Colorado
19-9, 8-7
UCLA
15-12, 6-8
Buffs Struggle At UCLA, Fall 77-53
February 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — A Colorado Buffaloes road trip that started out on a sour note Wednesday with a loss at USC turned into a nightmare on Saturday.
The Buffs went west searching for at least one win and hopefully two on their foray into Los Angeles. Instead, UCLA sent Colorado home empty, carving out a 77-53 win over the lethargic Buffs at Pauley Pavilion. It was CU's largest margin of defeat this season, as the Buffs finished with their lowest point total and their worst shooting percentage of the year.
"Really disappointing road trip," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "We had the USC game and we gave it away, and then tonight we just roll over like a wet noodle. They opened up a can of whoop on us and they gave it to us in every way."
Now, the Buffs return to Boulder for their final two conference home games with a 19-9 overall record and an 8-7 Pac-12 mark. The team that one week ago was in position to perhaps be playing for a share of the conference lead now sits in a tie for sixth in the Pac-12 standings with just three games remaining.
Colorado fell behind early in this one and never recovered. The Buffs trailed by only five, 30-25, with 4:23 left in the first half, but the Bruins put together a quick 9-0 run with three straight 3-pointers and finished the half on a 14-3 surge to take a 44-28 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Buffs never came closer again.
"It's a five-point game and we said, 'Guys, this last four and a half minutes is important. We've got to finish strong.' And then they come out and go on a 14-3 run. We put ourselves in a hole at halftime, then they come out in the second half and hit their first six shots."
Indeed, if the Buffs had any idea of a comeback in the second half, the Bruins methodically erased those hopes. CU's 16-point deficit grew to 24 in the first four minutes of the half on back-to-back Bruins 3-pointers and the UCLA lead stayed in the 20s for much of the rest of the game.
Colorado shot just 31 percent from the field (19-for-61) while the Bruins were 50 percent from the field (30-for-60), including an 11-for-20 night from 3-point range.
Xavier Talton led the Buffs in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with 12 points. Josh Fortune added 10 for CU and Josh Scott had nine points and 10 rebounds. UCLA had four players in double figures, led by Isaac Hamilton with 22 and Tony Parker with 16. Colorado also lost the rebound battle, 39-37.
"This stuff doesn't happen by accident," Boyle said. "UCLA executed and we didn't. We've got to be tougher than we are right now. Our toughness factor is not very good. That concerns me as a coach because that's how you have to win some games on the road, when you're not at your best, and we haven't been at our best for a while.
"We'd better figure it out, because we've got Arizona coming up and Arizona State and then at Utah."
After experiencing troubles with turnovers, the Buffs did manage to reduce that number Saturday, finishing with just 11 against the Bruins. But UCLA didn't have to worry much about defense, as the Bruins' hot shooting never let Colorado get close. In the decisive closing minutes of the first half, CU hit just three of its last 16 field goal tries while the Bruins hit 11 of their last 17.
The Buffs return home next week for a pair of games, facing Arizona on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and Arizona State on Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
