Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
13-4, 2-2Pac-12
Oregon State
11-4, 2-2Pac-12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State | 25 | 29 | 54 |
| Colorado | 29 | 42 | 71 |
Scott, Gordon Lead Buffs Past Oregon State
January 13, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — After a five-game stretch when his Buffaloes struggled in the final six minutes of games, Tad Boyle wanted his Colorado team to concentrate on finishing.
The Buffs did so with an exclamation point Wednesday night. Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon put up double-doubles and Colorado blew open a tight game in the final seven minutes to record a 71-54 win over Oregon State in front of the largest Coors Events Center crowd of the season (9,190).
The Buffs improved to 13-4 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play while the Beavers, who got a 26-point, 15-rebound effort from Gary Payton II, dropped to 11-4, 2-2.
Did Josh and Wesley not invite you to their Block Party at Coors Wednesday night? How rude. #GoBuffs #RollTad https://t.co/UFMHxNAgd8
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) January 14, 2016
Scott finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season and 32nd of his career. Gordon scored 12 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had six blocks for his second double-double of the season and seventh of his career.
But the key was how the Buffs did it down the stretch. Scott had 12 of the Buffs' 25 points in the final 7:33 as the Buffs outscored the Beavers 25-12 and turned a 46-42 lead into their 17-point winning margin.
"That was a great effort," Boyle said. "Wesley Gordon's offensive rebounding combined with Josh Scott's defensive rebounding was the difference in the game."
Gordon finished with seven of CU's 13 offensive rebounds, and the Buffs converted those second chances into 18 points. Scott had 10 defensive boards, and together, they combined for nine blocks.
"The thing about Wes is that he doesn't have to score to have an impact on this team," Boyle said. "That's what I love about him and what makes him such a valuable player to this team. We have some other guys, when they don't score they're not doing much to help our team. They're not rebounding or defending or taking charges. They have to figure that out."
While Payton posted the 12th double-double of his career, his points didn't come easily. The 6-3 guard hit just eight of his 20 field goal attempts.
"I thought our guys did a good job of making him work for everything he got," Boyle said. "We broke down a few times, but for the most part I was pleased with our defensive effort."
The Buffs held a 29-25 lead at intermission, and bumped the margin to seven early in the second half. But Payton fueled an OSU comeback that saw the Beavers take the lead, 38-37, with 12:27 left when he scored all nine points in a 9-2 Oregon State run.
Gordon, however, put the Buffs back in the lead a minute later with a pair of free throws, and CU never trailed again, slowly building the lead the rest of the game. A Thomas Akyazili 3-pointer gave CU a nine-point edge, 52-43, with 6:51 remaining and Dominique Collier pushed the lead into double digits for the first time with a pair of free throws a minute later.
Oregon State never came closer than eight the rest of the game.
"I thought we were aggressive," Boyle said of the Buffs' effort down the stretch. "I wanted to continue to push, be aggressive, not get tentative, and I thought our guys did a good job of that."
????Wesley Gordon to Air Traffic Control permission to take off. A dunk so good you need to see it four times... https://t.co/1C30E9OOQ0
— Colorado Buffaloes (@cubuffs) January 14, 2016
The Buffs dominated the boards, finishing with a 48-33 rebounding edge. That was more than enough to offset 18 Colorado turnovers, a number that put a scowl on Boyle's face, especially when compared to just 12 assists.
"I'm not a big math guy, but 14 of the 18 turnovers came from perimeter players," Boyle said. "Those six guys have to take better care of the basketball."
While Scott and Gordon did the bulk of the scoring, the Buffs also got some key contributions from a variety of areas. Akyazili had a key 3-pointer with just under seven minutes to play and finished with eight points, and also had a stretch defending Payton in the final minutes. Akyazili entered the game tied for second in the league in Pac-12 games in assist-to-turnover ratio, and he finished with three assists and just one turnover against OSU.
Collier, meanwhile, finished with five of CU's 12 assists and had just two turnovers and Josh Fortune had 12 points.
LATE-NIGHT CROWD: Wednesday night's crowd of 9,190 was the biggest Events Center gathering of the season and the biggest crowd to see the Buffs anywhere this year, despite a 9 p.m. start. The student section, however, was full. "Hopefully those students had a good enough time that they'll want to come back on Sunday (when the Buffs host Oregon at 5 p.m.)," Boyle said. "It was probably our weakest crowd of the year for general public, but I'm not blaming anybody for that. It's nine o'clock. My kids didn't come because they have school tomorrow. (But) we need them on Sunday."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
