Colorado
1-0
Northern Colorado
0-1
Buffs Open Season With Win Over Northern Colorado
November 10, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado seniors George King and Tory Miller-Stewart did what seniors are supposed to do Friday night.
CU freshman McKinley Wright IV did what Buffs fans were hoping he would do — and the combination of all three led the Buffs to a season-opening 66-51 win over Northern Colorado at the Coors Events Center.
After missing most of the first half with two fouls, King led the Buffs with 12 points — all in the second half — and nine rebounds. Miller-Stewart added 11 points and five rebounds while Wright added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in his first game as a Buff.
All three were instrumental in a 12-0 run midway through the second half that broke open a tight game and helped Tad Boyle's crew to the double-digit win.
Andre Spight led UNC with 19 points, but was just 3-for-16 from 3-point range, part of a 6-for-37 night from long distance for the Bears.
"I can breathe a sigh of relief," said Boyle, who grew up in Greeley and began his college head coaching career with the Bears. "I was a little nervous about this game, I'm not going to lie. … But I thought our players really responded to the challenges we gave them with game planning, as well as their effort and focus. This is a good win."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After taking an 11-point lead into the locker room at the half, 35-24, Colorado lead the Bears back in the game in a hurry after intermission. Sparked by five points from Spight, UNC went on a 13-0 run early in the half to tie the game at 37-37 barely four minutes in. The Bears, who held 21-16 rebounding edge at the half, boosted that margin to eight early in the half and with just more than 10 minutes to play, CU was clinging to a 45-44 lead.
But following a media timeout, the Buffs began to hit the boards, increase their defensive pressure and pull away. Sparked by four points from Miller-Stewart, three from King and a Wright driving layup, the Buffs carved out a 12-0 run that produced a 57-44 edge with just more than five minutes left in the game. UNC ended its drought with a Jordan Davis bucket, but King answered with a 3-pointer to bump the margin to 14, 60-46, with just more than four minutes to play.
Colorado then kept the lead in double digits for the remainder of the game, and finished with a 45-38 edge on the boards, including a 20-5 edge down the stretch.
"We just exerted our will," Boyle said. "They take a lot of long shots, which means a lot of long rebounds and our guards helped out."
King played just four minutes in the first half after two "silly fouls" and just one rebound to show for his effort. But he took control in the second half, finishing with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting as well as a game-high nine rebounds, including three big boards in the decisive 12-0 run.
"It was just our energy and effort," King said. "We came out after something was said in the huddle and we were ready to put these guys away. … I was able to allow the game to come to me a little bit more, obviously rebound and impose my will."
Wright had just four points and one rebound in the first half, but added six points and three rebounds to that total after the half, and also had a pair of big assists in the decisive run.
"He's going to be not a good player, but a great player," Boyle said. "You can just see he's got that 'it' factor. He's the best freshman nobody knows about in the country."
Colorado held double-digit leads at two different junctures in the first half but could not put the Bears away early.
CU jumped out to a quick lead, getting five quick points from Namon Wright and four from Miller-Stewart to go up 11-7 just six minutes in. CU then built the lead to double digits when Dominique Collier swiped a pass near midcourt and drove for a layup to bump the Buffs' edge to 23-13.
But the Buffs went cold and the Bears slowly chipped away. Spight hit five straight points in a 9-2 UNC run, and with just under four minutes to go, Colorado's edge had been cut to 25-22.
That forced a Boyle timeout and his words in the huddle evidently had an effect. The Buffs emerged to put together a 10-2 run over the final four minutes of the half, sparked by five points from Deleon Brown, including a 3-pointer, and a Lucas Siewert trey from the top of the key. McKinley Wright closed the half with a driving layup on a nice halfcourt pass from Lazar Nicolic to give the Buffs a 35-24 lead heading into intermission.
TURNING POINT: With just more than 10 minutes to go, the Buffs went on a 12-0 run over a five-minute span to turn a one-point game into a 13-point lead. Miller-Stewart had four points in the run, George King added three and McKinley Wright finished it with a driving layup.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs got good performances from all four true freshmen, something Boyle had been hoping to see, as well as steady performance from the three senior starters.
CU STANDOUTS: King led CU with 12 points and nine rebounds. … Miller-Stewart had 11 points and five rebounds. … McKinley Wright had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and also had a solid night on the defensive end. … Freshman Lazar Nikolic had six rebounds in just 15 minutes on the floor. … Deleon Brown provided a spark with seven points, all in the first half.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs finished with a 45-38 rebounding edge and also outscored UNC 10-0 on fastbreak points. CU's bench also outscored its Bears counterparts, 24-4.
QUOTEWORTHY: "(Boyle) emphasized it the whole week, but definitely during halftime. He said some words I can't say, but we got the job done. We outrebounded them by seven in the end. We didn't dominate the glass, but we got the job done, we're 1-0." CU senior Tory Miller on the Buffs' efforts on the boards.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to Denver in a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at the Coors Events Center.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
