Tuesday, December 25
Honolulu, HI
11:00 AM
Colorado
9-3
68
vs
53
Charlotte
3-8
1
2
F
Colorado
35
33
68
Charlotte
26
27
53
Lucas Siewert led Colorado with 17 points against Charlotte.
Photo by: Joel Broida
Colorado Bounces Back To Take Seventh In Hawai'i
December 25, 2018 | Men's Basketball
HONOLULU - Colorado came to Hawai'i with more than a single win in mind, but after a frustrating week on the islands, the Buffaloes will take it.
Lucas Siewert had a team-high 17 points and two others scored in double digits as the Buffaloes claimed seventh place at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic with a 68-53 win over Charlotte Tuesday morning at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Colorado ended the nonconference portion of its schedule at 9-3. Charlotte fell to 3-8.
After a pair of losses that put the Buffs in the 8 a.m. local game time against Charlotte, most likely the earliest local start in program history, Colorado began to see glimpses of the team that had won six-straight earlier this month.
Colorado moved the ball well with 15 assists on 24 made baskets. The Buffaloes were able to knock down open shots and get contributions throughout the lineup.
Freshman Daylen Kountz had a career-high 12 points, hitting all four of his field goal attempts. Senior Namon Wright had 10 points, all in the first half, for his first double-figure scoring game since the win at Air Force.
"Our ball movement the last couple games has been really good and today it was nice to see some shots go in," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Lucas saw some go in, D'Shawn (Schwartz) saw some go in, Daylen played really well off the bench."
Colorado also played timely defense. Charlotte shot just 32 percent in the second half and overall the Buffaloes scored 18 points off 49ers turnovers.
John Davis led Charlotte with a game-high 25 points, doing much of the damage from the free throw line, making 10 of 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs would roll late, but much like the last four games, it took them a while to get going. Charlotte pounded the paint early, making four of its first five shots to take an early 8-2 lead.
Siewert made his first of three 3-pointers to narrow the margin to four at 11-7, but the 49ers maintained an early edge by getting to the rim. Davis scored on a sharp cut to the basket and Malik Martin had a steal and breakaway layup for a 17-10 advantage. The 49ers scored 14 of their first 17 points in the paint.
Charlotte took its largest lead at 24-16 after a Jaylan McGill layup and Milos Supica free throw with 5:20 left in the half. From there Colorado started to get stops and went into attack mode.
The Buffaloes embarked on a 19-2 run to end the half, including 14 straight following the Supica free throw. Kountz and Wright combined for nine points during that stretch by attacking the basket and getting to the line.
Siewert ended the 14-0 run with a corner 3-pointer that gave the Buffaloes a 30-24 lead with 1:10 left.
Davis hit a floater in the lane to cut the lead to four with 30 seconds left, but the Buffaloes responded with five points in the last second due to a pair of technical fouls against the Charlotte bench.
After McKinley Wright IV missed a put back off a Namon Wright 3-point attempt, Evan Battey was fouled going for the offensive rebound with the Buffaloes in the double bonus. A lengthy protest by Charlotte head coach Ron Sanchez resulted in two technical fouls and thus the Buffaloes were awarded six free throws off the play. Colorado took advantage making five – three by Namon Wright and two by Battey – to take a 35-26 lead at the break.
Colorado kept Charlotte at or above double-digits length from there. A 7-0 run capped by a Tyler Bey dunk flying through the lane gave the Buffaloes a 49-32 lead with 13:28 remaining.
Colorado, which had struggled from long range as of late, started to see some shots fall. The Buffaloes made three of their first four in the second half and finished the game 7 of 20. Kountz hit both his 3-point attempts as the Buffaloes took their largest lead at 63-42 with 7:08 remaining.
Charlotte had a late 8-0 run to cut the lead to 63-50 with 3:49 during a stretch where the Buffaloes missed four straight shots, but D'Shawn Schwartz scored five of his nine points in the final minutes to keep the 49ers at a safe distance.
TURNING POINT: After holding a lead for just 13:03 out of 102 minutes in the Diamond Head Classic, Colorado took control with a 19-2 run late in the first half.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffaloes regained glimpses of what it could, and should be, ending the Diamond Head Classic on a positive note.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado won for the first time this season with fewer than four players scoring in double figures, but the Buffaloes were well rounded with nine scoring and six players with at least five. Colorado's depth was evident in its bench outscoring Charlotte's bench, 29-1.
NOTEWORTHY: Siewert led Colorado in scoring during the three-game tournament at 14.7 points per game. After missing his first six 3-point attempts, he battled back to make 4 of 6 down the stretch, including 3 of 5 against Charlotte. Kountz registered his second double-figure scoring game (11 at Air Force). He improved to 5 of 6 from 3-point range this season. Bey failed to register double-figures in either points or rebounds since the Air Force game, although he did finish with eight points and six boards.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We've got to build on the things we're doing well but we have to shore up the things we have to get better at. It starts at the defensive end for us. First half was not good, but the second half was much better. Ball screen defense has to be better. Rebounding was better today but that has to be a consistent thing. If I think about one thing this team has to get better at, it's consistency. Consistency in taking care of the ball on offense. Consistency in getting great shots and consistency in defending and rebounding." – Boyle on improving on the team's consistency.
"Nobody wants to play in the 8 a.m. game on Christmas. We figured out a way to win, but it wasn't pretty. I'm not going to put too much into this game. But we're 9-3 start we've got a chance to start league play with 5 of 7 league games on the road. It's not going to be easy, but we're going to embrace that as an opportunity. We're not going to look at it as a negative thing. Everyone has 9 home games and 9 road games so we have to be ready to go." – Boyle on the Pac-12 season beginning Jan. 3.
NEXT UP: Colorado will have eight days off before opening Pac-12 Conference play on Jan. 3 at Arizona.
Lucas Siewert had a team-high 17 points and two others scored in double digits as the Buffaloes claimed seventh place at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic with a 68-53 win over Charlotte Tuesday morning at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Colorado ended the nonconference portion of its schedule at 9-3. Charlotte fell to 3-8.
After a pair of losses that put the Buffs in the 8 a.m. local game time against Charlotte, most likely the earliest local start in program history, Colorado began to see glimpses of the team that had won six-straight earlier this month.
Colorado moved the ball well with 15 assists on 24 made baskets. The Buffaloes were able to knock down open shots and get contributions throughout the lineup.
Freshman Daylen Kountz had a career-high 12 points, hitting all four of his field goal attempts. Senior Namon Wright had 10 points, all in the first half, for his first double-figure scoring game since the win at Air Force.
"Our ball movement the last couple games has been really good and today it was nice to see some shots go in," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Lucas saw some go in, D'Shawn (Schwartz) saw some go in, Daylen played really well off the bench."
Colorado also played timely defense. Charlotte shot just 32 percent in the second half and overall the Buffaloes scored 18 points off 49ers turnovers.
John Davis led Charlotte with a game-high 25 points, doing much of the damage from the free throw line, making 10 of 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs would roll late, but much like the last four games, it took them a while to get going. Charlotte pounded the paint early, making four of its first five shots to take an early 8-2 lead.
Siewert made his first of three 3-pointers to narrow the margin to four at 11-7, but the 49ers maintained an early edge by getting to the rim. Davis scored on a sharp cut to the basket and Malik Martin had a steal and breakaway layup for a 17-10 advantage. The 49ers scored 14 of their first 17 points in the paint.
Charlotte took its largest lead at 24-16 after a Jaylan McGill layup and Milos Supica free throw with 5:20 left in the half. From there Colorado started to get stops and went into attack mode.
The Buffaloes embarked on a 19-2 run to end the half, including 14 straight following the Supica free throw. Kountz and Wright combined for nine points during that stretch by attacking the basket and getting to the line.
Siewert ended the 14-0 run with a corner 3-pointer that gave the Buffaloes a 30-24 lead with 1:10 left.
Davis hit a floater in the lane to cut the lead to four with 30 seconds left, but the Buffaloes responded with five points in the last second due to a pair of technical fouls against the Charlotte bench.
After McKinley Wright IV missed a put back off a Namon Wright 3-point attempt, Evan Battey was fouled going for the offensive rebound with the Buffaloes in the double bonus. A lengthy protest by Charlotte head coach Ron Sanchez resulted in two technical fouls and thus the Buffaloes were awarded six free throws off the play. Colorado took advantage making five – three by Namon Wright and two by Battey – to take a 35-26 lead at the break.
Colorado kept Charlotte at or above double-digits length from there. A 7-0 run capped by a Tyler Bey dunk flying through the lane gave the Buffaloes a 49-32 lead with 13:28 remaining.
Colorado, which had struggled from long range as of late, started to see some shots fall. The Buffaloes made three of their first four in the second half and finished the game 7 of 20. Kountz hit both his 3-point attempts as the Buffaloes took their largest lead at 63-42 with 7:08 remaining.
Charlotte had a late 8-0 run to cut the lead to 63-50 with 3:49 during a stretch where the Buffaloes missed four straight shots, but D'Shawn Schwartz scored five of his nine points in the final minutes to keep the 49ers at a safe distance.
TURNING POINT: After holding a lead for just 13:03 out of 102 minutes in the Diamond Head Classic, Colorado took control with a 19-2 run late in the first half.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffaloes regained glimpses of what it could, and should be, ending the Diamond Head Classic on a positive note.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado won for the first time this season with fewer than four players scoring in double figures, but the Buffaloes were well rounded with nine scoring and six players with at least five. Colorado's depth was evident in its bench outscoring Charlotte's bench, 29-1.
NOTEWORTHY: Siewert led Colorado in scoring during the three-game tournament at 14.7 points per game. After missing his first six 3-point attempts, he battled back to make 4 of 6 down the stretch, including 3 of 5 against Charlotte. Kountz registered his second double-figure scoring game (11 at Air Force). He improved to 5 of 6 from 3-point range this season. Bey failed to register double-figures in either points or rebounds since the Air Force game, although he did finish with eight points and six boards.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We've got to build on the things we're doing well but we have to shore up the things we have to get better at. It starts at the defensive end for us. First half was not good, but the second half was much better. Ball screen defense has to be better. Rebounding was better today but that has to be a consistent thing. If I think about one thing this team has to get better at, it's consistency. Consistency in taking care of the ball on offense. Consistency in getting great shots and consistency in defending and rebounding." – Boyle on improving on the team's consistency.
"Nobody wants to play in the 8 a.m. game on Christmas. We figured out a way to win, but it wasn't pretty. I'm not going to put too much into this game. But we're 9-3 start we've got a chance to start league play with 5 of 7 league games on the road. It's not going to be easy, but we're going to embrace that as an opportunity. We're not going to look at it as a negative thing. Everyone has 9 home games and 9 road games so we have to be ready to go." – Boyle on the Pac-12 season beginning Jan. 3.
NEXT UP: Colorado will have eight days off before opening Pac-12 Conference play on Jan. 3 at Arizona.
Team Stats
COLO
CHA
FG%
.453
.400
3FG%
.350
.063
FT%
.813
.800
RB
32
25
TO
15
15
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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