Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Fort Lewis
Buffs Pull Away From Skyhawks For 95-71 Win
December 02, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tad Boyle warned the Colorado Buffaloes that Fort Lewis would not be impressed by either the Buffs' record or the names on their uniforms.
It took the Buffs 20 minutes of basketball Wednesday night to realize Boyle wasn't exaggerating. The Skyhawks matched the Buffs blow for blow in the first half and continued to make life uncomfortable for CU for much of the second before Colorado finally pulled away down the stretch for an 95-71 win.
CU senior Josh Scott finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, his third double-double of the season and 26th of his career. Tre'Shaun Fletcher finished with 13 points and a career-high seven assists, Josh Fortune had 17 points and six assists and Wesley Gordon chipped in 10 rebounds and eight points.
"You've got to give credit to Fort Lewis," Boyle said after the game. "This is their Super Bowl. They came in loose and free and with nothing to lose, and they played like it."
While it wasn't the 6-1 Buffs' prettiest performance of the season — at least for a half —  it was nevertheless their sixth straight victory, setting the stage for a noon contest Sunday at Colorado State (Root Sports) — a game that's no doubt on the Buffs' minds.
"We have an unbelievable challenge on Sunday," Boyle said. "CSU is a very, very good team."
The Skyhawks gave the Buffs a glimpse of what they expect to see Sunday in Fort Collins — a good outside-shooting squad that can hit from just about anywhere on the floor. Fort Lewis connected on 17 of its 31 field goal attempts in the first half Wednesday (55 percent), including a 7-for-13 effort from 3-point range that left the Buffs with a narrow 46-44 edge at halftime.
"They made some tough shots," Scott said. "But I also think that we aided in allowing them to feel comfortable and allowing them to get off to a good start. When you let a team like that think they can play with you, they are going to keep shooting and feel good. It was just a matter of contesting them, and we knew they eventually would stop falling."
Indeed, a more active CU defense cooled the Skyhawks down considerably in the second half. Fort Lewis hit just 33 percent of its shots after halftime (10-for-30), including just four 3-pointers.
"I thought defensively we did a much better job getting around screens and being aware of the ball in the second half," Boyle said. "It was a hard-fought win, but credit Fort Lewis — they played well."
The Buffs, meanwhile, cranked up their offense another notch and finally built a cushion the Skyhawks couldn't overcome. A Fletcher 3-pointer put the Buffs up by 13 at the 10:57 mark and the Skyhawks never cut the edge below double digits again. Colorado finally put the game away with a 14-2 run, capped by a Thomas Akyazili 3-pointer, that built the lead to 89-67 with just 3:34 left in the game.
Joshua Blaylock led the 5-1 Skyhawks with 13 points and Kofi Josephs add 11.
The Buffs finished the game with a season-high 23 assists and just 11 turnovers, a ratio Boyle was pleased to see. Along with seven assists from Fletcher and six from Fortune, the Buffs also received four from point guard Dominique Collier.
"When we have 23 assists and share the ball the way we did tonight, we're a fun team to watch and a hard team to prepare for," Boyle said. "If we can continue to play that way offensively and find an identity on defense, this team is scary good — but we're not there yet."
After falling behind 5-0 early, the Buffs put together a 17-0 run and threatened to blow the game open early. But almost before the late-arriving crowd could settle into their seats, the Skyhawks came back with a 16-4 burst that knotted the game at 21, and from that point until intermission, the Buffs couldn't shake the Skyhawks.
"Some of it was Fort Lewis making shots and some of it was us giving them open looks," Boyle said. "Our perimeter guys are trying."
Scott, who actually notched his double-double by halftime with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, noted that the Buffs' competition isn't going to get any easier.
"Honestly, it's one of those things where we have to get better," Scott said. "We have to get better out there because we are going to play better guards than what we played tonight."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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