Colorado
11-8,3-5Pac-12
UCLA
16-2,7-0Pac-12
Buffs Falter In Second Half, Fall At UCLA
January 14, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — Colorado gave up a decisive 17-0 run to UCLA in the second half Saturday, part of a 33-10 finishing surge by the Bruins, and the Buffaloes dropped a 68-54 decision at Pauley Pavilion.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in Pac-12 play with their second straight loss. UCLA won its 13th straight game to improve to 16-2, 7-0.
The Buffs led by three at the half and by nine midway through the second half, 44-35, despite a raft of turnovers. But the Bruins stormed back with a 17-0 run over a five-minute span and ended up outscoring the Buffaloes 33-10 over the final 10 minutes.
KJ Simpson led the Buffs with 17 points, Javon Ruffin added 11 and Tristan da Silva scored 10.
Jaime Jaquez led UCLA with 23 points.
Turnovers plagued the Buffs for the second straight game. After committing 22 miscues in a loss Thursday to USC, Colorado turned it over 23 times against UCLA, leading to 25 UCLA points. While the total rebounds were even at 39-39, Colorado gave up 18 offensive boards that led to 14 second-chance points for UCLA.
Colorado shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor (15-for-49) and the Bruins finished with 11 blocked shots. Thus, CU finished its Los Angeles road swing with 45 turnovers and 20 shots blocked by the opponent.
The Bruins shot just 38 percent (24-for-63) and just 4-for-19 from 3-point range. But all four of their 3-pointers came in the finishing 33-10 run.
"Our inability to take care of the basketball was the difference — that and 18 offensive rebounds," Boyle said. "We played well enough defensively to win. But they just beasted us on the boards. The fact that we were in this game is amazing. Our guys compete. They play hard. I don't question their grit. We competed, but we weren't tougher than them."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado weathered an early storm that saw the Buffs commit six turnovers in the first nine minutes to take a 31-28 lead at the half.
CU trailed 16-13 at the 9:21 mark but put together an 8-0 run to take the lead. Simpson had a pair of buckets in the surge, da Silva added a pair of free throws and a Luke O'Brien basket gave the Buffs a 21-16 lead.
Colorado then pushed its lead to 29-20 on the heels of a 6-0 run. Simpson hit a pair of free throws, Javon Ruffin drove for a bucket and J'Vonne Hadley scored inside to give Colorado its biggest cushion of the half.
But the Bruins put together an 8-2 run over the final two minutes of the half, leaving CU with a three-point edge at intermission.
The Buffs committed 10 turnovers in the first half that led to 14 UCLA points, and they also allowed the Bruins to turn eight offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points.
But Colorado was stellar on the defensive end, holding UCLA to 11-for-28 shooting in the first half, including an 0-for-7 goose egg from long range.
The Buffs appeared ready to take control in the opening minutes of the second half. Colorado built its lead to nine when a Simpson three-point play gave the Buffs a 44-35 edge with 10:21 to play.
But the wheels fell off in a hurry. The Bruins proceeded to fashion a 17-0 run that included their first 3-pointer of the game and with 6:09 on the clock, UCLA held a 52-44 lead.
Ruffin finally ended a 4:24 scoring drought for the Buffaloes with three free throws, but the Bruins responded with a 7-0 run to push their lead to double digits, 59-47, with under four minutes to play.
At that point, UCLA's run had hit 24-3 and the Buffaloes had gone seven minutes without a field goal, a drought that ultimately hit 10 minutes.
"Our defense was good enough tonight," Boyle said. "Our defense ws good enough against USC the other night. It's just our offense. Our inefficiencies and turning the ball over is not good enough right now to beat anyone. They turned up the heat defensively and we couldn't answer."
Colorado did manage to cut the deficit back down to 10 in the final minutes but never really threatened to come any closer down the stretch.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs were swept on their two-game road trip, ending streak of winning at least one game on a trip at eight. But most importantly, the Buffaloes let a golden opportunity for a Quad 1 NET win literally slip through their hands.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado turned it over a season-high 23 times against UCLA, leading to 25 UCLA points … While total rebounds were even at 39-39, Colorado gave up 18 offensive boards that led to 14 second-chance points for UCLA. … The Buffs shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor (15-for-49) and the Bruins finished with 11 blocked shots. … The Bruins shot just 38 percent (24-for-63) and just 4-for-19 from 3-point range, but all four of their 3-pointers came in the finishing 33-10 run.
NEXT UP: Colorado returns home next week for a pair at the CU Events Center, beginning with a 7 p.m. game Thursday against Washington, followed by a 4 p.m. matchup Jan. 22 (Sunday) against Washington State.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
