Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
17-5, 6-3Pac-12
California
14-8, 4-5Pac-12
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 23 | 39 | 62 |
| Colorado | 37 | 33 | 70 |
Buffs Win Battle Down Stretch, Top Cal 70-62
January 31, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Minutes after the Colorado Buffaloes had walked off the Coors Events Center floor with a 70-62 win over Cal on Sunday, Tad Boyle drew a deep breath and said, "We don't make it easy on ourselves."
Indeed, the Buffs started off horribly, rallied to build a 17-point second-half lead — and then allowed what had the potential for a runaway to melt into a nail-biter over the final two minutes of the game.
But in the end, the Buffs once again managed to make the plays that made the difference. The win — their third in a row and fifth in their last six games — improved their record to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play while the Bears dropped to 14-8, 4-5. The victory also kept the Buffs in no worse than a tie for second place in the conference standings.
"That's two games in a row that we had a convincing lead and didn't finish like we'd like to finish," Boyle said. "That being said, we did what we had to do. Cal's a good team and we knew they weren't going to go away."
After coming back from a nightmarish 1-for-19 start from the field, the Buffs rallied to build a 14-point lead at the half, 37-23. They extended the cushion to 17 at two different junctures in the second half, the latest coming at the 14:34 mark when a Josh Fortune baseline drive pushed CU's lead to 48-31.
But instead of calling it a day, the Bears began a comeback that saw them close the gap to five with 4:20 still remaining when freshman Ivan Rabb converted an offensive rebound into a bucket.
The Bears, though, never got closer. CU senior Josh Scott — who scored 10 points of CU's final 17 points — kept Cal at bay, hitting six free throws in the final four minutes, including a pair with just 18.5 seconds left to seal the win.
Scott finished with a team-high 18 points, while Dominique Collier added 14 — including two free throws with 29 seconds left — and George King chipped in 13.
But it was senior reserve guard Xavier Talton who turned in what Boyle called "the play of the game."
With 45 seconds left, Cal had cut CU's lead to five again and had the ball. Talton, however, knocked down a Sam Singer pass near midcourt, gained possession and was fouled. He hit one of two free throws to give CU a six-point cushion and the Bears never came closer again.
"I knew there was going to be a down screen on the opposite side," Talton said of the play. "I kind of cheated that way. He just threw it to my hand."
The Buffs forced 15 Cal turnovers, which Bears coach Cuonzo Martin called the difference in the game.
"We got down may be 16 and didn't do the things necessary to win the game," Martin said. "Key turnovers and key fouls kills you."
The Buffs also made it difficult on themselves from the free throw line. CU missed eight free throws in the final nine minutes, including the front end of two one-and-ones. But, the Buffs did hit their last five, enough to preserve the win.
"We made them when we had to," Boyle said.
Early in the game, it looked as if the Buffs weren't going to make anything. CU hit just one of its first 19 field goal tries while the Bears hit four of their first eight and six of their first 14. CU didn't score until the 14:43 mark of the half, and three minutes later, CU trailed 12-3.
But just when the biggest Events Center crowd of the season (9,423) began to to get restless, the Buffs flipped the switch. CU increased its defensive pressure, started to force Cal turnovers — and began to make shots. The Buffs hit 12 of their last 17 field goal tries of the half and outscored the Bears 34-11 over the final 12 minutes to take a 37-23 lead into the locker room at intermission.
"Besides me, everybody else knew they were going to make some shots tonight," Scott said. "We knew we weren't going to shoot the ball that way for the entire game. We came out and hit two 3s that put us back in attack range. From there on our, we kept getting stops and scoring."
Scott certainly didn't have his best night from the field, hitting just five of 17 attempts. But he did have two big assists in the first-half comeback — one to Collier and one to Talton — that resulted in 3-pointers, and he also had the big plays down the stretch that kept the Bears at arm's length.
"That's the guy," Boyle said. "We are going to go to Josh Scott and he's going to touch the ball if we have anything to say about it."
CU's first-half comeback required contributions from virtually everyone on the floor.
Thomas Akyazili started the 34-11 run by chasing down a loose ball, connecting on a scoop layup underneath and then adding a free throw. Collier and Talton then both connected on 3-pointers — with Scott getting the assist on each — and Collier added a layup.
Talton's 3-pointer started a 12-0 CU run that gave the Buffs a lead they would never relinquish. Colorado took a 16-15 lead at the 6:49 mark on a pair of Scott free throws before Tory Miller added an offensive rebound and jam. Cal momentarily stopped the run with a Jabari Bird 3-pointer, but CU came back to outscore the Bears 16-5 — including eight straight points from King — over the last five minutes of the half.
UP NEXT: The Buffs hit the road this week for a pair of games, playing at Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m., Fox Sports 1) and at Oregon State on Saturday (6:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
MILLER TIME: CU sophomore Tory Miller finished with nine rebounds, giving him 34 over the last five games. Three of Miller's rebounds were on the offensive end, one of which he converted into a ferocious dunk, and six of his rebounds came in the first half.
"Tory Miller had some man rebounds," Boyle said. "Those were manly rebounds that he went up in traffic to get. Tory brings great energy and great effort."
COLLIER ON A ROLL: CU point guard Dom Collier seems to be improving on a nightly basis. The Buffs sophomore had three assists and no turnovers Sunday to go along with his 14 points. He has 23 assists and just six turnovers in his last six games while averaging more than nine points.
"He's growing up before our eyes," Boyle said. "He's understanding and he's playing with great confidence. I think he's finally realizing that he's a great player, which we knew already, but he's going out and getting it done on big stages now."
CONFERENCE RECORD: This is only the third time in the last 43 seasons that the Buffs have started a conference season 6-3 or better. The last time it happened was Boyle's first season (2010-11), the Buffs' last season in the Big 12. The only other time in the previous four decades came in the 1996-97 season, when the Chauncey Billups-led Buffs started the Big 12 season 7-2.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
