Colorado
12-5,3-3Pac-12
USC
8-9,2-4Pac-12
Buffs Rally To Top USC, Remain Unbeaten At Home
January 13, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado overcame a 16-point first half deficit and the Buffaloes rallied in the second half Saturday to take a 68-58 win over Southern California in front of a crowd of 10,005 at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs ended a three-game losing streak to improve to 12-5 overall and 3-3 in Pac-12 play while also improving to 10-0 at home. The Trojans, playing without their two top scorers, dropped to 8-9, 2-4.
J'Vonne Hadley led the Buffs with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Cody Williams scored 13 and Tristan da Silva and Eddie Lampkin Jr. each scored 12, with Lampkin adding seven rebounds.
Oziyah Sellers led USC with 18.
Colorado trailed by as much as 16 in the first half and the Trojans led 37-24 at the break. But the Buffs burst from the gate after intermission with a 12-2 run and finally took the lead midway through the half. CU then built a five-point lead and maintained that edge until the final minutes, when the Buffs managed to push their cushion to double digits.
Colorado shot just 31 percent in the first half (9-for-29) while the Trojans hit 15 of their 32 shots.
But the Buffs kicked in their defense in the second half and the offense prospered as a result. CU held the Trojans to just 24 percent shooting in the second period (7-for-29) while forcing 10 turnovers and the Buffs converted those miscues into 12 points. Colorado also shot 56 percent after the break (18-for-32).
The Buffs did lose the rebound battle, 40-36, but the big difference came in the transition game. Colorado outscored USC 21-3 in fast break points, with the Buffs tallying 17 of those in the second half.
"The credit goes to our kids," Boyle said. "They were frustrated, down at halftime. We weren't ourselves offensively or defensively. But they dug in in the second half. We really guarded them. They played with grit and toughness and we got the win."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a rough, disjointed first half that saw the Buffs trail 37-24 at the break, Colorado found its footing after intermission.
CU opened the half with a 12-2 run, hitting six of its first seven field goals. Hadley had six points in the surge and da Silva, Lampkin and KJ Simpson all added baskets as CU pulled to within 39-36.
USC momentarily pushed its lead back to five but the Buffs kept up the pressure. Lampkin converted a three-point play on a great pass from Simpson inside, Hadley reaped a layup after a da Silva steal and Julian Hammond III converted a transition layup with 12:32 to play to tie the game at 43-43.
"We knew we had to try to turn something around, especially after the first half," Hadley said. "Knowing that we're down and that's kind of where that fight came from, as well."
The Trojans went back ahead one more time on a putback before Colorado scored five in a row to grab its first lead since early in the first half. Luke O'Brien hit a corner 3-pointer off an assist from Hadley and second later Hadley recorded a steal and layup to give the Buffs a 48-45 lead with 10 minutes to play.
That brought the crowd to a fever pitch.
"I really want to thank the students and fans that turned out tonight (in sub-zero temperatures)," Boyle said. "To really get them involved in the game you have to get out in transition and the only way you get out in transition is you get stops."
The Buffs did just that over the final 10 minutes.
Da Silva forced a turnover at midcourt that led to a William dunk and 53-47 lead at the 8:37 mark and a Hadley bucket off the glass with 4:13 to play gave CU a 59-54 edge.
Defensively, the Buffs forced three straight empty possessions from the Trojans and a Williams hook shot from the lane and a Lampkin free throw gave CU a 62-55 lead with two minutes to play.
"We started out slow," Lampkin said. "We knew we had to come out with some energy in the second half and get the W."
The Buffs then put the game away with a Simpson 3-pointer with 1:11 left that gave CU a 65-55 lead. Lampkin closed CU's scoring with a dunk underneath before USC hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The win ended Colorado's three-game losing streak and kept the Buffs in the middle of the pack in the Pac-12 standings.
Colorado opened the game on a solid note, taking a momentary 9-8 lead on a Hadley 3-pointer.
But the Trojans quickly regained the lead on a DJ Rodman 3-pointer, the beginning of a 21-4 USC run.
Almost nothing went right for the Buffs over the ensuing eight minutes. Colorado recorded just one field in the stretch, a layup from KJ Simpson, who was playing with two fouls.
USC, meanwhile, hit the Buffs from the inside and outside, with reserve Oziyah Sellers scoring eight points in the surge.
Colorado finally stopped a 12-0 USC run with two Cody Williams free throws before the Trojans bumped their lead back to 29-13 on a Sellers bucket.
The Buffs finally began to chip away at the deficit. Williams hit two more free throws and Tristan da Silva hit a 3-pointer to pull the Buffs to within 29-18. Four minutes later, the Buffs cut the deficit to 10 on a da Silva baseline jumper and the Buffs then had two chances to cut the lead to single digits but came up empty on both possessions.
The Trojans then ended a short drought with five straight points before Williams hit a layup at the buzzer for Colorado to send the Buffs into halftime trailing 37-24.
TURNING POINT: Colorado's 12-2 run to start the second half changed the entire complexion of the game. Colorado erased USC's double digit lead and finally went ahead midway through the half and kept the Trojans at bay down the stretch.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado improved to 10-0 at home this year while ending a three-game losing streak. The Buffs now have a shot at league-leading Oregon next Thursday.
KEY STATISTICS: CU held the Trojans to just 24 percent shooting in the second period (7-for-29) while forcing 10 turnovers. The Buffs converted those miscues into 12 points … Colorado shot 56 percent (18-for-32) in the second half … CU outscored USC 21-3 in fast break points, with the Buffs tallying 17 of those in the second half.
NEXT UP: The Buffs get two more at home, beginning with an 8:30 p.m. game Thursday against Oregon (FS1) and a 5 p.m. contest Saturday against Oregon State (Pac-12 Network).
