Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Nicholls State (Las Vegas Classic)
Buffs Thunder Past Hampton For 10th Straight Win
December 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes played like head coach Tad Boyle expected them to Saturday night against Hampton.
One night after they struggled to produce a win over lightly regarded Nicholls State, the Buffs were a different team. They shared the ball, played defense and attacked the boards in one of their most dominant efforts of the year.
The result was a 95-53 victory for their 10th straight win, setting the table for a trip to Las Vegas, where the competition will be decidedly tougher. The Buffs play Penn State on Tuesday in an 8:30 p.m. game at Orleans Arena, then either SMU or Kent State the following night in another 8:30 p.m. game (Fox Sports 1).
"I wish they could all be like that," Boyle said after Saturday's game. "Good team victory. We really shared it offensively, we hit our defensive numbers and our rebounding numbers. It's good momentum and a feel-good victory as we head to Las Vegas. We know what's ahead of us."
The only bad news from the evening was a knee injury to starting forward Wesley Gordon. Boyle said Gordon banged his knee twice in the same spot and was taken in for precautionary X-rays, and expressed hope that the injury won't require much more than "ice and rest."
The Buffs will need Gordon back as soon as possible, as there are no more cupcakes on their menu. After Las Vegas, they'll take a couple days off for Christmas, then begin preparation for Pac-12 play, when they open the conference schedule with a pair of games on the road — Jan. 1 at Cal and Jan. 3 at Stanford.
"Every game from here on in is going to be a big-time opponent, big-time atmosphere," Boyle said. "We know our margin for error goes way down given where we are on our schedule. But our guys rise to the occasion."
Saturday night, they certainly did that, making sure the game was not in doubt after the first few minutes. Colorado led by 11 points midway through the first half, by 17 at intermission, and then continued to build on the margin in the second half. The CU lead hit 20 early in the second half for the second time in the game, then 30 and finally reached into the 40s over the final few minutes. The only drama left over the final two minutes was whether the Buffs would hit the century mark, which they missed by just five points.
Along with the scoreboard, the Buffs dominated virtually every statistical category. Colorado won the rebound battle 52-37, shot 47.7 percent from the field and had 23 assists and just six turnovers.
Buff big man Josh Scott finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists, his fifth straight game with at least 20 points. Sophomore Tory Miller came off the bench to score a career high 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for his second career double-double (first of the season), sophomore George King had 12 points and five rebounds and sophomore point guard Dominique Collier had a game-high eight assists to go with 10 points and four rebounds.
"We defended, we rebounded," Scott said. "That team is probably going to do pretty well in their league. For us to come out, especially after the performance we had last night, speaks volumes about this group, not to come out flat."
After trading the lead with Hampton the first few possessions, CU took a 6-4 lead on a Collier 3-pointer and never trailed again. A Scott dunk and free throw at the 11:22 mark pushed the Buffs' edge into double digits, 23-12, and a Thomas Akyazili free throw pushed the edge to 20, 42-22, with just more than a minute to play.
The Pirates scored the last five points of the half, but CU entered the locker room with a comfortable 42-25 edge, then dominated the second half.
The Buffs went up by 20 at the 17:26 mark on King 3-pointer, then by 31 on a Tre'Shaun Fletcher layup with 12:16 remaining. They finally pushed the margin to 40 on a Collier layup with 6:20 remaining, and Boyle took the opportunity to make sure all 14 players in uniform got some playing time.
GREAT SCOTT: Scott now has 77 double-figure scoring games in his career, and led the Buffs in scoring for the sixth time this season. He's just one of three players in the country to average at least 18 points, nine rebounds and shoot at least 60 percent from the field.
NOTABLE: The weekend games were the first time CU had hosted games on consecutive days in more than 21 years. The last time CU played at home on back-to-back nights was in the 1994-95 Mile High Classic, when the Buffs beat Eastern Washington on Dec. 2 and Hofstra on Dec. 3. … The Buffs' 95 points tied their season high, matching their total against Fort Lewis. … CU has won 31 of its last 32 nonconference games in Boulder. … The Buffs have now assured themselves of finishing the nonconference season unbeaten at home and on the road. Their only loss — the season opener vs. ISU — was a neutral floor game, as are their remaining two nonconference affairs. … CU's six turnovers were a season low. … Kenan Guzonjic had a career high in three categories: eight points, five rebounds and nine minutes of playing time.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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