Colorado
20-9, 9-7Pac-12
Arizona
22-6,10-5Pac-12
Scott Leads Buffs Past No. 9 Arizona, 75-72
February 24, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — In a week that began with a multitude of questions, the Colorado Buffaloes delivered a resounding answer Wednesday night, carving out a 75-72 win over No. 9 Arizona in front of a delirious Coors Events Center crowd of 11,309.
The Buffs got 26 points and nine rebounds from Josh Scott, 14 points and seven rebounds from George King, and a very important addition to their NCAA Tournament resume´ in the process.
The win was also Colorado's first against a ranked team in its last 12 tries, and it ended a six-game losing streak at the hands of the Wildcats.
"This was an NCAA Tournament atmosphere, it was an NCAA Tournament-level game and there were two NCAA teams playing tonight," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "As you go into the stretch run of February, you need to show you can beat quality teams and we showed tonight that we can beat a quality team."
Indeed, while the win by no means cemented an NCAA Tournament bid for the Buffs, it no doubt went a long, long way in improving their chances. Colorado now boasts a 20-9 overall record (9-7 in the Pac-12), an NCAA RPI that will likely move back into the 20s and three wins over top-25 RPI teams.
All that with two regular season games left to play — beginning with Sunday's 2:30 p.m. home finale vs. Arizona State — plus the Pac-12 Tournament.
"We're not the finished product by any means, but the whole message to the team before the game was to compete for 40 minutes," Boyle said. "Our guys answered the bell against a really good team."
Scott not only answered the bell, he rang it and his teammates followed, much to the joy of the third-largest CU home crowd in history.
With the Wildcats threatening to regain a lead Colorado had held since late in the first half, Scott took over with 10 minutes left in the game. After the Wildcats had narrowed an 11-point CU margin to five, Scott proceeded to score 10 of CU's ensuing 12 points — most of them coming against 7-foot Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski. Scott's first four buckets of the run came in the paint before he delivered a 15-foot jumper with 6:34 left to give CU a 73-64 lead.
The Wildcats then had one more run in them, but the Buffs held on. Scott added another basket off an offensive rebound with 3:29 left for CU's final points of the night and a 10-point lead, and the Wildcats managed just seven more points down the stretch. When Alonzo Trier's 3-point shot at the buzzer clanged off the rim, it set off a wild Events Center celebration that included students storming the court.
Scott finished with 17 of CU's final 25 points of the game.
"I wanted to play aggressive," Scott said of his 12-point run down the stretch. "I knew they were scoring and I was feeling my Wheaties a little bit. I've had some tough shooting nights before, but these guys kept feeding me. Credit to them for looking for me."
While Scott's night was no doubt the headline performance, the Buffs also delivered what may have been their most balanced effort of the year — and their most complete. Along with King's 14 points, CU also got 13 points from Josh Fortune and an eight-point, 12-rebound, six-assist night from Wesley Gordon.
"This game wasn't about stats," Boyle said. "This game was about toughness and effort and grit."
CU also battled the Pac-12's leading rebounding team to a 38-38 draw on the boards, finished the night with just nine turnovers and played one of their better defensive games of the season.
"Colorado was ready to play tonight," said Arizona coach Sean Miller. "They were the harder playing team, they gave a tremendous effort and I'm a big fan of Josh Scott. A big difference in this game was Wesley Gordon on the offensive glass and Josh Sott being a great player. I thought Tad Boyle and his staff did a great job of having this team ready to play."
After a see-saw first 15 minutes that saw five lead changes and four ties, the Buffs finally took the lead for good, 25-23, on a pair of Tre'Shaun Fletcher free throws with 4:45 left in the half. CU managed to extend its lead to as much as six, 33-27, on a pair of Wesley Gordon free throws, but the Wildcats closed the gap to four at the half, 37-33.
The Buffs then slowly built the lead to as much as 11 at two different junctures in the second half. King fueled a pair of runs with steals and ensuing baskets — one a 3-pointer — and a Josh Fortune 3-pointer gave the Buffs a 59-48 lead with 12:29 to go.
Each time, though, the Wildcats had an answer, setting the stage for the frantic final few minutes.
Boyle summed up his team's effort in a quote from famed UCLA coach John Wooden.
"You need to be at your best when your best is needed," Boyle said. "And tonight was a great example of that. We needed to be our best when our best was needed and we were. We didn't play perfect but we were at our best."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
