Colorado
8-2
Indiana State
7-3
Buffs Comeback Falls Short As CU Falls To Indiana State In Diamond Head Opener
December 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
HONOLULU — Paradise turned into Paradise Lost for the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.
The turnover-prone Buffs cut a 14-point Indiana State lead to one late in the game, but the Sycamores held on down the stretch to claim a 72-67 decision in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.
The loss, which ended a six-game win streak, dropped CU to 8-2 while ISU improved to 7-3.
The Buffs were their own worst enemy in the contest. Colorado finished with a season-high 19 turnovers in the game, leading to 20 points for the Sycamores, and CU also lost the rebounding battle, 34-32, leading to a commanding 17-7 edge in second chance points for Indiana State.
It was a disappointing effort for a team that had visions of three more wins and plenty of momentum heading into Pac-12 Conference play.
"I don't mind getting beat —  I don't like it, nobody likes it," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "But I can't live with — and hopefully our players can't live with — beating ourselves, and we beat ourselves tonight. Credit to Indiana State. I don't want to take anything away from them. Their kids played hard, they were dialed in, they were ready to play, there's no doubt about that."
But while the Sycamores played well and did have enough to hold off a late Colorado rally, the Buffs also committed too many errors, especially early in the game.
"We lost this game for two reasons — we lost this game because we didn't take care of the basketball and we lost this game because we didn't limit them to one shot," Boyle said. "And if you look at the numbers, they scored 37 points — 20 off our turnovers and 17 off second-chance points. That's 37 points we gave them because we don't do those two things."
Tyler Bey led CU with a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double while McKinley Wright IV and Shane Gatling each added 10 points. It was Bey's third straight double-double and fourth in his last five games. ISU's Jordan Barnes led all scorers with 19 points, including a 5-for-8 night from 3-point range.
Despite their mistakes, the Buffs had their chances. After ISU built a 14-point cushion early in the second half, Colorado went on a 16-4 run to close the gap to two, 52-50. Bey had 10 points in the surge and the Buffs — who never led in the game — had a chance to tie it up or take the lead after an Indiana State miss.
But on the ensuing possession, Colorado threw it away and the Sycamores turned the miscue into a basket and free throw to push the lead back to five.
"We weren't good enough tonight, we beat ourselves," Boyle said. "I don't want to take anything away from Indiana State. They deserved to win this game. We have to own that. Â But I'm really disappointed in the two areas I mentioned."
Colorado, though, stayed within range and managed to twice cut the deficit down to one in the final minutes. Gatling hit a 3-pointer to pull the Buffs to within 66-65 with 1:14 to go, only to see the Sycamores reap a second-chance bucket on the other end to push the lead back to three.
Wright then had a chance to tie it up scoring on a driving layup and drawing a foul — but he missed the free throw. The Buffs had a chance at the rebound, but the Sycamores came away with the ball and scored on the other end to bump the lead back to three, 70-67, with 22 seconds left. A Gatling 3-point try with 5 seconds remaining missed the mark and the Sycamores then iced the game with two more free throws.
"We're not going to play with zero turnovers," Boyle said. "We're not going to play with zero offensive rebounds for their team. But that's the area where we lost the game. … Those are the things we have to control that we're not controlling right now. We were able to fix it at New Mexico. We weren't able to fix it today. That's something I have to do better as a coach."
The Buffs trailed 36-28, at the half. Colorado committed 10 first-half turnovers, which Indiana State converted into nine points. At the same time, the Sycamores lived up to their nation-leading 3-point shooting percentage, hitting eight of 12 attempts from beyond the arc in first 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Colorado went cold after shooting relatively well early. After two Evan Battey free throws tied the game at 20-20 with 7:28 to go in the half, the Sycamores reeled off an 8-0 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Cooper Neese. CU's Daylen Kountz finally stopped the run with a steal and bucket, but the Sycamores then built their cushion to 11 before a Deleon Brown 3-pointer just before halftime pulled Colorado to within eight, 36-28, at intermission.
TURNING POINT: With just under nine minutes to play, the Buffs had narrowed a 14-point deficit to two with a 16-4 run and were threatening to take control of the game. But on a possession when CU had the chance to tie the game or take the lead, the Buffs turned it over and ISU bumped its lead back to five. That put new life into the Sycamores, and while Colorado managed to close the gap to one twice in the final two minutes, the Buffs could never get over the hump.
WHAT IT MEANS: The loss ended CU's six-game win streak and dropped the Buffs into the losers' bracket of the tournament. Now, the Buffs have to find a way to bounce back and regain some momentum in their final two nonconference games.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs committed a season-high 19 turnovers that led to 20 ISU points. CU also lost the rebounding battle, 34-32, leading to a 17-7 Indiana State edge in second-chance points.
NOTEWORTHY: Tyler Bey recorded his third straight double-double and fourth in last five games with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We have to own this together. It stinks right now. There's nothing worse than coming over here and losing your first game. What we have to do is we have to bounce back. That's where we're going to be tested — our toughness, our intestinal fortitude, the grit in this team. Do we really have what it takes to be a contender in the Pac-12 Conference? We'll find that out in the next 24 hours."
NEXT UP: The Buffs play Hawaii, who lost to UNLV, 73-59, in the second game of the day, Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
