Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
21-10, 10-8
Utah
24-7, 13-5
Buffs Let Lead Slip Away, Utes Collect 57-55 Win
March 05, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
SALT LAKE CITY — Saturday night proved to be deja vu of the worst possible kind for the Colorado Buffaloes.
For the second time in three weeks, the Buffs let a double-digit lead on the road slip away in the final eight minutes.
This time, it was a 14-point lead in Utah that melted into thin air. The Utes put together a 19-0 run immediately after a 16-0 Colorado run late in the second half, then held on to claim a 57-55 win in the regular season finale.
The 21-10 Buffs thus finish with a 10-8 Pac-12 record, good for the fifth seed in next week's Pac-12 Tournament. They will open play Wednesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a 3:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) game against 12th seed Washington State. If they win Wednesday, they will play fourth-seeded Arizona on Thursday, also at 3:30 p.m.A
Colorado swept the regular season series from Washington State, but neither game was easy. The Buffs won 75-70 in Pullman on Jan. 23, then took a heart-stopping 88-81 double overtime win in Boulder on Feb. 11.
Saturday's game was starkly reminiscent of CU's 79-72 loss at USC on Feb. 17. In that game, the Buffs saw a 15-point lead disappear in the final eight minutes.
The nightmare repeated itself at the sold-out Huntsman Center. Following a timeout after CU's 16-0 run gave the Buffs a 45-31 lead with 8:10 to go, the Utes put together a 19-0 burst that gave them a 50-45 lead with 2:27 left.
Utah's game-winning run started innocently enough when Brandon Taylor hit the first of two free throws. But the Utes rebounded the miss and Jordan Loveridge banked in a 3-pointer and the Buffs were suddenly on their heels. Loveridge added five more points in the run, bringing the crowd back into the game and Colorado had no answer.
"We stopped being aggressive, we stopped playing offense, we stopped doing all the things that we were doing the whole game," said CU's Tre'Shaun Fletcher.
The Buffs managed to close the gap to 53-52 on a Josh Fortune three-point play, but Utah answered with a pair of free throws and the Buffs missed on their next possession. The Utes then closed the game out at the foul line.
The Buffs had just 10 turnovers in the game, but four helped fuel the Utah run.
"Very disappointing," said CU coach Tad Boyle. "Free throw box outs and turnovers have been our Achilles heel. Until we figure that out, it's going to continue to hurt us."
Fletcher led the Buffs with 12 points and Josh Scott added 11. Jakob Poeltl and Lorenzo Bonam each had 16 for the Utes.
Scott, however, struggled from the floor all night. He hit just three of his 13 field goal tries, a big part of CU's 30.5 percent shooting effort (13-for-59). The Buffs also lost the rebound battle, 43-42. Utah shot just 31 percent from the field (18 for 58), but made 17 of 24 free throws while the Buffs connected on 13 of their 16 tries.
"We let it get away from us," Boyle said. "We had this game won. It's disappointing on a lot of fronts and I take responsibility. I'm the head coach. We've had two leads on the road and we haven't handled it."
The Buffs won't be seeing another true road game, as the Pac-12 Tournament is played on a neutral floor. But if they win their opener vs. Washington State, they'll see what amounts to a road crowd, as Arizona traditionally brings a huge contingent to the MGM.
The Buffs trailed for much of the first half, thanks in large part to a 7-for-32 effort from the field. The Utes, however, weren't much better — 8-for-29 — and Colorado took a 21-20 lead into the locker room at intermission when a Scott fadeaway jumper found the bottom of the net with just 14 seconds left in the half.
While the Buffs weren't shooting well overall in the first 20 minutes, they stayed close on the 3-point shooting of Tre'Shaun Fletcher. The junior wing hit three of his four 3-point tries and Xavier Talton hit one of two from behind the arc to keep the Buffs close.
The Buffs also managed to keep Poeltl in check for the most part in the first half. The Utah big man scored the Utes' first four points of the game, but added just two more free throws the rest of the half.
CU held a 28-21 edge on the boards in the first half, with Wesley Gordon collecting six rebounds and Scott five.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
