Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
12-13, 5-8
Oregon
19-8, 9-5
Buffs Rally But Can't Overtake Ducks In 73-60 Loss
February 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
EUGENE, Ore. – Another night of frigid shooting and overall inconsistency brought another night of frustration here Wednesday for the Colorado Buffaloes. Cutting a 20-point second-half deficit to five with 4:10 remaining, CU scored only two more points and lost 73-60 to Oregon at the Matthew Knight Arena.
A 24-4 Oregon run midway through the first half put CU behind 39-22 at halftime and the Buffs (12-13, 5-8) never caught up. The Ducks (19-8, 9-5) had lost four straight to the Buffs, who dropped to 1-8 on the road, with the eight losses the most since nine in the 2010-11 season.
CU, which has lost four of its last five games, shot 35.5 percent from the field (22-of-62) Wednesday night. In their last four games the Buffs have not been above 37 percent.
"We're having trouble putting the ball in the basket," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "When you do that, it's tough, it just makes it really hard to win games . . . . Consistency continues to be an issue with this team. When we put it together for 40 minutes like we did against Stanford (a 64-58 win) we can win. It's hard to win even when you play well defensively because our margin for error is so small."
CU outrebounded Oregon 45-37, including 20-12 on the offensive glass. But two defensive rebounds that the Buffs lost might have been the most costly of the night. After Xavier Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:10 to play and brought CU to within 63-58, Oregon's next possession started with two missed shots. But the Ducks scrapped to get both rebounds and benefitted from their aggressiveness when Dillon Brooks drained a trey from the right wing.
It also drained the Buffs. They fell behind 66-58 and saw their momentum trickle away – especially when their shooting again tailed off. Their last basket was by Josh Scott and brought them to within 66-60 with 2:24 remaining, but they didn't score again, missing their last six field goal attempts.
Boyle agreed that poor shooting might be contagious: "I think there is something to that, because for some reason it's not there. We got the ball to the rim, we got stripped quite a few times in the lane, we just weren't strong with the ball. Oregon is giving up 75 points a game and yet we score 60; I just don't understand it. It's frustrating for me as a coach and I know it's frustrating for our players."
CU was led by Askia Booker's 20 points – 10 of his total coming on free throws (10-of-12) as he went 5-for-17 from the field. Wes Gordon added 14 and Scott had 10 points and a career-best 17 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and 19th of his career.
Oregon had four players in double figures, topped by Joseph Young's 23 points.
The Buffs started impressively but didn't finish the half that way. Hitting five of their first nine shots – two of them length of the court layups by Booker – they took an 11-4 lead not quite just four minutes in.
But just as quickly, their night soured.
Young, the Pac-12's No.2 scorer at 20.1 points a game, reeled off seven consecutive points – and CU was reeling. Young's spree launched a 24-4 Oregon run, and by the time the Buffs blinked again they were trailing 28-15.
By halftime, it was 39-22 – CU's largest halftime road deficit of the season – after the Buffs managed only 11 points in the half's final 16:13. A steep second-half climb awaited.
After shooting 56 percent from the field in the first four minutes, CU finished the half at 28 percent while Oregon was at 59. The Ducks shot 41 percent for the night and made 6 of 18 3-pointers. The Buffs committed eight turnovers in each half, costing them 16 points, while the Ducks committed nine.
Down 17 when the second half started, the Buffs quickly went down 20 when Young opened with a trey.
But the Buffs weren't done. Booker ignited an 8-0 run with a pair of free throws and capped it on a layup, with an Xavier Talton jumper and a Scott layup in between. Suddenly, CU was within nine points – 49-40 – with 11:58 to play.
After an Oregon turnover, Booker hit a pull-up jumper from the free throw line to cut CU's deficit to 55-48 – as close as the Buffs had been since 23-15. And they would get closer – 58-52 – when Booker fed Gordon for a stuff with 7:04 remaining.
It became a five-point game – 63-58 – when Johnson hit his 3-pointer with 4:10 to play. Then came the disastrous possession on the defensive end.
Behind 66-58, time – 3:17 – was slipping away fast. The Buffs crept to within 66-60 on a basket at the rim by Scott, but failed to score in the final 2:24. The Ducks finished off the visitors by hitting seven of eight free throws in the last 1:13.
Boyle said the Buffs "really battled back but we couldn't finish possessions. We have to rebound the ball when we get stops, and we got enough stops. We just couldn't finish possessions by rebounding it and obviously we can't put the ball in the basket. It's unbelievable."
The Buffs play at Oregon State on Saturday (9 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).
