King Notches Double-Double In Win Over Xavier
December 07, 2016 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — George King produced the fourth double-double of his career – and his third in six games – in Colorado's 68-66 upset of No. 13 Xavier on Wednesday night at Coors Events Center.
King, who had 16 points, 10 rebounds and one assist in the win, flashed some spark that he has been struggling to bring to the court consistently this season.
"I think we learned that we can compete at a high level," King said. "This gives us a little more confidence between ourselves, so it helps us going forward."
Going into the game, King was third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game and second in rebounding with 6.8 per game. But after coming off a disappointing night in a loss to rival Colorado State, King is beginning to find his mojo.
It began in the first period when he hit a clutch three-pointer from the field to tie the contest at 21-21 with a little over four minutes left to play.
The Buffs then trailed by as much as nine in the second half, but it was the efforts of King, Xavier Johnson and Derrick White that sparked the momentum needed.
"He was talking about rebounding in the huddle and he made a great effort on the boards and it showed in his numbers," head coach Tad Boyle said of King. "He can be as good a rebounder as he wants."
Of his 10 rebounds in the win, four of them came during the comeback stretch in the second period, resulting in two big 3-point baskets by Johnson and White to give the Buffs a 54-47 lead with just under six minutes remaining. They never lost the lead the remainder of the night.
It wasn't just his rebounding that played a role in the comeback. King went 3-for-4 from 3-point range with a crucial trey in the second period that gave the Buffs the lead for good, 48-47.
"It was great, it feels good," King said of his 3-point shooting. "That's why we shoot every day, that's why we stay faithful, committed and loyal to the shooting drills and stuff like that … if you continue to do that, your slump won't last if you are in a slump."
Heading into Wednesday's game, King had gone 0-of-6 in the previous two games from 3-point range.
His efforts Wednesday only give hope the Buffs have found their rhythm as the season begins to kick into pace. CU travels to Provo, Utah, on Saturday to take on a tough BYU team.
"We can't have a lot of mistakes, especially against a good team like BYU," King said. "We will just continue to work on what we do and get better at defending and rebounding."
