Colorado
17-5,6-3Pac-12
USC
17-5,6-3Pac-12
Buffs Bounce Back, Throttle Trojans
February 01, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — Colorado bounced back from a disappointing defeat in a big way Saturday, rolling to a 78-57 win over Southern California at the Galen Center.
On the heels of a lossThursday at UCLA, the win provided the 20th-ranked Buffaloes with a critical road trip split as they improved to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in Pac-12 play while USC fell to 17-5, 6-3.
The win pulled the Buffs back into a tie with the Trojans for second in the Pac-12 standings, just a half-game behind Oregon (18-5, 7-3), which lost to Stanford on Saturday. There are now five teams with three losses in a logjam at the top of the standings.
The Buffs put forth a balanced effort to collect the win, putting four players in double-digit scoring. Tyler Bey led CU with 16 points and seven rebounds while McKinley Wright IV, D'Shawn Schwartz and Lucas Siewert all finished with 12 points. Wright also had eight assists, six rebounds and four steals; Schwartz had four rebounds and Evan Battey had nine points and four rebounds.
The Buffs also received excellent efforts off the bench from Dallas Walton (five points and three rebounds) and Eli Parquet (five points and five rebounds in a career-high 26 minutes), and starter Shane Gatling had seven points, three assists and just one turnover.
Isaiah Mobley led USC with 12 points.
CU finished with a 33-27 edge on the boards and held USC to just 37.9 percent shooting (22-for-58) while Colorado shot 27-for-52 (51.9 percent). The Buffs also limited USC to just 10 second-chance points and six fast break points — a far cry from the combined 40 they gave up to UCLA in those two categories just two nights earlier.
"Again, this team responds," said Boyle, whose Buffs have lost two in a row only once this season. "This team has heart, determination — we just need to find more consistency … When we play with this kind of energy, enthusiasm, attentiveness and toughness, good things can happen."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs dominated the contest almost from the beginning, using a 13-3 run in the first half to take a 33-24 lead at halftime, then putting together a 13-0 run early in the second half to assume control for good.
The Buffs were solid on both ends of the floor in both big runs. Battey had five straight points in the first half, including his third 3-pointer of the season, while Colorado's defense was holding USC to a 1-for-9 stretch from the floor.
For the game, CU held USC's big three — Nick Rakocevic, Onyeka Okongwu and Jonah Mathews — to just 28 points on 10-for-31 shooting. The three had been averaging more than 41 points per game combined.
"I just loved our effort on the boards," Boyle said. "And, you have to make shots when you're on the road and we made shots tonight."
The Buffs put the Trojans away for good with a 13-0 run over a six-minute stretch early in the second half. Wright started the surge with a drive to the hoop, Walton hit a 3-pointer from the top and Schwartz then scored six in a row, starting with a ferocious dunk off a feed from Wright after a steal.
Walton then hit two free throws with 11:32 remaining in the game to give CU a 22-point cushion, 50-28, and the Trojans never came closer than 18 again
Defensively, the Buffs held the Trojans scoreless for 6:30 in the run, and Colorado built the lead to as much as 27 over the final seven minutes. The 21-point final margin of victory was CU's second-largest for a road game in Pac-12 play, surpassed only by a 24-point win at USC (74-50) in 2012.
"We're as good as we want to be," Boyle said. "I just thought our defensive effort was dialed in."
After falling behind 6-0 early, Colorado caught fire midway through the first half, putting together a 13-3 run that turned a 14-13 deficit into a 26-17 lead. Parquet started the surge with a 3-pointer, Battey added five straight points with a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper and Schwartz capped the run with three-point play with just more than seven minutes to play.
CU temporarily bumped the lead to 12 with just more than a minute to go on a Bey 3-pointer before the Trojans answered with a Jonah Mathews trey to send CU into the locker room at intermission with a 33-24 lead.
BIG MEN 3-POINTERS: While Siewert's two 3-pointers were no surprise — he leads the Buffs with 35 treys — CU also got long-distance buckets from Bey, Battey and Walton. Bey hit his ninth and 10th of the season, Battey dropped in his third and Walton's was his first of the year.
TURNING POINT: After USC took a 14-13 lead with just under 13 minutes to play in the first half, Colorado put together a 13-3 run to take control and the Trojans never came closer than seven again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The victory — combined with Oregon's loss at Stanford — puts the Buffs squarely back in the conference title hunt, as there are now five teams with three Pac-12 losses atop the league standings.
CU STANDOUTS: Tyler Bey led CU with 16 points and seven rebounds … McKinley Wright had 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals … D'Shawn Schwartz scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds … Lucas Siewert also had 12 points and Evan Battey had nine points and four rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held USC to just 37.9 percent shooting (22-for-58) while Colorado was 27-for-52 from the floor (51.9 percent) … CU had a 33-27 edge on the boards … Colorado gave up just 16 points combined in second-chance and fast break opportunities while the Buffs had 14 second-chance points and 11 fast-break points.
NEXT UP: The Buffs return home next week for a pair of games at the CU Events Center. Colorado hosts Cal on Thursday at 6 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. game Saturday vs. Stanford.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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