Brooks: Buffs Ride Scott, Gordon And Ramped Up 'D' Past Rams

FORT COLLINS – Tad Boyle has said at various times over the past month that to realize their potential and find success, his Colorado Buffaloes needed to realize where "their bread is buttered."

That would be with front-courters Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon – and in Sunday afternoon's second half in raucous, occasionally crude Moby Arena, the Buffs' bread was slathered with the Scott/Gordon spread.

This was high-priced stuff, not a bargain bin item, the inside stuff that potential NCAA Tournament teams are made of. Scott craved this game maybe like none other of the Buffs' previous seven; in last season's meeting with Colorado State in Boulder, he didn't make a field goal and finished with two points in a 62-60 CU loss.

"I remember thinking last year when that game was over I can't wait until this year," he said. "All that hard work paid off for us."

And as for Gordon, Scott's sidekick from Colorado Springs, his inspiration came from . . . . With Wes who knows? He's as unpredictable as Front Range weather.

His defense, rebounding and shot-blocking abilities usually are unquestioned, but he's been something of an offensive enigma who nonetheless can dazzle when the mood strikes him – such as it did in Sunday's second half.

With the Buffs trailing 52-39 at halftime, Scott, Gordon and their good friends who play guard quickly asserted themselves. Scott's and Gordon's second-half numbers: 25 combined points, 17 combined rebounds. In the second 20 minutes, Scott scored 13 points and had 7 boards, Gordon contributed 12 and 10, respectively. Their full-game totals: Scott 21 points and 11 rebounds, Gordon 15 points and 12 boards.

"When your two bigs have double-doubles," said Boyle, "that's pretty good."

CONSIDER THE INSIDE BREAD BUTTERED, but the Buffs' bigs had ample help. This was what coaches like to call a team thing. And OK, it was only one afternoon of work but it was the second of the season on the road – Auburn being the first – when CU overcame a double-digit deficit and won.

Down by 13 at the half, Scott and Gordon were close to being innocent bystanders in the first half as the Rams drained trey after trey (7-of-10 in the first 20 minutes) and made – by Boyle's count – seven layups. And you have to understand this: Boyle might opt for having fingernails pulled with pliers rather than seeing his defense allow layups. But for the first 20 minutes, the Rams nearly did whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.

But halftime brought what probably was a come-to-Tad moment for anyone in the CU locker room. Defense was, ah, stressed, with Boyle explaining later, "I asked our staff pretty directly and vehemently at halftime what suggestions they had defensively because I didn't have any answers. What we were doing wasn't working."

So the suggestion was made "to come out and switch one through five (and) that slowed them down," Boyle said, adding that if the Buffs were going down it would be by "contested two-point shots in the lane – not threes . . . our big guys did a good job of making their guards make tough shots and our guards did a good job of fronting the post. When we switched – Dom (Collier), Thomas (Akyazili) and Xavier Talton were down there battling. Tiel Daniels (6-7, 234) is a beast. We wanted to make him score and not let (Gian) Clavell and (John) Gillon torch us like they did in the first half."

That didn't happen. The Buffs shut down the Rams' 3-point shooters (5-of-13 for the second half) and saddled up – maybe buttered up? – Scott and Gordon. In the final 20 minutes, CSU was outscored 28-2 in the paint.

It was far from that in the first half. After starting the game with three consecutive treys and taking an eight-point lead (10-2), the Buffs saw the first half slowly slip away from them. Most of that slippage came courtesy of the Rams' long-distance shooting, but they also outscored the Buffs in the paint 20-12.

If a dramatic second-half turnaround didn't happen, the Buffs were destined for a somber bus ride back to Boulder. So how about an 15-1 run to open the half – with the exclamation point a 3-pointer by Gordon, who opened the second-half scoring with his first trey in the first seven games. And get this: He had attempted just one other from beyond the arc since Game 1.

But timing is everything, and at the time of Gordon's second triple the Buffs were desperate. It pulled them to 53-50, and 2 minutes later – after layups by Josh Fortune and George King – CU had its first lead (54-53) since 12-11.

CU's floodgates were open and it might have been impossible for Scott to savor the moment any more. Maybe Boyle as well. Fortune saw it later. "Yeah, this being (Scott's) last time playing them, he wanted to win so bad," Fortune said. "We all wanted to win, but then Coach Boyle and Josh wanted to win the most. They're Colorado residents and they wanted it."

I ASKED SCOTT IF SUNDAY'S GAME carried a bit more meaning than any of CU's previous seven games this season. He answered, "In a way, yes. I've made my opinions clear that it means a lot to win against CSU. Last year we didn't have a very good taste in our mouths when they came in and beat us at our house. This year we came in here and came out with a win. I'm really happy, obviously."

Since signing on in the same CU recruiting class, Scott has been a big believer in Gordon's offense – although glimpses of it sometimes have seemed rare. Asked whether Gordon's trey to open the second half stunned him, Scott said it didn't: "Wesley can shoot it. Last year I remember yelling at him that you have to shoot it. You can shoot.

"I think you're going to see a more aggressive Wesley this year in general. People won't be ready for it and it's going to work to our benefit . . . he has the ability to make us go from a good team to a great team. It's just Wes. He's super-talented – that's what he's capable of and probably even more."

Gordon said his first 3-pointer ratcheted up his comfort level and boosted confidence in his jump shot. "It felt pretty good to see the ball go in," he said. "It opened up opportunities for me and show in my mind that I can go out and there's no reason for me to be non-confident in my jumper and my offensive game."

Was Scott's assessment of his buddy's potential correct, and was this a glimpse of the Gordon to come? "Yeah, that's what I've been hearing a lot," Gordon said with a laugh. "I have to stay aggressive on offense and not let missed shots affect me."

He and these Buffs have shown that they won't let a lot affect them. Sunday's win – like the one at Auburn – showed Boyle that his sixth CU team is well-stocked with "resolve and toughness."

He knows those are non-coachable traits, a pair of intangibles that coaches love to see in November and December. There's no reason to believe they'll disappear before Pac-12 play begins in January. In fact, wins like Sunday's will only underscore them.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU