorado
1-1
Auburn
1-1
King, Scott Lift Buffs Past Auburn
November 17, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
AUBURN, Ala. — Colorado basketball fans who wondered where the Buffs' offense would come from this year — aside from big man Josh Scott — received their answer Tuesday afternoon.
Welcome back, George King.
CU's sophomore, who took a redshirt year last season after playing sparingly as a freshman, scored 27 points to go along with Scott's 24 to lift the Buffs to a come-from-behind 91-84 win at Auburn.
The victory evened the Buffs' record to 1-1, setting the stage nicely for Friday night's home opener vs. Portland (7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
King earned his first start as a Buff on the heels of a 14-point, six-rebound effort in the Buffs' season opening loss to Iowa State. Odds are, he earned another one with his game Tuesday.
"That's why I believe in redshirting," CU head coach Tad Boyle said after the game. "He's improved. He spent a lot of time working on his game. Now we get him three more years … I hope."
King, who also had seven rebounds, was by no means the only standout for the Buffs, who rallied from a 44-29 deficit late in the first half to take control in the second and collect the win.
Scott proved his poor shooting night in the season-opening loss to Iowa State was an aberration, hitting eight of his 10 field goal attempts and eight of his 10 free throws for his 24 points. The CU senior forward also had nine rebounds, three blocks and a pair of assists.
Sophomore point guard Dominique Collier, meanwhile, had eight points, five assists and a steal; and shooting guard Josh Fortune came off the bench to score 11 points, including a big 3-pointer in a 7-0 run midway through the second half that gave the Buffs a 66-60 lead, one they would never relinquish.
But there may have been no bigger 3-pointer in the game than King's trey with 8:54 left in the game. With the Buffs up by eight, Tory Miller blocked an Auburn shot and Collier grabbed the loose ball. Collier then found an open King on the wing in transition, and King's 3-pointer gave the Buffs an 11-point lead.
Auburn didn't close the gap to single digits again until the waning minutes, and the Buffs easily held the Tigers off down the stretch.
"They hit a bunch of shots early, but we kept battling," King said. "We handled the adversity and bounced back."
The Tigers did indeed hit "a bunch of shots" early. After Colorado jumped to an early 17-10 lead, the Tigers unleashed a 3-point barrage that ultimately produced a 44-29 lead. Kareem Canty had four treys in the run and Cinmeon Bowers and Tyler Harris each added one. Colorado managed to stay close early in the run, but the Tigers put together a 13-1 stretch that gave them a 44-29 lead with just four minutes to play in the half.
The Tigers were 8-for-11 from 3-point range at one point in the first half, but missed their last three attempts of the half, helping the Buffs get back in the game.
"We took their best shot, and I like the fact that we didn't go away," Boyle said. "We scratched and clawed our way back into it."
Indeed, the Buffs managed to put together their own run in the final minutes of the first half, putting together a 13-2 burst that cut Auburn's lead to 46-42 at intermission. King had eight points in the stretch, including a pair of 3-pointers, Xavier Talton added a 3-pointer and Scott scored off an offensive rebound.
"We talked about it at halftime," Boyle said. "We said they weren't going to keep shooting like that in the second half — and if they did, we'd go over and shake their hand."
Auburn did manage to keep the Buffs at bay for the first six minutes of the second half, but a technical foul on Tiger big man Horace Spencer spelled the beginning of the end for Auburn.
Spencer drew the whistle for spiking the ball after a big dunk that gave the Tigers a 58-55 lead. Scott hit both ensuing technical free throws and seconds later, Fortune hit two more free throws to give the Buffs a 59-58 lead — their first since a 17-15 edge early in the first half.
Auburn momentarily regained the lead, but Colorado scored the next seven points to go up 66-60 and never trailed again. Fortune had a step-back 3-pointer in the burst and Collier and Wesley Gordon (eight points, five rebounds) each had a pair of free throws.
From that point, the Buffs steadily built their lead and the Tigers never really threatened again.
Canty led Auburn with 24 points — 19 in the first half — and Tyler Harris added 23. Colorado outrebounded the Tigers, 38-30, and the Buffs shot 57 percent from the field (31-for-54).
Eight Buffs played at least 16 minutes in the game, depth that should prove valuable when they hit conference play.
"We had a lot of contributions in a lot of different ways," Boyle said.
While the Buffs' penchant for turnovers threatened to doom them again — they had 11 turnovers before intermission — they finished with 17, and four of those came in the final minutes, when Auburn went to a full-court press.
Collier, who had six turnovers in the opener, had just two Tuesday.
"Our players know how good he is," Boyle said. "Tonight it transformed into a win in a big-time road environment."
Friday night's home opener against Portland will the first of five consecutive home games for CU, with Nebraska-Omaha, Air Force, Northern Colorado and Fort Lewis also on the docket. CU then travels to Colorado State on Dec. 6 for a noon contest.
"We've still got a long ways to go," Boyle said. "But hopefully, this will be one of those games that will mean something at the end of the season."
CU officials announced Tuesday that $10 tickets will be available for Friday's home opener.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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