Colorado
2-1
Portland
1-2
Brooks: Buffs Cruise To 85-63 Win In 2015-16 Home Opener
November 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – Three games and two wins into a basketball season might be too early to fret about handling success, but that's one of Tad Boyle's observations about his Colorado Buffaloes.
He saw his team falter at times Friday night in its 85-63 home-opening rout of Portland at the Coors Events Center, and he laid partial blame for the erratic play on perhaps the Buffs feeling too good about themselves too soon.
But there might good reasons for that, starting with what Boyle calls "that three-headed monster at the wing."
The monster reared all of its heads Friday night. George King led all scorers with 18 points -- he's been CU's leading scorer in all three games – while Josh Fortune and Tre'Shaun Fletcher added 17 each. Josh Scott rounded out the Buffs' double-digit foursome with 13 points.
"I don't really care about scoring honestly," said King, who nonetheless is averaging 19.2 points a game. "I attacked when I had the opportunities. I don't think I shot the ball well (5-of-12 from the field). They fouled me and I made free throws (7-of-8) . . . I'm not really happy with myself with this game."
Fletcher had a near-perfect shooting night from the field, with his 7-of-8 field goals including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He was 0-for-1 from the free throw line.
Fortune's stat line was the best of his short CU career. In addition to his 17 points, he collected a game-best 14 rebounds and dished out a team-high six assists.
Fortune, who sat out last season after transferring from Providence, said the depth provided by him, King and Fletcher can make the Buffs "great in the long run . . . we can play all 40 minutes and play hard for all 40 minutes. We can be good."
The "three-headed monster's" totals: 52 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists. Boyle's "dilemma" – a sweet one, he knows – isn't so much who to start as who should have the most minutes.
"Right now it's a rotation thing," Boyle said, noting that Fletcher and Fortune will open on Sunday against Nebraska-Omaha (noon, Pac-12 Networks). "It's not about who starts, it's who plays (well)."
Not only is Boyle seeing a bigger picture, he's seeing a different CU team – different from any he's had in his previous five seasons in Boulder.
"This is an entirely different team from any year here," he said. "This team can be great, but this team needs everyone to be great. (It) has the highest upside of any we've had here, but it's not going to happen overnight."
And, he added, "It's got to be a 40-minute thing, not a 20-minute thing."
CU (2-1) left its third game with plenty to improve on. The Buffs committed 18 turnovers but balanced that with 19 assists on 29 made field goals, with Boyle really liking the assist total. After an erratic first 20 minutes they opened the second half with a 20-7 run to push aside the Pilots (1-2).
"I'm not sure this team is a team that's learned to handle success," Boyle said. "We have to understand we're playing with and for each other."
Once that happens, Boyle believes there's no ceiling for the Buffs, who might have basked a bit too much Friday night in their eight-point first-half leads and dismissed defending the Pilots on the perimeter.
The result: A 13-2 run that enabled Portland to catch and pass CU before the Buffs recovered and regained their defensive intensity. Fletcher said Boyle "told us to pick it up on defense because they were shooting 40-something percent from the 3-point line.
"That was something we struggled with last year. That was definitely an emphasis we wanted to carry over and be better at this year. We started guarding the 3-point line and outrebounding (Portland). Those are the two things we wanted to do to expand those leads we get."
That done, the Buffs were off and running – as long as they were defending. Ask D'Marques Tyson about being defended. Tyson led the Pilots with 12 points, but he got all of them in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
He missed his four trey attempts in the second half and finished as the only Portland player in double figures. The Pilots' 53.8 percentage from long range in the first half dipped to 21.4 in the second. Â Â Â
Leading 42-35 at the half, CU effectively took over the night by outscoring Portland 20-7 in the second half's first 71/2 minutes to go ahead 62-42. CU increased its lead to 22 with 6:39 to play.
The Buffs played a disjointed first half, taking an early eight-point lead on three occasions then lapsing defensively – especially at the perimeter – and allowing the Pilots to roar back. If CU thought its eight-point leads were safe, think again. And again.
Averaging just over a dozen 3-pointers a game, Portland hit more than half that total (seven) in the first half, with four of the treys sparking the 13-2 run that sent the Pilots up 24-21 with 8:54 left in the half.
The Buffs got the message, either from Boyle or themselves – but probably from both sources. After a trey by Tyson tied the score at 28-28 CU turned up its defensive intensity.
A tip-dunk by Tory Miller started an 11-2 run that featured two layups by Fortune off of steals and produced a 39-30 lead in the half's final 2 minutes. Getting to the rim more than they had in the previous 6 minutes, the Buffs got another pair of layups from Thomas Akyazili and Xavier Talton before going to their locker room.
CU closed the half with nine turnovers and the same number of assists, but shooting 50 percent (15-of-30). Portland survived its 15 first-half turnovers by shooting 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc.
The Pilots scored the first four points of the second half to creep to within 42-39, but the Buffs answered with a 3-pointer from Dom Collier, a three-point play by Scott, a Scott jumper from the top of the key and a layup by King to go up 54-39 with just under 16 minutes remaining.
CU was just getting started and Portland was about to be finished.
Contact:Â BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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