Colorado
21-6,10-4Pac-12
USC
19-8,8-6Pac-12
Buffs Stifle Trojans Down Stretch To Remain Atop Pac-12
February 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Colorado took the best punch the USC Trojans could muster Thursday night, then punched back.
Tad Boyle's Buffaloes overcame a 14-point first half deficit, then withstood a furious USC rally down the stretch to collect a 70-66 win over the Trojans before 10,027 at the CU Events Center.
The No. 18/17 Buffaloes improved to 21-6 overall and 10-4 in Pac-12 play while the Trojans dropped to 19-8, 8-6. The win, coupled with Oregon's loss to Arizona State on Thursday, also gave CU sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 standings.
After falling behind early, 20-6, Colorado came back and led by as much as 12 in the second half before the Trojans cut the margin down to one, 67-66, with 1:30 to play.
But McKinley Wright IV hit a floater from the lane coming out of a timeout to bump the margin back to three with 1:20 remaining and the Buffs forced two empty USC possessions in the final minute. Wright hit a free throw with 6.5 seconds on the clock to provide the final margin.
Colorado finished with five players in double figures, including Tyler Bey's 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, his 11th of the season and 30th of his career. Wright had 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds; Shane Gatling added 13 points;Â and D'Shawn Schwartz and Lucas Siewert each had 11.
Onyeka Okongwu led USC with 21 points.
"Really gritty, tough win," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "Ugly win. But you know in February you take them where you can get them and sometimes you have to try to win games ugly when you don't play your best."
The Buffs certainly weren't at their best in the first half, as they shot just 34.5 percent (10-for-29), had 11 turnovers and allowed the Trojans to collect a 22-21 rebound edge, including nine offensive boards. That was enough to give USC a 29-26 lead at intermission.
But CU bounced back with a strong second half, shooting 60.7 percent from the field, including 8-for-14 from 3-point range, while also finishing with a 35-32 edge on the boards.
"We found a way to win and McKinley Wright was terrific down the stretch," Boyle said. "It's nice to have a point guard who can make plays and our crowd was fantastic. You know, they helped us win this game. I always say college basketball isn't always a spectator sport. It's a participant sport. And I thought our crowd participated in this win tonight."
But Boyle wasn't celebrating CU's position atop the conference standings — not with four games remaining and three of them on the road.
"It means nothing," Boyle said. "It didn't mean anything two weeks ago, it doesn't mean anything right now — absolutely nothing. What matters is we have to take care of business on Saturday (against UCLA). That's all that matters."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs never led in the first half, trailing by as much as 14 at one point and still trailing by three at intermission, 29-26.
But CU finally asserted its will early in the second half, putting together a 7-0 run to take its first lead, 36-34, then pushing the run to 12-2 to take a 41-36 edge with 15:17 to play. Gatling had eight points in the run, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Colorado then bumped the lead to as much as 12 at two different junctures, the first at 56-44 on a 12-4 run, then 60-48 just two minutes later. Siewert had two 3-pointers in the run and Schwartz added a trey.
"Shane got some threes, Lucas hit three of them, D'Shawn hit some big ones," Boyle said. "We made some big time plays. You get into conference play and it's big boy basketball. Players make plays and tonight our guys made enough plays to win that game."
But the Trojans didn't go away quietly. They battled back to cut the CU lead to three, 64-61, when Daniel Utomi hit USC's first 3-pointer of the game with 4:26 to play, then scored five in a row three minutes later to pull within one, 67-66, with 1:30 to play.
That's when Wright took over, delivering a huge teardrop floater from the lane coming out of a timeout to bump CU's lead back to three. The Buffs then forced two USC empty possessions, including a key turnover forced by Schwartz with 7.2 seconds left, and Wright hit a free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.
After their 11 first-half turnovers and USC's nine offensive rebounds before halftime, CU had just four turnovers after intermission and allowed USC just two more offensive rebounds.
"Coach got on us at halftime," Wright said. "We knew we needed to step up on that and get them off the glass and we responded. We took care of the ball as well."
For the Trojans, it was a lost opportunity to move into a tie with the Buffs in the standings.
"We were in control but they came out of half and made a run," said USC coach Andy Enfield. "They started making some threes and we made some crucial mental mistakes. You have to make plays, you have to box out and limit mental mistakes … But it was two good teams going at it tonight and give CU credit. They made some big plays down the stretch to beat us."
The first half was a game of runs, with USC using a 13-0 surge to take a 20-6 lead with 8:50 to play before the Buffs answered with a 20-6 run to tie the game at 26-26 with 2:02 left in the half. USC closed the half with the last three points to take a 29-26 lead into intermission.
The Buffs struggled from the floor in the first 20 minutes, hitting just 10 of their 25 field goal tries, including just 3-for-12 from 3-point range. But they did find their eye momentarily in the 20-6 run, getting treys from Eli Parquet, Bey and Schwartz to fuel the comeback.
Colorado also had trouble containing the Trojans on the boards, as USC had a 22-21 rebound edge, including nine offensive rebounds — six by Rakocevic. CU also had 11 turnovers in the first half, leading to eight USC points.
RECORD WATCH: With 21 wins, Colorado is now just three away from tying the all-time record of 24 for the most wins in a season, both coming in the Boyle era (2010-11 and 2011-12). With four conference games remaining, CU is also still within reach of the all-time record of 13 conference wins, set in 1961-62 when the Buffs went 13-1 in Big Eight play.
TURNING POINT: A 7-0 run early in the second half gave the Buffs a lead they would never relinquish. CU built the cushion to as much as 12, then fought off a USC rally in the final minutes.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs are now in sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, a half-game ahead of Arizona and Arizona State (both 9-4). Colorado would lose a tie with Arizona, as the Wildcats won the only regular season meeting, but the Buffs would win a tie with ASU, thanks to CU's win over the Sun Devils earlier this year.
CU STANDOUTS: Tyler Bey recorded a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, his 11th of the season and 30th of his career …. McKinley Wright IV had 15 points and six rebounds … Shane Gatling scored 13 points … D'Shawn Schwartz and Lucas Siewert each had 11.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs shot 60.7 percent in the second half, including 8-for-14 from 3-point range after going Buffs just 3-for-12 in the first half … The Buffs also held a 35-32 edge on the boards and allowed USC just two offensive rebounds in the second half … CU also had only four turnovers in the second half after 11 in the first.
QUOTEWORTHY: "Our fans were fantastic tonight. We have to have them again on Saturday. I know we will. It's a CBS game (the first in program history). So this is an opportunity for us to show what we can do and I know our fans will do their part." — CU head coach Tad BoyleÂ
UP NEXT:Â The Buffs play their final home game of the season Saturday, when they play host to UCLA at 2 p.m. at the Events Center. CU then closes the regular season with three straight road games, beginning with a pair next week in the Bay Area. Colorado plays at Cal on Thursday, Feb. 27, then heads to Stanford on Sunday, March 1. The Buffs then wrap up the regular season with a 12:30 p.m. game March 7 at Utah.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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