Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
14-5, 3-3
Washington
13-5, 5-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 33 | 50 | 83 |
| Washington | 47 | 48 | 95 |
Brooks: Horrid First Half Sinks Buffs In 95-83 Loss To Huskies
January 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
SEATTLE – By the time the Colorado Buffaloes settled their turnover issues, found a little bit of themselves defensively and developed a sense of urgency, time wasn't on their side.
Long, lean, athletic (and don't forget young) Washington, up by as many as 22 points in Wednesday night's second half, staved off a frantic CU rally and defeated the Buffs 95-83 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
"Tale of two halves," said disappointed CU coach Tad Boyle. "You turn it over 12 times in the first half and dig a 14-point hole then you come out and have four turnovers in the second half and handle it pretty good and score 50 points."
But the excavation had been done and CU (14-5, 3-3) found itself buried. UW's 95 points were the most surrendered by the Buffs this season, and Huskies guard Andrew Andrews' 33 points were an individual seasonal high against CU.
Up 47-33 at intermission, the Huskies (13-5, 5-1) built their lead to as many as 22 in the second half before the Buffs pulled to within seven points with 1:32 to play. But CU came no closer and now must to look to Saturday night's game at Washington State (7 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks) to salvage a split on their Pacific Northwest trip.
"Our guys competed, they scratched, they clawed," Boyle said. "You score 83 points it's good enough to win. Bottom line is we weren't good enough on defense and Washington was terrific on offense."
Terrific began with Andrews, the only senior in a starting UW lineup that features four freshmen. But these Dawgs don't play young. Andrews and backcourt mate Dejounte Murray combined for 50 points, with Andrews – the Pac-12's leading scorer at 26.5 ppg – getting 33 of that total. He was 16-of-17 from the free throw line.
"Andrew Andrews is special," Boyle said, and CU point guard Dominque Collier – the Buffs' high scorer with a career-best 21 – added, "He's really good, we knew he was good going into the game. He's just a really good player."
Collier wasn't bad either. His career scoring night featured a career-best six 3-pointers in seven attempts. He scored 12 of his total in the second half when the Buffs were making their futile run at the Huskies.
The comeback didn't surprise Josh Scott as much as the inefficient start: "We already know we can bounce back, but you can't put yourself in holes in the first place. We did that with our turnovers and our defense in the first half and that's the game . . . we've got to man up."
As usual, Scott did, tying a personal high with his fifth straight double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) and 11th of the season. George King also scored 18 points, hitting two of his four 3-point attempts. The only other Buff to make a trey was Josh Fortune (1-of-4, 8 points) as CU finished 9-of-23 from beyond the arc.
The Huskies outrebounded the Buffs 39-34 and outscored the visitors in the paint 34-30. UW, the NCAA leader in blocked shots (6.8 a game), blocked almost everything but entry to CU's locker room. The Huskies swatted away 15 Buffs shots – the most ever by a CU opponent. Malik Dime, a 6-9 junior, had seven blocks (10 points) and 6-9 freshman Marquese Chriss had five (17 points).
"We knew they could block shots," Scott said. "They have athletic guys and that's where we have to make plays."
Boyle was more perturbed by being outrebounded than UW's cram session. "We're outrebounded by a team that was twelfth in the Pac-12 in rebounding margin," he said. "We were second and they whipped us. They deserved to win this game, they outplayed us. It's really disappointing, but I credit Washington. They've got a good team, good players."
The Buffs stayed with the young Huskies until the 11:51 mark of the first half, when Andrews' two free throws produced a 17-17 tie and sent UW on a 16-5 run.
During that time, CU went scoreless for 3:12 and Scott picked up his second foul and went to the bench with 6:56 left in the half. After the Huskies' run the Buffs trailed 33-22, but a pair of back-to-back treys by King and Collier cut their deficit to 35-28.
That surge was snuffed quickly, though, as UW outscored CU 12-5 over the half's final 4 minutes and led 47-33 at intermission.
The Buffs' ball security – or lack thereof – was of little help. Their 12 first-half turnovers offered the Huskies 16 points, while UW's eight turnovers were converted into only five points by CU. The Buffs finished with 16 turnovers, the Huskies with 14.
CU needed an efficient, tightfisted start to the second half – but got neither. With Chriss accounting for seven consecutive points and Murray and Andrews connecting on consecutive 3-pointers, the Huskies increased their lead to 20 – 62-42 – before the last half was 5 minutes old.
When Collier canned back-to-back treys, the Buffs fashioned a 10-0 spurt near the half's halfway point and cut the Huskies lead to 71-59. But the rally faded after Andrews and David Crisp hit 3-pointers and Andrews added another jumper just inside the arc.
CU crept to within seven (87-80) with 1:32 to play – the Buffs' first single-digit deficit since 37-28 – on a runner in the lane by King. But the Huskies put the game away at the free throw line.
At the end, Boyle bemoaned the Buffs' lack of consistency – both individually and as a team. Defense and rebounding, his program's cornerstones, drifted in and out, and he also cited the dozen first-half turnovers dropping to four in the second half.
"Where's the consistency?" he asked. "I don't get it, and that's the part that's frustrating as a coach. It's something we have to work on, get better at and understand. Each player has to learn it individually and we as a group have to learn it collectively."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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