Colorado
2-0
Seattle
1-1
Boyle's Buffs Scratch Out Win Over Seattle
November 14, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — On a night when the Colorado Buffaloes' shooting deserted them, they were forced to fall back on the principles that head coach Tad Boyle holds sacred above all others: defense and rebounding.
Those came through, and they proved to be just enough to produce a 67-55 win Monday over visiting Seattle in the first round of the Legends Classic.
Colorado improved to 2-0 with the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED: One game after shooting a blistering 13-for-21 from 3-point range in a 90-53 win over Sacramento State, CU hit just 19 of its 53 field goal tries, including a 3-for-18 night from 3-point range.
But while their shots weren't falling, the Buffs still commanded a 55-35 edge on the boards and their defense provided a 36-24 scoring edge in the second half. Wesley Gordon had a 14-rebound, 11-point double-double — the 11th of his career — and Derrick White scored a game-high 15 points to go with six rebounds. Xavier Johnson added 13 points and six rebounds for the Buffs and Josh Fortune finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
"That was the definition of winning ugly," head coach Tad Boyle said.
Indeed, the Buffs never seemed to find their offensive groove for any length of time. But after falling behind 33-31 early in the second half, Colorado put together a 16-2 run to take a lead the Buffs would never relinquish. George King started the surge with a 3-pointer — CU's first of the night after an 0-for-9 stretch — to give CU a 47-35 lead with 12:48 to go in the game.
CU's defense also stepped up in that stretch, as the Buffs collected four blocked shots and four steals along with forcing eight straight missed shots by the Redhawks.
The Redhawks, though, wouldn't go away and slowly chipped away at the lead. A Brendan Westerdorf 3-pointer and free throw with 5:40 to go cut CU's edge to 54-51, and it took a White free throw and back-to-back 3-pointers from Fortune to give the Buffs some breathing room down the stretch. Fortune's second 3-pointer gave the Buffs a 61-53 lead with just 2:50 to go and they held the Seahawks at bay in the final minutes.
While the Buffs were no doubt cold offensively, their defense produced the same effect on the Redhawks. Seattle hit just 19 of its 63 field goal attempts, including a 6-for-32 effort from 3-point range.
The scoring difference came at the free throw line. Colorado shot 41 free throws and needed every attempt, as the Buffs hit just 26 of those tries. White, a career 83 percent free throw shooter at UC-Colorado Springs, was an uncharacteristic 3-for-8 from the line.
Colorado's shooting wasn't the only sore spot for the Buffs. One game after committing just 10 turnovers against Sacramento State, the Buffs had 19 miscues, which the Redhawks converted into 13 points.
TURNING POINT: After the Redhawks opened the second half with a bucket to take a 33-31 lead, the Buffs went on a 16-2 run, started by a George King 3-pointer. CU never trailed again.
CU STANDOUTS: Wesley Gordon had his 11th career double-double, a 14-rebound, 11-point effort that included six offensive boards. … Derrick White had 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. … Josh Fortune had 12 points and seven rebounds. … Xavier Johnson had 13 points and six rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had a dominating 55-35 edge on the boards, which included 19 offensive rebounds that produced 16 second-chance points. … Colorado also shot 41 free throws compared to Seattle's 14, and the Buffs hit 26 of those free throws.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 2-0, but more importantly, learned that Boyle's insistence on rebounding and defense is something that will pay dividends when the shots aren't falling.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's Johnson joined the 1,000-point club for his career, and now has 1,009 in his four years. He is the 33rd Buff to reach the milestone.
— Gordon has now produced double digits in rebounding 22 times in his career, and he surpassed the 700 mark for his career. He now has 705, the 11th player in CU history to have at least 700.
— Point guard Dominique Collier played just seven minutes as a lingering foot injury limited his time. Boyle said the Buffs may have to shut Collier down, but that choice will be up to him and the trainers.
— Thomas Akyazili led the Buffs with four assists, giving him 10 for the year.
— Monday marked CU's first win over Seattle in three tries. There were nine lead changes in the first half and 11 overall before Colorado took the lead for good, 34-33, in the second half.
— Colorado is now 41-2 under Boyle when holding a team to under 40 percent shooting and outrebounding the opponent by at least eight.
QUOTEWORTHY: "That was the definition of winning ugly. We were not very good offensively on a lot of different levels. But to figure out a way to win on a night when you're not functioning offensively this early in the season is a testament to our guys' will and their toughness." — CU head coach Tad Boyle.
"I'm thoroughly impressed with this program and how (Tad Boyle) runs it. I knew that they were going to be a tough out, but even with 19 turnovers, they don't beat themselves. They're hard to guard and they consistently chase you down and stay on you on defense, and they scrap on the boards." — Seattle head coach Cameron Dollar.
"It's good early to show the young guys we're not always going to be able to score when we want to and the shots aren't going to fall every night. That's how important defense and rebounding are." — CU's Wesley Gordon.
"We weren't making shots and we let that lead to poor defense, and that's a mistake we shouldn't make." —CU's Xavier Johnson.
"We're in the process of becoming a good team. We're not a good team right now, we're in the process of becoming one. We have to understand that." — Boyle.
NEXT UP: Colorado plays host to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday in a 7 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
