Colorado
10-8, 0-5Pac-12
USC
16-3, 3-3Pac-12
Buffs Fall Short, Fall To No. 25 Trojans
January 15, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For the second time in 10 days, the Colorado Buffaloes held the lead over a Pac-12 foe in the final minute of a game.
But for the fifth game in a row, the Buffs came up short Sunday, falling 71-68 to visiting USC at the Coors Events Center. The loss dropped Colorado to 10-8 on the year and 0-5 in Pac-12 play. The five straight losses make up the longest losing streak in Boyle's tenure in Boulder.
"We're a little bit snakebit right now," Boyle said. "I look at the Arizona State game and I look at tonight's game and we're right there — we just come up a little short."
At ASU, it was two Sun Devils free throws with 1.6 seconds left on the clock that sank the Buffs, 78-77.
Sunday, it was a bucket by USC's Chimezie Metu with 29 seconds remaining that erased a 68-67 Colorado lead. That was followed by two empty CU possessions and two Trojan free throws to produce the final score.
The Buffs had battled back from a 67-60 deficit with 2:44 remaining by scoring eight straight points. A George King bucket followed by two Xavier Johnson 3-pointers, the last with 43 seconds on the clock, gave Colorado a 68-67 lead.
But the Buffs couldn't come up with one more defensive stop, then missed a chance to regain the lead and another chance to tie at the buzzer.
"Very disappointing," Boyle said. "Our team is hurting right now. This is a time when we're being tested and we have to believe in ourselves, believe in the process and believe in what we're trying to get done."
The Buffs were their own worst enemy for much of the game. Colorado committed 17 turnovers and allowed USC to collect 17 offensive rebounds. The Trojans converted those turnovers into 20 points and turned those offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
"Seventeen offensive rebounds and 17 turnovers on offense is a pretty simple formula for getting beat, whether you're at home or on the road, doesn't matter who you're playing," Boyle said. "We weren't good enough to win tonight."
King, whose 3-point attempt at the buzzer to tie the game just missed, led the Buffs with 16 points and Johnson added 15. USC's Metu led all players with 24 points, 20 in the first half.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado jumped out to a 22-11 lead at the 11-minute mark on the strength of five 3-pointers from five different players.
But just when the Buffs looked ready to take control, they hit a stretch of costly turnovers. Those miscues, combined with USC going inside to big man Metu, allowed the Trojans to slowly chip away at the lead.
A Metu bucket and two free throws pulled the Trojans to within one, 32-31, at the 1:48 mark of the half before CU's Derrick White finished a 3-point play to bump the lead back to four.
The Trojans answered with three points in the final 40 seconds to send the Buffs into the locker room at the half with a 35-34 lead.
Metu finished the first half with 20 points while Dominique Collier had 11 and King and White had six each for Colorado. The Buffs also finished the half with 11 turnovers, which USC converted into 14 points.
The Buffs managed to extend their lead to four early in the second half but the Trojans came back and finally took their first lead since early in the game on a Jonah Mathews 3-pointer that put USC up 45-43 with just under 16 minutes to go.
The Buffs then came back to tie the game at several junctures, the latest at 57-57 with nine minutes to play. But from that point, the Buffs scored just one point — a Johnson free throw — over the next six minutes. White ended the drought with a layup but USC's Jonah Mathews answered with a 3-pointer and the Trojans led 67-60 with 2:44 to go.
That led to Colorado's last-gasp 8-0 run. CU finally regained the lead with 43.1 seconds to go on Johnson's 3-pointer, 68-67, before Metu answered with a short jumper to give the Trojans a 69-68 edge with 24.6 seconds remaining.
Colorado then missed a chance to regain the lead and two USC free throws provided the final margin, with the Buffs missing one more chance at the buzzer.
TURNING POINT: This one wasn't settled until the final seconds, with the Buffs missing two chances on their last two possessions.
WHAT IT MEANS: If the Buffs were desperate for a win Sunday, that level goes up a notch. Now 0-5 in Pac-12 play, the Buffs find themselves in a major hole as they head on the road for games at Washington and Washington State in search of a win.
CU STANDOUTS: George King finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. … Xavier Johnson had 15 points and seven rebounds. … Derrick White had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
KEY STATISTICS: The Trojans collected 17 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second-chance points. … CU committed 17 turnovers and the Trojans reaped 20 points off of those miscues.
NOTEWORTHY: Colorado now leads the all-time series 9-5 and the Trojans collected their first-ever win in Boulder in six tries. … It was CU's first loss this year after leading at the half (6-1). … The Buffs are 0-5 in conference play for the first time since the 1995-96 season, the last year of the Big Eight.
Wesley Gordon is now tied for 16th on CU's all-time list of games played with 117. … King had a season-high four 3-pointers, and he led CU in rebounding for the third straight game and eighth time this season. … Johnson moved to 19th on CU's all-time scoring list (1,261 points). ... The five-game losing streak is the longest by the Buffs since a season-ending 12-game skid to finish the 2008-09 season.
QUOTEWORTHY: "It's about the next game, the next opportunity. I'm not going to change my tune midway. We've got guys who have won before that understand what it takes to win, we're just not getting it done right now. So it's on us. It's on me as a head coach, it's on our assistant coaches and it's on our players. We have to get this thing turned. I'm going to stay positive with these guys." — CU coach Tad Boyle
"Colorado is an excellent basketball team. They have had a tough schedule and they're very good at home. This is a great win for us." USC coach Andy Enfield
"We're still confident within ourselves and we are still confident as a group and as a team. (Lack of confidence) is not going to be an issue." — CU's George King
"We fought back, but we can't take moral victories, we're 0-5. At the end of the day it's all about winning." — CU's Dominique Collier
"This is about winning. This is a zero sum game that we play. There's a winner and loser every time you step on the floor. Right now we're coming up a little bit short and we've got to figure out how do you come up on the positive side of that. It comes down to simple little things that you have to do on a consistent basis for 40 minutes." — Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs head back on the road for a pair, playing at Washington on Wednesday in an 8 p.m. game and at Washington State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
