Colorado
12-10,4-7Pac-12
Oregon
12-9,6-4Pac-12
Buffs Fall To Oregon On Road
January 26, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
EUGENE, Ore. — Colorado kept it close down the stretch but could never quite get over the hump Thursday and the Buffaloes dropped a 75-69 decision to Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 12-10 overall and 4-7 in Pac-12 play with their sixth loss in seven road games while the Ducks improved to 12-9, 6-4.
Tristan da Silva led CU with 23 points and Nique Clifford added a career-high 17. KJ Simpson had eight points — only the second time this year he has not scored in double digits — and Luke O'Brien had a team-high seven rebounds.
Quincy Guerrier led the Ducks with 16.
Colorado trailed by six at intermission and by as much as 11 midway through the second half. But the Buffs' full-court press forced a string of Oregon turnovers and CU managed to cut the gap to one, 63-62, with five minutes to play.
That, however, was as close as the Buffs could come. Oregon stretched its lead back to six, then hit six free throws in the final 1:08 to keep Colorado at bay.
The Buffs managed to stay in the game despite shooting just 37 percent from the floor (24-for-65) while Oregon shot 26-for-53. CU forced 18 Oregon turnovers and converted them into 13 points — but the Buffs still fell to 1-6 this year when forcing at least 18 miscues by the opponent.
"Our guys battled their tails off," Boyle said. "When you shoot 36 percent and they shoot 49 percent and you're still in the game, it shows our fight, our competitiveness and our grit. All you can ask us is that they give you everything they've got and I felt like they did tonight — but we didn't finish."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs trailed by six at the break and Oregon extended the deficit to 11 less than five minutes into the second half.
But Colorado stayed within striking distance. With 12:07 to play, the Buffs sliced the deficit to five, 51-46, on three free throws and a Clifford steal and bucket.
Oregon answered with a 6-0 run to bump its lead back to 11, but Colorado responded with a 9-0 run to cut Oregon's lead to just two, forcing five straight UO turnovers to fuel the surge. Da Silva had a dunk and two free throws and Clifford tallied a dunk and a 3-pointer to pull Colorado to within 57-55 with 7:43 still to play.
Clifford finished 7-for-11 from the field and had a career-best three 3-pointers.
"That's the Nique Clifford we need," Boyle said. "Hopefully that's something that he can build on."
The Ducks again answered with a 6-0 run to push their lead back to eight but the Buffs ran off seven in a row to narrow the deficit to one. Da Silva scored all seven in the burst, including a 3-pointer that cut Oregon's lead to 63-62 with five minutes still to play.
Clifford and da Silva shot a combined 15-for-25 from the field, but the rest of the Buffs were just 9-for-40.
"Tristan gave us everything he had," Boyle said. "We've just got some inconsistencies in our lineup that we've got to figure out."
But after closing the gap to one, the Buffs couldn't regain the lead. CU endured three straight empty possessions and the Ducks got five straight points from Guerrier, including a dagger 3-pointer just before the shot clock buzzer, to build their lead back to six, 68-62, with 2:30 to play.
CU did manage to pull within four in the final minutes but the Ducks made their free throws down the stretch to hand the Buffs the loss.
"We just couldn't get the stops when we needed them," Boyle said. "We had it down to one and then Guerrier hits the three at the end of the shot clock. We just couldn't get over the hump."
Colorado led for much of the first 10 minutes of the opening half. Da Silva, O'Brien and Ethan Wright all drained 3-pointers and the Buffs held a 17-13 lead at the 9:50 mark.
But the Ducks answered with an 8-0 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers to take the lead. CU momentarily regained the edge on a Clifford 3-pointer and KJ Simpson drive to the rim, but the Ducks responded to close the half on an 11-4 run and Colorado trailed, 32-26, at the half.
TURNING POINT: Thanks to some solid pressure defense, the Buffs closed the deficit to one, 63-62, with five minutes still to play. But an Oregon 3-pointer just before the shot clock gave the Ducks a four-point edge and Colorado never came closer again.
WHAT IT MEANS: CU let an opportunity to collect a Quad 1 win slip away at the end while falling to 4-7 in league play.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs shot just 37 percent from the floor (24-for-65) while Oregon shot 26-for-53 … The Ducks also held a 38-34 edge on the boards and had eight blocked shots.
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up their road trip Saturday with an 8:30 p.m. game at Oregon State (Pac-12 Network). CU then returns home next week for a pair of games against the Bay Area schools. Colorado hosts Cal on Thursday in an 8 p.m. game at the CU Events Center, followed by a Feb. 5 (Sunday) game against Stanford at 5 p.m.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
