Monday, November 21
Brooklyn, N.Y.
5:00 PM
Colorado
3-1
83
vs
89
Notre Dame
4-0
1
2
F
Notre Dame
50
39
89
Colorado
35
48
83
Xavier Johnson dunks for two of his game-high 23 points.
Lackluster First Half Dooms CU In 89-83 Legends Loss To Notre Dame
November 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
Buffs rally, pull to within four points but Irish hang on to win
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Down by 15 points at halftime, the Colorado Buffaloes gamely battled back but couldn't overtake Notre Dame, losing 89-83 on Monday night in the semifinals of the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center.
CU, losing for the first time this season (3-1), closed to within four points twice in the final minute. Notre Dame (4-0) held off the Buffs by making 12 consecutive free throws in the final 1:33 and finished 27-of-29 for the game.
"They're a good team, but you have to keep them off the free throw line," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "They had 50 points at halftime (CU had 35), they're shooting 54 percent from the field . . . it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know we need to play better defense."
Xavier Johnson led the Buffs with 23 points, with Derrick White adding 20. The Irish had four players in double figures, headed by Bonzie Colson's 22 and Matt Farrell's 20.
"I like our guys' toughness," said Boyle, but added that his team must "get tougher in finishing in the paint . . . we had easy baskets we let go (and) offensive rebounds we couldn't convert on. You have to have that toughness factor to beat a good team and Notre Dame is a good team."
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU didn't have an early defensive answer for Notre Dame's high-powered offense, and losing Wesley Gordon to a pair of quick fouls only exacerbated the Buffs' problems.
En route to hitting half of their 12 3-point attempts and shooting 54.5 percent from the field overall in the first half, the Fighting Irish opened their first double-digit lead (24-13) on a 3-pointer by V.J. Beachem. It was part of a 9-0 run that earned Notre Dame a 28-14 advantage.
The Buffs pulled to within 10 (38-28) on a 3-point play by White and two free throws by Deleon Brown with 4:02 left before the break. But the rest of the half belonged to the Irish. A 10-2 run opened their largest lead (48-30) of the game and by intermission they were still up 50-35.
Johnson and White had 9 first-half points each for the Buffs, who made only two of their eight 3-point attempts and shot 37.1 percent overall from the floor. CU finished at 42 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The Buffs needed an explosive second-half start and at least got a glimmer of one. Finally back on the floor after only 3 first-half minutes, Gordon scored the first points of the final, and White followed with a trey. The Buffs were back to within 10 (50-40), but they needed to match that start on the defensive end.
Easier said than done . . . A 6-0 run pushed Notre Dame's lead to 56-40 and CU's goal of at least reducing its deficit to single digits halfway through the half was looking grim. But the Buffs weren't done.
At the 10-minute mark Steve Vasturia used a head fake at the free throw line to blow by his defender and score a layup that gave the Irish a 66-51 lead.
The Buffs answered quickly, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Bryce Peters and Johnson to creep to within 9 points (66-57) – their first single-digit deficit since 21-14.
The Irish responded with 5 quick points, the last 3 on a conventional three-point play by Beachem, who dunked on a baseline drive and was fouled. Notre Dame led 71-57 – and CU returned to catch-up mode.
This time the Buffs appeared serious about it. An 8-0 spurt – a field goal and two free throws by Johnson, a jumper from the left wing and two foul shots by Peters – pulled them to within 71-65 with 4:19 remaining.
CU finally got the deficit to 4 (81-77) on a 3-pointer from the left corner by George King with 45.5 seconds left and closed to 4 (85-81) once more on another basket by King. But the Irish stayed steady at the free throw line and closed it out.
TURNING POINT: After battling back from a 15-point halftime deficit to pull to within 4 points in the final minute the Buffs couldn't get over the hump, held off by 12 consecutive free throws by the Irish in the final 1:33.
CU STANDOUTS: Xavier Johnson – 23 points, 7 rebounds. 2 assists; Derrick White – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7-of-7 free throws, 9 assists, 2 blocked shots; George King – 13 points, 17 rebounds.
KEY STATISTIC: The Irish shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent from the field overall in the first half, digging a 15-point halftime hole for the Buffs.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU discovered what it takes to compete with and defeat a tested, talented team like Notre Dame. That would be 40 minutes – not 20 – of focus and intensity. The Buffs were significantly better in Monday night's second half, but their lackluster first half resulted in their first defeat of the season.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will play Texas on Tuesday in the Legends Classic consolation game (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPNU). Northwestern defeated the Longhorns 77-58 in Monday's second game.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
CU, losing for the first time this season (3-1), closed to within four points twice in the final minute. Notre Dame (4-0) held off the Buffs by making 12 consecutive free throws in the final 1:33 and finished 27-of-29 for the game.
"They're a good team, but you have to keep them off the free throw line," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "They had 50 points at halftime (CU had 35), they're shooting 54 percent from the field . . . it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know we need to play better defense."
Xavier Johnson led the Buffs with 23 points, with Derrick White adding 20. The Irish had four players in double figures, headed by Bonzie Colson's 22 and Matt Farrell's 20.
"I like our guys' toughness," said Boyle, but added that his team must "get tougher in finishing in the paint . . . we had easy baskets we let go (and) offensive rebounds we couldn't convert on. You have to have that toughness factor to beat a good team and Notre Dame is a good team."
HOW IT HAPPENED: CU didn't have an early defensive answer for Notre Dame's high-powered offense, and losing Wesley Gordon to a pair of quick fouls only exacerbated the Buffs' problems.
En route to hitting half of their 12 3-point attempts and shooting 54.5 percent from the field overall in the first half, the Fighting Irish opened their first double-digit lead (24-13) on a 3-pointer by V.J. Beachem. It was part of a 9-0 run that earned Notre Dame a 28-14 advantage.
The Buffs pulled to within 10 (38-28) on a 3-point play by White and two free throws by Deleon Brown with 4:02 left before the break. But the rest of the half belonged to the Irish. A 10-2 run opened their largest lead (48-30) of the game and by intermission they were still up 50-35.
Johnson and White had 9 first-half points each for the Buffs, who made only two of their eight 3-point attempts and shot 37.1 percent overall from the floor. CU finished at 42 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
The Buffs needed an explosive second-half start and at least got a glimmer of one. Finally back on the floor after only 3 first-half minutes, Gordon scored the first points of the final, and White followed with a trey. The Buffs were back to within 10 (50-40), but they needed to match that start on the defensive end.
Easier said than done . . . A 6-0 run pushed Notre Dame's lead to 56-40 and CU's goal of at least reducing its deficit to single digits halfway through the half was looking grim. But the Buffs weren't done.
At the 10-minute mark Steve Vasturia used a head fake at the free throw line to blow by his defender and score a layup that gave the Irish a 66-51 lead.
The Buffs answered quickly, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Bryce Peters and Johnson to creep to within 9 points (66-57) – their first single-digit deficit since 21-14.
The Irish responded with 5 quick points, the last 3 on a conventional three-point play by Beachem, who dunked on a baseline drive and was fouled. Notre Dame led 71-57 – and CU returned to catch-up mode.
This time the Buffs appeared serious about it. An 8-0 spurt – a field goal and two free throws by Johnson, a jumper from the left wing and two foul shots by Peters – pulled them to within 71-65 with 4:19 remaining.
CU finally got the deficit to 4 (81-77) on a 3-pointer from the left corner by George King with 45.5 seconds left and closed to 4 (85-81) once more on another basket by King. But the Irish stayed steady at the free throw line and closed it out.
TURNING POINT: After battling back from a 15-point halftime deficit to pull to within 4 points in the final minute the Buffs couldn't get over the hump, held off by 12 consecutive free throws by the Irish in the final 1:33.
CU STANDOUTS: Xavier Johnson – 23 points, 7 rebounds. 2 assists; Derrick White – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7-of-7 free throws, 9 assists, 2 blocked shots; George King – 13 points, 17 rebounds.
KEY STATISTIC: The Irish shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent from the field overall in the first half, digging a 15-point halftime hole for the Buffs.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU discovered what it takes to compete with and defeat a tested, talented team like Notre Dame. That would be 40 minutes – not 20 – of focus and intensity. The Buffs were significantly better in Monday night's second half, but their lackluster first half resulted in their first defeat of the season.
NEXT UP: The Buffs will play Texas on Tuesday in the Legends Classic consolation game (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPNU). Northwestern defeated the Longhorns 77-58 in Monday's second game.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
ND
COLO
FG%
.424
.420
3FG%
.353
.318
FT%
.931
.947
RB
41
38
TO
8
10
STL
7
1
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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