Colorado
11-2,0-0Pac-12
Iona
2-5,0-0MAAC
Boyle Notches 200th Win At CU As Buffs Roll Past Iona
December 29, 2019 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Tad Boyle collected his 200th win at Colorado here Sunday in resounding fashion, as his Buffaloes ran away with a 99-54 win over Iona at the CU Events Center.
The win — Colorado's final non-conference tuneup before opening Pac-12 play Thursday at home against No. 6 Oregon — improved the Buffs to 11-2 while Iona fell to 2-5.
Boyle, already the second-winningest coach in CU men's hoops history, saw his record improve to 200-125 in his 10th season. He trails only Russell "Sox" Walseth (261-245) on CU's all-time list.
His 200th win was never in doubt. The Buffs led from the start, scoring the first eight points of the game and pushing their lead to as much as 18 in the first half before settling for a 35-19 halftime edge. Colorado then quickly bumped the cushion to 30 with a 17-3 run to open the second half and led by as much as 47 down the stretch.
The Buffs finished with seven players in double-digit scoring and Evan Battey and McKinley Wright IV both finished with double-doubles. Battey had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second career double-double while Wright had 13 points and 10 assists for his second straight and seventh career double-double.
Colorado's D'Shawn Schwartz just missed a double-double, as he finished with a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds (tying his career high). Lucas Siewert added 12 points, Tyler Bey had 11 and Maddox Daniels and Daylen Kountz each chipped in 10.
CU also tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game with 17 (set vs. Oklahoma State in 2005) and finished with 26 assists, the most in the Boyle era and most since CU had 27 vs. Northridge in 2009.
E.J. Crawford led Iona with 14 points, as the Gaels struggled from the floor all game, hitting just 30 percent of their field goal tries (18-for-60). CU shot 56.7 percent from the floor (34-for-60) and also held a commanding 47-24 edge in rebounds.
"What a feel-good win," Boyle said. "We finished non-conference play and we go into conference play … I love the unselfishness that our team played with offensively. This is a great way to go into conference play but we know on Thursday, it's gonna be a little different animal in here."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by 16 at intermission, 35-19, then put the game away with a 17-3 run to start the second half. A Schwartz 3-pointer less than five minutes into the half pushed CU's lead to 52-22 and the Gaels never threatened again, as the Buffs steadily built their lead the rest of the game.
Schwartz finished the game 4-for-6 from 3-point range and is 15-for-26 from long distance over his last five games.
"The guys around me know where I like the ball," Schwartz said. "They know I can make shots when I get going. I told McKinley, 'I got one for you,' and rack up an assist for him. He knows I'll hit the shot if I get the ball in good position."
Wright found plenty of open teammates, with his 10 assists just one short of his career high. He also had just one turnover, while the Buffs finished with 15 turnovers for the game.
"Our offense was moving really well," Wright said. "We were sharing the ball. Our offense was quick and at a high level."
Colorado also played well on the defensive end, limiting Iona to 17.2 percent shooting in the first half (5-for-29) and 30 percent for the game (18-for-60). Battey played a big role on that end, helping hold Iona's Tajuan Agee to just nine points, eight points under his season average.
"There's no doubt that Evan is our best post defender," Boyle said. "Mckinley Wright is our best perimeter defender. D'Shawn has become a very solid defender. Evan inside and McKinley outside are two guys I'm not afraid to put on anybody."
After pushing their lead to 30 with the quick run to start the second half, Colorado continued to build the cushion. CU's biggest lead was a 47-point edge, 93-46, with just under four minutes to play on a Daniels 3-pointer.
Along with his 10 assists, Wright was an efficient 5-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. It was a far cry from a 1-for-11 effort he endured in a win over Colorado State just two weeks ago. Since then, he has recorded back-to-back double-doubles in CU's last two games.
"I see it in practice, I see how hard he works on his jump shot," Boyle said. "I kept telling him in the first half to be aggressive. I want him to be an aggressive scorer and shooter and I thought he did a great job tonight of finding the balance between doing that and distributing the ball and getting good shots. He's kind of the engine that makes us go and Evan Battey just keeps getting better and better as well."
Colorado led from the outset, slowly building its margin into double digits and pushing the cushion to as much as 18 before taking a 35-19 lead into halftime. CU's defense frustrated Iona for the entire half, as the Gaels finished just 5-for-29 from the floor, including 2-for-15 from 3-point range.
The Buffs scored the first eight points of the game and pushed their lead into double digits, 15-5, on a Kountz bucket underneath off a nice pass from Wright with just under 12 minutes left in the half.Â
Colorado then extended its cushion to 18 points with a 10-0 run late in the half. Schwartz started the run with a 3-pointer, Battey added two free throws, Siewert drained a long trey and Kountz wrapped it up with another drive to the bucket to give Colorao a 33-15 edge with 2:25 remaining.
The Gaels, who went 6:30 without a field goal, added two in the final two minutes to cut CU's lead to 35-19 by intermission.
TURNING POINT: After Iona managed to pull within eight, 23-15, late in the first half, the Buffs went on a 10-0 run and their lead never dipped into single digits again.
WHAT IT MEANS: A solid all-around performance should give the Buffs confidence and momentum heading into Thursday's Pac-12 opener that will match the teams picked to finish first (Oregon) and second (Colorado) in the conference preseason media poll.
CU STANDOUTS: Evan Battey and McKinley Wright IV both finished with double-doubles. Battey had 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second career double-double while Wright had 13 points and 10 assists for his second straight and seventh career double-double … D'Shawn Schwartz just missed a double-double, as he finished with a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds (tying his career high) ... Lucas Siewert added 12 points, Tyler Bey had 11 and Maddox Daniels and Daylen Kountz each chipped in 10.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs shot 56.7 percent from the field (34-for-60) while holding Iona to 30 percent shooting (18-for-60) … CU held a 47-24 edge in rebounds … Iona's largest scoring run of the night was just six points.
NOTEWORTHY: The Buffs are now 69-4 in the Boyle era when shooting at least 50 percent from the field … The seven players in double figures is the most since a 2003 win over Jackson State, when seven Buffs also scored in double figures … CU is now 74-5 in non-conference home games under Boyle … Siewert is still perfect from the free throw line this season (12-for-12) … Freshman Jakub Dombek recorded his first collegiate points, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:18 left in the game … Wright's double-double was his fifth of the points-assists variety, and he has scored in double figures in 63 of his career 79 games … All 16 players who suited up for the game saw action.
QUOTEWORTHY: "If we want to compete for a conference championship, we have to take care of our home floor. This is a great opportunity. I don't think it's the biggest game of the year, I think it's a big game because it's the next game. They've got great players, they've got a great coach and it's going to be a heck of a game, but it's no bigger than any other opportunity on our schedule … We need our fans to show up in droves, we need our players to show up, our coaching staff needs to do a good job getting the game plan together. We will be ready to go on Thursday." CU head coach Tad Boyle on Thursday's matchup with Oregon.
NEXT UP: The Buffs open Pac-12 play Thursday with a 7 p.m. home game against Oregon.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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