colorado buffaloes

GAME 1 GAME 2 GAME 3 COLORADO 90, SACRAMENTO STATE 53 COLORADO 67, SEATTLE U 55 COLORADO 89, ULM 70 Nov. 11, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Nov. 14 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Nov. 17, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Sacramento State 1-0 VISITORS: Seattle U 1-1 VISITORS: ULM 1-2 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 03 Strings, Justin f 2-17 1-6 7-9 3 7 10 1 12 3 0 0 0 35 13 Chibuogwu, Emmanuel f 3-4 2-3 1-3 2 1 3 5 9 0 3 0 1 21 01 Munnings, Travis f 5-10 2-5 0-0 0 6 6 4 12 3 3 0 0 27 33 Hornsby, Nick f 7-13 0-1 2-4 4 7 11 4 16 0 1 1 0 28 21 Powell, William f 1-2 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 0 2 28 24 Taylor, Roderick f 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 5 4 0 2 0 0 21 44 Suteville, Eric c 1-6 0-0 1-5 3 4 7 2 3 0 2 1 0 26 41 Menzies, Aaron c 4-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 8 1 0 2 0 13 03 Washington, Marcus g 3-9 0-2 1-2 2 3 5 4 7 1 2 0 0 16 00 Graves, Marcus g 5-13 0-5 0-0 1 2 3 2 10 1 2 0 1 30 00 Westendorf, Brendan g 5-18 2-8 5-5 0 3 3 3 17 3 3 0 1 36 11 Coppola, Nick g 3-8 0-3 3-7 0 2 2 1 9 5 0 0 0 35 11 Jackson, Trevis g 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 25 Martin, Wade g 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 3 1 0 0 1 14 01 Means, Morgan g 2-12 0-4 0-0 1 4 5 2 4 3 3 0 3 33 01 Jacobs, Chibueze 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 14 04 Alabakis, Sam 1-3 0-0 2-4 0 3 3 3 4 0 2 1 0 22 05 Kavas, Matej 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 15 04 Ugbaja, Jiday 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 13 05 Jean-Pierre, Marvin 5-9 2-3 0-0 1 0 1 3 12 0 2 1 0 21 12 Dressler, Grant 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 12 11 Ulaneo, Scott 2-5 0-2 3-4 3 8 11 3 7 0 1 2 2 21 23 Harris, Jordon 5-14 5-8 0-0 0 3 3 2 15 2 3 1 3 27 14 Wu, Jeff 2-8 1-6 0-1 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 16 12 Da Campo, Mattia 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 30 McDaniel, Sam 1-4 0-0 2-2 1 6 7 5 4 0 1 0 2 17 15 Battaglia, Matt 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 14 Shaughnessy, Jack 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 3 TEAM 5 2 7 1 30 Patton, Joshua 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 7 30 Moore, Zachary 2-13 2-13 0-0 0 3 3 4 6 0 0 1 2 23 Totals...... 26-63 10-22 8-15 9 28 37 30 70 12 15 3 6 200 50 Herrick, James 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 TEAM 3 1 4 TEAM 3 3 1 Totals...... 19-63 6-32 11-14 10 25 35 32 55 10 14 5 11 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-28 25.0% 2nd Half: 19-35 54.3% Game: 41.3% DEADBALL Totals...... 20-68 2-22 11-21 17 23 40 23 53 4 9 2 3 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 6-11 54.5% Game: 45.5% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-34 20.6% 2nd Half: 13-34 38.2% Game: 29.4% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5% 2nd Half: 8-32 25.0% Game: 30.2% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 53.3% 4 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-9 11.1% 2nd Half: 1-13 7.7% Game: 9.1% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-14 21.4% 2nd Half: 3-18 16.7% Game: 18.8% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 3-0 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 52.4% 4 F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-6 83.3% Game: 78.6% 1 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 8 9 1 2 4 0 0 1 23 HOME: Colorado 1-0 HOME: Colorado 2-0 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 11 Johnson, Xavier f 4-10 1-4 5-8 2 1 3 2 14 0 2 0 0 20 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-8 0-0 1-2 3 9 12 1 7 2 2 1 0 23 21 White, Derrick g 4-5 1-2 3-3 2 1 3 0 12 4 2 0 2 23 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-6 0-0 7-8 6 8 14 3 11 1 3 1 1 30 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-7 0-0 0-1 0 7 7 1 6 2 1 0 0 25 24 King, George g 4-6 2-3 2-2 0 4 4 1 12 0 1 0 0 20 21 White, Derrick g 3-5 1-2 2-2 0 2 2 1 9 4 0 1 0 21 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-7 0-0 7-8 0 6 6 3 13 1 1 1 0 26 44 Fortune, Josh g 2-8 0-4 10-10 1 5 6 3 14 2 2 0 1 22 24 King, George g 3-9 1-3 3-4 1 5 6 0 10 0 0 1 0 20 21 White, Derrick g 6-12 0-3 3-8 3 3 6 1 15 2 3 1 1 33 00 Akyazili, Thomas 2-5 0-2 1-2 0 3 3 4 5 3 1 0 0 16 44 Fortune, Josh g 4-5 2-2 1-1 1 3 4 4 11 2 2 2 1 24 24 King, George g 3-8 1-5 0-1 1 5 6 1 7 0 3 0 1 29 05 Brown, Deleon 3-4 2-3 1-1 1 0 1 0 9 0 0 1 1 20 00 Akyazili, Thomas 3-5 0-2 2-2 1 0 1 4 8 6 1 0 0 13 44 Fortune, Josh g 2-5 2-5 6-8 1 6 7 3 12 2 4 2 3 26 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 05 Brown, Deleon 3-4 1-2 2-2 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 0 15 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-5 0-3 3-4 0 3 3 1 5 4 2 0 1 18 14 Miller, Tory 3-10 0-0 4-5 5 3 8 2 10 0 4 1 0 18 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 10 23 Peters, Bryce 3-7 1-3 2-4 0 3 3 1 9 1 0 0 3 17 14 Miller, Tory 3-6 1-1 2-4 1 4 5 2 9 1 1 2 0 19 14 Miller, Tory 2-5 0-0 0-4 2 5 7 3 4 1 1 1 0 13 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-7 0-0 0-0 4 2 6 1 2 0 0 1 0 17 15 Collier, Dominique 4-7 4-6 0-0 0 0 0 3 12 1 1 0 0 19 15 Collier, Dominique 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 33 Repine, Josh 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 25 Siewert, Lucas 3-4 3-3 0-0 0 5 5 0 9 0 1 0 0 17 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 TEAM 2 1 3 33 Repine, Josh 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM 5 5 Totals...... 27-67 7-21 28-35 18 31 49 15 89 14 12 3 8 200 TEAM 3 2 5 Totals...... 19-53 3-18 26-41 19 36 55 18 67 12 19 6 7 200 Totals...... 32-60 13-21 13-18 10 37 47 16 90 20 10 7 1 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-34 44.1% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 40.3% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3% 2nd Half: 18-31 58.1% Game: 53.3% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-13 38.5% 2nd Half: 2-8 25.0% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 9-24 37.5% Game: 35.8% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-11 63.6% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% Game: 61.9% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 13-15 86.7% 2nd Half: 15-20 75.0% Game: 80.0% 1 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-8 0.0% 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 16.7% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-11 63.6% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 72.2% 0 F Throw % 1st Half: 11-17 64.7% 2nd Half: 15-24 62.5% Game: 63.4% 5 Officials: Eric Curry, Marques Pettigrew, Doran Gotschall Officials: Keith Kimble, Jimmy Casas, Juan Corral Attendance: 7329 Officials: Mike Reed, Kelly Pfeifer, LaDonte King Attendance: 8322 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Attendance: 6883 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total ULM 23 47 70 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Sacramento State 19 34 53 Colorado 48 41 89 Seattle U 31 24 55 Colorado 42 48 90 Colorado 31 36 67

BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes shot down Sacramento State 90-53 on Friday night at BOULDER — On a night when the Colorado Buffaloes’ shooting deserted them, they were BOULDER – Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes rediscovered their shooting touch and played the Coors Events Center, opening the 2016-17 men’s basketball season with an impressive display of forced to fall back on the principles that head coach Tad Boyle holds sacred above all others: defense defense with a purpose Thursday night, rolling to an 89-70 win over ULM in their second game of the long-range shooting and overall balance. and rebounding. Legends Classic. CU, which shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range last season, hit 13 of its 21 3-point attempts Those came through, and they proved to be just enough to produce a 67-55 win Monday over The Buffs had five players in double figures, led byJosh Fortune and Xavier Johnson with (61.9 percent) and finished opening night at 53.3 percent overall from the field (32-of-60). visiting Seattle in the first round of the Legends Classic. 14 points each. Derrick White and George King each chipped in 12 and Wesley Gordon had nine Dominique Collier (12 points), Josh Fortune (11) and George King (10) reached dou- Colorado improved to 2-0 with the win. rebounds, four assists and two points as Colorado improved to 3-0. ble figures on a night when 10 ofTad Boyle’s 12 players who suited up scored. HOW IT HAPPENED: One game after shooting a blistering 13-for-21 from 3-point range in a CU also got some good production off the bench, getting 10 points and eight points from junior Collier, coming off the bench, hit four of his six 3-point attempts while 6-10 freshman Lucas 90-53 win over Sacramento State, CU hit just 19 of its 53 field goal tries, including a 3-for-18 night Tory Miller, as well as nine points from true freshmen Bryce Peters and Deleon Brown. Siewert made all three of his shots from beyond the arc. from 3-point range. HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs didn’t let their ice-cold shooting effort from Monday’s win over HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs rolled to a 23-point halftime lead (42-19), shooting 48.3 But while their shots weren’t falling, the Buffs still commanded a 55-35 edge on the boards and Seattle follow them into Thursday’s game. percent (14-of-29) from the field while holding the Hornets to 20.6 percent (7-of-34). their defense provided a 36-24 scoring edge in the second half. Wesley Gordon had a 14-rebound, Instead, King opened the game with a 3-pointer, then hit another barely a minute later as the Buffs CU took a 3-0 lead on Derrick White’s trey – the first field goal attempt of his Buffs career – 11-point double-double — the 11th of his career — and Derrick White scored a game-high 15 quickly opened up an 8-0 lead. White then scored eight unanswered points to give the Buffs a 16-3 lead and steadily pulled away over the next 8 minutes. White, who sat out last season after transferring from points to go with six rebounds. Xavier Johnson added 13 points and six rebounds for the Buffs and and the Warhawks never seriously threatened to make it a game. UCCS, finished the half with a team-high seven points and nine for the night. Josh Fortune finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The Buffs stretched their lead to 38-19 late in the first half, then closed with a four-point flurry Boyle said White “was about 70 percent” after suffering a twisted ankle in a midweek practice and “That was the definition of winning ugly,” head coach Tad Boyle said. in the last four seconds of the half to take a 48-23 lead into the locker room at intermission. CU shot Collier also was recovering from a foot injury. Indeed, the Buffs never seemed to find their offensive groove for any length of time. But after 15-for-34 in the first half, limited ULM to 7-for-28 shooting and had a 28-17 rebounding edge. Boyle used 10 players in the first half and nine of them scored. He cleared his bench in the final falling behind 33-31 early in the second half, Colorado put together a 16-2 run to take a lead the Buffs Colorado then kept the lead in the 20-point range for most of the game and Boyle pulled his minutes. would never relinquish. George King started the surge with a 3-pointer — CU’s first of the night starters for good with a few minutes to go. The Buffs opened their first double-figure lead (16-6) on a 3-pointer by Fortune with just under after an 0-for-9 stretch — to give CU a 47-35 lead with 12:48 to go in the game. King, who was just 6-for-17 from the field in CU’s first two games, finished with a 4-for-6 night, 12:30 to play in the opening half. Fortune’s trey was one of seven in the first half by CU, as the Buffs CU’s defense also stepped up in that stretch, as the Buffs collected four blocked shots and four including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Fortune was just 2-for-8 from the field, but had a perfect 10-for-10 shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from behind the arc. steals along with forcing eight straight missed shots by the Redhawks. night at the free throw line. From that point, CU increased its lead to 17 points on two occasions before a layup by White at The Redhawks, though, wouldn’t go away and slowly chipped away at the lead. A Brendan White, meanwhile, continues to show why Boyle and his staff have been so excited to get the Westerdorf 3-pointer and free throw with 5:40 to go cut CU’s edge to 54-51, and it took a White the first-half buzzer produced the 23-point bulge at intermission. transfer from UC-Colorado Springs on the floor. The 6-foot-5 senior has been handling point guard duties, free throw and back-to-back 3-pointers from Fortune to give the Buffs some breathing room down the The Buffs kept up the pressure in the second half, building a 73-36 advantage with 7:47 remaining and had four assists, three rebounds and two steals to go with his 12 points. The majority of those stretch. Fortune’s second 3-pointer gave the Buffs a 61-53 lead with just 2:50 to go and they held the and coasting to their final margin. The Hornets never led and managed just one early tie. assists and rebounds came at key moments when the Buffs were building their big first-half lead. Seahawks at bay in the final minutes. TURNING POINT: After a 6-6 tie, the Buffs went on an 18-1 run to go up 24-7. CU hit four of Peters made his first appearance as a Buff and dazzled the crowd with a steal and dunk for his first While the Buffs were no doubt cold offensively, their defense produced the same effect on the its seven first-half treys during that surge, with Collier, Fortune, Tory Miller and Deleon Brown knocking basket in a CU uniform and also hit a 3-pointer for part of his nine points. Brown had two 3-pointers and Redhawks. Seattle hit just 19 of its 63 field goal attempts, including a 6-for-32 effort from 3-point down the four long-range shots. true freshman Lucas Siewert had two points and six rebounds. Peters and Lucas Siewert each had range. CU STANDOUTS: Collier – 12 points (4-of-6 3-pointers); Fortune – 11 points (4-of-5 from the 17 minutes on the floor while Brown had 20 minutes. The scoring difference came at the free throw line. Colorado shot 41 free throws and needed field, 2-of-2 3-pointers); – 12 rebounds, 7 points; White – 9 points, 4 assists; The Buffs also had a solid rebounding edge for the third game in a row, outrebounding the War- Wes Gordon George every attempt, as the Buffs hit just 26 of those tries. White, a career 83 percent free throw shooter at King – 10 points; Thomas Akyazili, 8 points, 6 assists. UC-Colorado Springs, was an uncharacteristic 3-for-8 from the line. hawks 49-37. Along with Gordon’s nine and Miller’s eight, Fortune matched Siewert’s total with six. KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held the Hornets to seven first-half field goals in 34 attempts (20.6 Colorado’s shooting wasn’t the only sore spot for the Buffs. One game after committing just 10 TURNING POINT: This one was never close. The Warhawks briefly closed an early double-digit percent) in building a 23-point halftime lead. Sac State’s final shooting percentage was 29.4 percent turnovers against Sacramento State, the Buffs had 19 miscues, which the Redhawks converted into 13 deficit to eight, 20-12, but the Buffs answered with a 13-4 run that put the game away with three (20-of-68) . . . . CU finished with 20 assists on 32 made field goals and committed only 10 turnovers . points. minutes still left in the first half. . . . The Buffs outrebounded the Hornets 47-40 but Boyle wasn’t pleased with Sac State’s 17 offensive TURNING POINT: After the Redhawks opened the second half with a bucket to take a 33-31 CU STANDOUTS: Five players in double figures meant it was a balanced effort, but Derrick rebounds. lead, the Buffs went on a 16-2 run, started by a George King 3-pointer. CU never trailed again. White’s 12-point, four-assist, three-rebound, two-steal effort stands out because of it’s versatility. … WHAT IT MEANS: The best thing to be gleaned from most openers is a ‘W’ – and that’s CU STANDOUTS: Gordon had his 11th career double-double, a 14-rebound, 11-point effort Wesley Gordon was his usual force on the boards, finishing with nine rebounds, and he also had four what the Buffs took from this one. But that was far from the lone takeaway; Boyle’s seventh CU team that included six offensive boards. … White had 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block and a assists. … Tory Miller had eight rebounds, with five coming on the offensive boards. … Fortune’s offered plenty of opening-night upside. It demonstrated depth, athleticism and every bit of the offensive steal. … Fortune had 12 points and seven rebounds. … ohnson had 13 points and six rebounds. 10-for-10 night from the free throw line helped the Buffs go 28-for-35 from the line. firepower that was expected. As always, though, Boyle’s emphasis in the coming weeks will be on KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had a dominating 55-35 edge on the boards, which included 19 KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs had three consecutive defensive stops on seven different occasions ratcheting up his defense and board work. offensive rebounds that produced 16 second-chance points. … Colorado also shot 41 free throws in the first half, a statistic that Boyle loves to see. … The Buffs’ emphasis on rebounding continues compared to Seattle’s 14, and the Buffs hit 26 of those free throws. to pay dividends, and Thursday’s 49-37 edge was no different, as it helped produce 19 second-chance WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 2-0, but more importantly, learned that Boyle’s points. … The Buffs also had more assists (14) than turnovers (12), a ratio that Boyle would no doubt insistence on rebounding and defense is something that will pay dividends when the shots aren’t like to see improve, but one that is still one the Buffs can live with. falling.

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GAME 4 GAME 5 GAME 6 NOTRE DAME 89, COLORADO 83 COLORADO 68, #22/21 TEXAS 54 COLORADO 75, WOFFORD 60 Nov. 21, 2016, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclays Center) Nov. 22, 2016, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclays Center) Nov. 27, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Notre Dame 4-0 VISITORS: Texas 3-2 VISITORS: Wofford 1-5 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 03 V.J. Beachem f 5-15 2-7 5-5 1 6 7 2 17 1 1 1 1 37 31 Allen, Jarrett f 6-9 0-0 3-4 4 2 6 1 15 0 3 1 1 34 35 Sawvell, Ryan f 3-4 1-2 3-3 0 3 3 3 10 1 1 0 0 27 23 Martinas Geben f 2-5 0-0 2-2 4 4 8 4 6 0 1 0 0 21 32 Cleare, Shaquille f 3-8 0-0 2-2 4 3 7 3 8 0 2 2 1 32 50 Pegram, Matthew c 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 5 2 1 2 1 0 15 35 Bonzie Colson f 6-13 1-1 9-9 4 8 12 4 22 0 2 1 2 27 05 Yancy, Kendal g 0-3 0-1 1-2 1 3 4 3 1 0 1 0 2 22 03 Magee, Fletcher g 4-17 4-10 3-5 1 5 6 2 15 4 1 0 1 34 05 Matt Farrell g 7-13 2-4 4-4 0 1 1 3 20 6 0 0 3 32 10 Davis Jr., Eric g 3-11 1-6 0-0 1 0 1 1 7 1 1 0 1 31 05 Garcia, Eric g 3-7 1-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 7 8 2 0 2 32 32 Steve Vasturia g 6-14 0-3 5-5 0 0 0 1 17 3 1 0 1 33 20 Allen, Jaylen g 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 0 0 16 12 Roach Jr., Kerwin g 6-16 1-4 3-4 0 2 2 3 16 1 1 0 0 30 00 Rex Pflueger 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 17 00 Lowery, Dishon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 7 00 Mack, Tevins 1-6 1-6 0-0 1 1 2 0 3 1 3 1 0 29 01 Austin Torres 0-3 0-0 0-2 2 4 6 4 0 0 1 0 0 18 01 Brooks, Derrick 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 8 02 T.J. Gibbs 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 9 01 Jones, Andrew 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 6 6 0 4 1 0 1 0 19 04 Theme-Love, Donovan 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 5 04 Matt Ryan 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 6 03 Young, Jacob 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 Hoover, Nathan 3-8 1-5 0-0 0 2 2 2 7 0 0 0 0 24 TEAM 1 2 3 2 TEAM 1 3 4 23 Tucker, Justin 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 13 Totals...... 28-66 6-17 27-29 14 27 41 23 89 11 8 2 7 200 Totals...... 21-57 3-17 9-12 12 20 32 11 54 4 11 5 5 200 33 Jackson, Cameron 5-7 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 4 10 3 2 0 0 19 TEAM 2 2 1 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-33 54.5% 2nd Half: 10-33 30.3% Game: 42.4% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 40.7% 2nd Half: 10-30 33.3% Game: 36.8% DEADBALL Totals...... 23-53 8-23 6-8 5 20 25 24 60 19 13 1 5 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-12 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-5 0.0% Game: 35.3% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 17.6% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-8 100% 2nd Half: 19-21 90.5% Game: 93.1% 1 F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 75.0% 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0% 2nd Half: 10-27 37.0% Game: 43.4% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 4-13 30.8% Game: 34.8% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 3-1 HOME: Colorado 4-1 F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 6-8 75.0% Game: 75.0% 1 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 4 4 0 0 1 1 19 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-11 0-0 0-0 4 5 9 3 6 2 1 2 2 30 HOME: Colorado 5-1 11 Johnson, Xavier f 8-15 2-4 5-6 4 3 7 3 23 2 0 0 0 30 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-8 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 3 7 1 0 0 0 25 21 White, Derrick g 6-14 1-5 7-7 2 3 5 2 20 9 5 2 0 37 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-9 0-0 2-2 2 7 9 0 10 2 1 2 1 28 21 White, Derrick g 7-10 1-1 1-1 1 4 5 2 16 2 3 2 2 33 24 King, George g 7-16 3-6 0-0 4 9 13 3 17 1 4 0 0 28 11 Johnson, Xavier f 9-14 2-4 7-11 3 9 12 1 27 0 2 0 0 32 44 Fortune, Josh g 1-4 0-3 2-2 0 1 1 1 4 1 1 0 0 27 24 King, George g 5-9 1-2 1-1 5 8 13 0 12 1 3 0 0 32 21 White, Derrick g 3-5 0-0 4-8 0 2 2 1 10 2 2 0 3 33 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 44 Fortune, Josh g 4-10 1-5 2-2 1 1 2 3 11 1 3 0 0 27 24 King, George g 4-4 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 3 10 1 3 0 0 26 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 7 00 Akyazili, Thomas 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 13 44 Fortune, Josh g 2-5 2-4 2-2 0 0 0 3 8 3 0 0 1 22 14 Miller, Tory 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 14 05 Brown, Deleon 1-1 1-1 0-1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 3 2 0 0 14 23 Peters, Bryce 2-4 1-2 2-2 1 1 2 3 7 1 0 0 0 18 14 Miller, Tory 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 4 0 0 1 0 13 05 Brown, Deleon 2-3 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 0 10 25 Siewert, Lucas 2-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 8 23 Peters, Bryce 0-4 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 11 23 Peters, Bryce 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 1 3 1 0 0 1 18 TEAM 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-4 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 11 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 17 Totals...... 29-69 7-22 18-19 13 25 38 20 83 15 10 3 1 200 TEAM 2 2 4 TEAM 4 Totals...... 29-65 6-14 4-5 17 24 41 15 68 7 13 5 7 200 Totals...... 26-46 6-12 17-27 6 26 32 11 75 13 12 2 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-35 37.1% 2nd Half: 16-34 47.1% Game: 42.0% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 5-14 35.7% Game: 31.8% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-23 47.8% 2nd Half: 15-23 65.2% Game: 56.5% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-38 36.8% 2nd Half: 15-27 55.6% Game: 44.6% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 7-7 100% 2nd Half: 11-12 91.7% Game: 94.7% 1 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 50.0% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 42.9% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-9 66.7% 2nd Half: 11-18 61.1% Game: 63.0% 4 F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 2-2 100% Game: 80.0% 1 Officials: Brian Dorsey, Roger Ayers, Jeff Anderson Attendance: 6780 Officials: Ed Corbett, Tom Courtney, Brandon Cruz Officials: Dick Cartmell, Gerry Pollard, Nate Harris Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Attendance: 5711 Attendance: 6854 Notre Dame 50 39 89 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 35 48 83 Texas 24 30 54 Wofford 30 30 60 Colorado 33 35 68 Colorado 31 44 75

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Down by 15 points at halftime, the Colorado Buffaloes gamely battled BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes bounced back from their first loss of BOULDER – Colorado senior Xavier Johnson continues to make his comeback from an back but couldn’t overtake Notre Dame, losing 89-83 on Monday night in the semifinals of the Legends the season in fine fashion. Achilles tendon tear a successful one. Classic at the Barclays Center. One day after falling to Notre Dame, 89-83, in the Legends Classic semifinals at the Barclays Johnson, who missed all of last year with his injury, produced his seventh career double-double with CU, losing for the first time this season (3-1), closed to within four points twice in the final minute. Center, the Buffs rebounded Tuesday to knock off No. 22 Texas, 68-54, to improve to 4-1. 27 points and 12 rebounds Sunday to lead the Buffs to a 75-60 win over a feisty Wofford squad. Notre Dame (4-0) held off the Buffs by making 12 consecutive free throws in the final 1:33 and finished Once again, the Buffs received excellent performances from junior George King and senior The Buffs improved to 5-1 on the season and will next play host to in-state rival Colorado State in 27-of-29 for the game. Derrick White. King turned in his second-straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, a 7 p.m. game Wednesday at the Coors Events Center. Xavier Johnson led the Buffs with 23 points, with Derrick White adding 20. The Irish had coming on the heels of his 17-point, 13-rebound effort against the Irish. White followed up a 20-point, HOW IT HAPPENED: While the final margin might indicate otherwise, the win didn’t come four players in double figures, headed by Bonzie Colson’s 22 and Matt Farrell’s 20. nine-assist, five-rebound effort Monday to log 16 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two easily for the Buffs. Colorado led by just one, 31-30, at the half, and trailed by a point four minutes into HOW IT HAPPENED: CU didn’t have an early defensive answer for Notre Dame’s high-powered steals in Tuesday’s win. the second half. offense, and losing Wesley Gordon to a pair of quick fouls only exacerbated the Buffs’ problems. The Buffs held the Longhorns to 36.8 percent shooting (21-for-57) while carving out a 43-32 But after Nathan Hoover’s 3-pointer gave Wofford a 36-35 lead, the Buffs responded with an 11-0 En route to hitting half of their 12 3-point attempts and shooting 54.5 percent from the field rebounding edge. The Buffs also shot 44 percent from the floor (29-for-66) a had 13 turnovers. run and the Terriers never came closer than six again. overall in the first half, the Fighting Irish opened their first double-digit lead (24-13) on a 3-pointer by HOW IT HAPPENED: After leading by as much as 11 in the first half and by 12 with just Wesley Gordon started the burst by muscling inside for a bucket, followed by a Derrick V.J. Beachem. It was part of a 9-0 run that earned Notre Dame a 28-14 advantage. under eight minutes to play, Colorado withstood a late Texas surge to come away with the win. White steal and layup, a Johnson basket on an assist from White, and a George King 3-pointer. The Buffs led by nine at the half, 33-24, and pushed the cushion to 12 on a King 3-pointer with The Buffs pulled to within 10 (38-28) on a 3-point play by White and two free throws by Deleon Two Johnson free throws capped the run and Colorado held a 46-36 lead with 12:38 to go. 7:53 to go, 52-40. Brown with 4:02 left before the break. But the rest of the half belonged to the Irish. A 10-2 run The second half was no doubt an improvement over the first, when the smaller Terriers hit 50 Texas, though, wouldn’t go away. The Longhorns employed a full-court press and slowly chipped opened their largest lead (48-30) of the game and by intermission they were still up 50-35. percent of their shots (13-for-26) and held a 14-13 rebounding edge. away at the CU lead, putting together and 11-2 run to cut CU’s lead to 54-51 with 5:12 still to go on Johnson and White had 9 first-half points each for the Buffs, who made only two of their eight Johnson scored 12 points in the first half and 15 in the second, shot 9-of-14 from the floor and hit a pair of Jarret Allen free throws. 3-point attempts and shot 37.1 percent overall from the floor. CU finished at 42 percent from the field seven of his 11 free throw tries. Johnson and Gordon (nine rebounds) accounted for nearly 66 percent Colorado never allowed Texas to completely close the gap. Buckets from Josh Fortune and and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. of the Buffs 32 total rebounds — their lowest total of the season. Wesley Gordon bumped CU’s lead back up to seven, then after a Texas basket, Colorado put The Buffs needed an explosive second-half start and at least got a glimmer of one. Finally back on “I thought Xavier Johnson was terrific,” head coachTad Boyle said. “X has played really, really together a 7-0 run to ice the game. Fortune hit two free throws and a White 3-pointer with 2:39 the floor after only 3 first-half minutes, Gordon scored the first points of the final, and White followed unselfishly. He’s taking good shots. He has 27 points tonight on 14 shots — that’s efficiency. I really remaining pushed CU’s lead back to double-digits, 63-53, and the Longhorns never took it back to with a trey. The Buffs were back to within 10 (50-40), but they needed to match that start on the like the way he’s helping lead this team. One thing we know Xavier does night in and night out is he single digits again. defensive end. The Buffs took a 33-24 lead into the locker room at intermission after King had a seven-point, competes.” Easier said than done . . . A 6-0 run pushed Notre Dame’s lead to 56-40 and CU’s goal of at least 10-rebound first half. Wofford temporarily halted CU’s second half run, pulling back to within six on two separate occa- reducing its deficit to single digits halfway through the half was looking grim. But the Buffs weren’t Following a Fortune 3-pointer at the 16:30 mark of the first half that gave the Buffs a 7-4 lead, sions, the latest with just under 10 minutes to play. done. CU extended the margin to 12-7 before the Longhorns battled back to tie the game at 12-12. But the Buffs finally began to put the game away for good after the erriersT cut the CU lead to At the 10-minute mark Steve Vasturia used a head fake at the free throw line to blow by his CU, however, responded with an 8-0 run and never relinquished the lead. White started the drive 48-42. A Josh Fortune 3-pointer and a Bryce Peters driving bank off the glass quickly boosted defender and score a layup that gave the Irish a 66-51 lead. with a baseline drive before Xavier Johnson grabbed a loose ball under the basket and scored. CU’s lead back to 11, 53-42, and the Buffs then maintained control for the remainder of the game. The Buffs answered quickly, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Bryce Peters and Thomas Akyazili then had a pair of coast-to-coast layups, giving CU a 20-12 lead and forcing Texas Johnson was dominant down the stretch, scoring 11 points in the final 7:30. Johnson to creep to within 9 points (66-57) – their first single-digit deficit since 21-14. to call time out. “I thought his competitiveness kind of rubbed off on the rest of the guys,” Boyle said. “We need The Irish responded with 5 quick points, the last 3 on a conventional three-point play by Beachem, Colorado extended the margin to as much as 11, going up 31-20 on a King three-point play and that from everybody. It can’t just be one or two guys. It has to be every Buffalo who is on the floor who dunked on a baseline drive and was fouled. Notre Dame led 71-57 – and CU returned to catch-up again at 33-22 on a King bucket before the Longhorns closed the gap with a basket at the buzzer to playing with great energy, great effort, great attitude. We had some guys hanging their head, feeling mode. make the halftime count 33-24. sorry for themselves tonight, which you can’t be successful doing.” This time the Buffs appeared serious about it. An 8-0 spurt – a field goal and two free throws by TURNING POINT: Just after Texas had closed CU’s lead to 54-51 with an 11-2 run, the Buffs Colorado again produced some balanced scoring, with four players in double digits. Along with Johnson, a jumper from the left wing and two foul shots by Peters – pulled them to within 71-65 with got back-to-back buckets from Fortune and Wesley Gordon to create a 7-point cushion with 3:29 to go. Johnson’s 27, CU also received 10 points each from Gordon, White and King. 4:19 remaining. CU STANDOUTS: Derrick White had a solid all-around game on both ends of the floor, finishing But King — who had 26 rebounds in two games in last week’s Legends Classic games vs. Notre CU finally got the deficit to 4 (81-77) on a 3-pointer from the left corner by George King with 45.5 with 16 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals. … King’s second straight Dame and Texas — had a tough night on the boards, failing to collect a single rebound. Fortune was seconds left and closed to 4 (85-81) once more on another basket by King. But the Irish stayed steady double-double was the third of his career, as he finished the Legends Classic with 29 points and 26 also blanked in that department Sunday. at the free throw line and closed it out. rebounds in two games. … Fortune had 11 points, three rebounds and an assist. The Terriers were led by 15 points from guard Fletcher Magee and 10 each from Ryan Sawvell and TURNING POINT: After battling back from a 15-point halftime deficit to pull to within 4 points KEY STATISTICS: For the fourth time in five games this season, the Buffs had a commanding Cameron Jackson. in the final minute the Buffs couldn’t get over the hump, held off by 12 consecutive free throws by the rebounding edge, 43-32. TURNING POINT: After the Terriers took a 36-35 lead early in the second half, the Buffs Irish in the final 1:33. WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs return home after a 1-1 performance in the Legends Classic with responded with an 11-0 run and Wofford never came closer than six again. KEY STATISTIC: The Irish shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent fom the field a much better idea of how they stack up against NCAA Tournament-caliber teams and what they need WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs won their second straight, but they still showed some defensive overall in the first half, digging a 15-point halftime hole for the Buffs. to improve on. lapses as well as some rebounding issues. They’ll need to shore that up before Wednesday. WHAT IT MEANS: CU discovered what it takes to compete with and defeat a tested, talented team like Notre Dame. That would be 40 minutes – not 20 – of focus and intensity.

64 2017-18 COLORADO BASKETBALL colorado buffaloes

GAME 7 GAME 8 GAME 9 COLORADO STATE 72, COLORADO 58 COLORADO 76, PORTLAND 63 COLORADO 68, #13/14 XAVIER 66 Nov. 30, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Dec. 3, 2016, Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center) Dec. 7, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Colorado State 6-1 VISITORS: Colorado 6-2 VISITORS: Xavier 7-2 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 00 Jackson, Kimani f 0-4 0-1 0-0 2 1 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 20 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-5 0-1 2-4 5 5 10 3 6 2 1 1 1 24 35 Gaston, RaShid f 7-8 0-0 0-3 3 8 11 2 14 0 0 2 0 25 02 Omogbo, Emmanuel f 4-10 2-2 6-8 1 7 8 4 16 2 3 0 2 28 11 Johnson, Xavier f 5-11 1-2 8-10 2 3 5 4 19 1 1 1 0 34 04 Sumner, Edmond g 3-11 1-4 3-4 0 2 2 3 10 5 1 1 0 36 32 Carvacho, Nico f 5-7 1-1 3-3 2 7 9 5 14 2 2 0 1 25 21 White, Derrick g 5-9 0-2 3-4 0 3 3 4 13 3 6 2 3 29 05 Bluiett, Trevon g 8-18 6-13 5-6 0 3 3 0 27 3 1 0 2 35 11 Nixon, Prentiss g 1-9 0-2 3-4 0 2 2 3 5 0 1 0 0 17 24 King, George g 6-11 0-4 0-1 1 4 5 1 12 1 2 0 1 30 11 Bernard, Malcolm g 0-3 0-1 1-2 3 3 6 3 1 0 2 0 1 27 55 Macura, J.P. g 3-9 0-5 2-2 0 5 5 3 8 4 1 0 3 34 22 Paige, J.D. g 3-7 2-5 3-4 0 1 1 4 11 1 1 1 1 27 44 Fortune, Josh g 3-7 2-3 6-8 1 4 5 3 14 2 0 2 0 32 00 Jones, Tyrique 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 6 01 Butler, Devocio 4-6 1-2 4-4 0 3 3 1 13 1 1 0 0 34 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-4 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 3 0 1 14 10 Bob, Che 1-4 0-0 5-8 0 3 3 3 7 2 1 2 0 19 03 Goodin, Quentin 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 1 2 1 1 14 05 Brown, Deleon 1-4 1-3 2-2 2 1 3 3 5 0 0 0 1 16 15 Bonner, Anthony 2-5 0-2 2-2 0 2 2 3 6 0 0 0 0 20 22 Gates, Kaiser 0-5 0-4 0-0 1 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 14 Miller, Tory 2-4 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 7 33 Koelliker, Braden 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 54 O’Mara, Sean 2-4 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 6 0 1 0 0 7 TEAM 4 1 5 23 Peters, Bryce 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 6 TEAM 3 2 5 1 Totals...... 20-52 6-15 26-33 9 28 37 27 72 8 10 3 4 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Totals...... 23-61 7-27 13-21 11 30 41 18 66 13 10 4 8 200 TEAM 3 3 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-30 30.0% 2nd Half: 11-22 50.0% Game: 38.5% DEADBALL Totals...... 25-58 5-19 21-30 14 24 38 21 76 9 13 6 7 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-32 37.5% 2nd Half: 11-29 37.9% Game: 37.7% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 40.0% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-16 31.3% 2nd Half: 2-11 18.2% Game: 25.9% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 9-9 100% 2nd Half: 17-24 70.8% Game: 78.8% 3 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-30 36.7% 2nd Half: 14-28 50.0% Game: 43.1% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 11-16 68.8% Game: 61.9% 5 HOME: Colorado 5-2 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-7 0.0% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 26.3% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 7-2 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 15-20 75.0% Game: 70.0% 7 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-5 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 5 5 5 1 1 0 26 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-10 0-0 3-7 5 4 9 4 11 0 1 3 0 31 HOME: Portland 4-3 11 Johnson, Xavier f 7-11 3-4 1-2 1 6 7 4 18 0 4 0 0 27 11 Johnson, Xavier f 1-7 0-4 4-9 3 4 7 5 6 1 0 0 2 25 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 21 White, Derrick g 9-17 3-6 2-3 1 5 6 2 23 4 3 1 1 35 21 White, Derrick g 5-15 2-4 5-5 3 3 6 3 17 2 4 1 0 32 24 Taylor, Gabe f 3-13 0-5 2-3 0 4 4 4 8 0 2 0 0 29 24 King, George g 1-6 0-2 3-4 3 4 7 4 5 0 4 0 1 21 24 King, George g 5-8 3-4 3-4 2 8 10 2 16 1 1 0 0 33 33 Marshall, Jarrel f 2-6 0-1 2-2 0 1 1 5 6 1 0 0 0 24 44 Fortune, Josh g 4-7 1-3 0-0 2 5 7 5 9 0 2 0 0 25 44 Fortune, Josh g 0-5 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 27 15 Hartwich, Philipp c 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 5 7 4 0 0 2 2 1 21 00 Akyazili, Thomas 2-4 0-1 1-1 0 0 0 1 5 2 1 0 0 16 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 14 05 Brown, Deleon 0-2 0-2 0-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 15 02 Wintering, Alec g 7-14 0-2 3-4 2 6 8 5 17 3 8 0 2 40- 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 8 14 Miller, Tory 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 8 22 Johnson, Jazz g 5-11 2-5 6-8 1 2 3 3 18 2 3 0 1 40 23 Peters, Bryce 2-3 0-1 0-1 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 17 23 Peters, Bryce 0-4 0-2 1-2 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 0 0 17 03 Jackson, Rashad 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 13 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 05 Tyson, D’Marques 4-7 3-6 3-3 0 2 2 3 14 0 1 0 0 27 TEAM 1 3 4 TEAM 2 1 3 11 Ferguson, Andre 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ Totals...... 25-56 9-20 9-14 6 30 36 17 68 15 13 5 1 200 Totals...... 19-59 3-19 17-31 19 27 46 28 58 9 14 4 4 200 32 Barreno, Ray 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 2 1 1 13 TEAM 1 1 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 15-27 55.6% Game: 44.6% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0% 2nd Half: 8-34 23.5% Game: 32.2% DEADBALL Totals...... 21-52 5-19 16-20 7 21 28 26 63 6 18 3 6 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 45.0% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 1-12 8.3% Game: 15.8% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-7 57.1% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 64.3% 0 F Throw % 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 14-22 63.6% Game: 54.8% 7 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-20 45.0% 2nd Half: 12-32 37.5% Game: 40.4% DEADBALL Officials: Tony Padilla, Michael Irving, Steve Olson 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-7 42.9% 2nd Half: 2-12 16.7% Game: 26.3% REBOUNDS Officials: Randy McCall, Deldre Carr, Rick Batsell Attendance: 7743 F Throw % 1st Half: 9-11 81.8% 2nd Half: 7-9 77.8% Game: 80.0% 4 Attendance: 8715 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Xavier 31 35 66 Officials: Daryl Gelinas, Horace Shields, Nate Harris Colorado 28 40 68 Colorado State 30 42 72 Attendance: 2720 Colorado 27 31 58 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 28 48 76 Portland 30 33 63

BOULDER – A sub-par night offensively and from the free throw line, plus a stifling Colorado PORTLAND – The Colorado Buffaloes rediscovered their offensive abilities and ratcheted up BOULDER — One week after one of the most disappointing losses in the Tad Boyle era at State defense, made Wednesday night a miserable one for the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Events their defense in the second half here Saturday night and downed Portland 76-63 at the Chiles Center. Colorado, Boyle’s Buffaloes bounced back in a big way Wednesday night. Center. Shaking off the ill effects of a 72-58 home loss to rival Colorado State on Wednesday night, the A barrage of CU 3-pointers erased an eight-point deficit midway through the second half and senior The Rams rolled over the Buffs 72-58, handing CU its second loss of the season (5-2) and snapping Buffs (6-2) rallied from a 30-28 halftime deficit by outscoring the Pilots (4-3) 48-33 in the second Derrick White made some big plays down the stretch to lead the Buffs to a 68-66 win over No. 13 a 12-game winning streak at the CEC. half. Xavier at the Coors Events Center. CSU (6-1) made 17 of its first 18 free throw attempts, finishing 26-of-33, while CU was 17-of-31 Four CU players scored in double figures, includingXavier Johnson (19), Josh Fortune “Great win for our program and our league,” Boyle said. “We knew it was going to be a helluva from the foul line (54.8 percent) and only 19-of-59 (a season-low 32.2 percent) from the field. (14), Derrick White (13) and George King (12). game. They battled, they scratched, they’re tough. I’ve got a lot of respect for Xavier - that’s why this Derrick White led the Buffs with 17 points and Wesley Gordon added 11 points, nine re- Portland was led by Jazz Johnson (18) and Alec Wintering (17). win is such a big win for our program.” bounds and three blocked shots. CSU had four players in double figures, topped by Emmanuel Omogbo’s After hitting only 32 percent from the field against CSU, the Buffs shot just 37 percent in the first The win won’t completely erase the sting of last week’s loss to Colorado State, a defeat the Buffs 15. half Saturday night and missed all seven of their treys. From 3-point range against the Rams, the Buffs know could still have an impact when it comes time for NCAA Tournament selection in March. HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by as many as six points on two occasions in the first half, hit only 16 percent. But Wednesday night’s win will also have an equally positive impact, coming against a team that the last being 17-11 on a baseline drive and basket by Thomas Akayzili. A shooting about face was needed – and CU got it in Saturday night’s second half. The Buffs shot entered the week with a No. 8 NCAA RPI. But the Rams didn’t roll over. Instead, behind nine points by Ombogo, they reeled off an 11-2 run 50 percent from the field (14-of-28) and hit five of their dozen 3-point attempts (42 percent). The Buffs received big contributions from a variety of players. White finished with 23 points and six and finally overtook the Buffs 24-21 on Ombogo’s only third trey of the season. CU would trail the rest HOW IT HAPPENED: CU opened by hitting just three of its first dozen shots, including 0-of-3 rebounds, Xavier Johnson had 18 points and seven rebounds and George King recorded his third of the night. from long range – a continuation of the offensive problems the Buffs suffered in their home loss four double-double in the last six games, a 16-point 10-rebound effort. CSU’s lead grew to 30-25 – its largest of the first half – on two free throws by 6-11 freshman nights earlier to CSU. But it was White who made the biggest difference down the stretch with two baskets and a big Nico Carvacho with :58 seconds left before intermission. And their accuracy didn’t get much better; they finished the first 0-of-7 from beyond the arc and blocked shot in the final 1:13 to help secure the win. hitting just 37 percent (11-of-30) from the field. Tory Miller brought the Buffs to within 30-27 with 17.9 seconds left in the half on a lay-in. But HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs looked to be ready to take control late in the first half when a Still, they trailed only 30-28 at intermission but closing to that margin required a 7-0 run that he missed a free throw that would have given him a 3-point and pulled CU to within a basket at the half. White 3-pointer gave CU a 28-23 lead with 2:57 left in the half. helped bring them back from a 20-13 deficit and pulled them to within two. Instead, the Buffs trailed 30-27, and they could point to 2-of-7 free throw shooting and disjointed But that brought on a Xavier timeout, and the Musketeers then answered with an 8-0 run to end That run was fueled by three free throws by Johnson and baskets by Fortune and King. A Tory offensive play (11-of-25 from the field, 44 percent) compounded by nine turnovers (14 for the night) the half and an 8-2 run to start the second half. Trevon Bluiett had four 3-pointers in the Xavier surge as Miller put-back in the final minute produced CU’s two-point deficit at the break. as the main culprits. CU’s five-point lead turned into a nine-point deficit, 39-30, in a five-minute span. Jazz Johnson opened the second-half scoring with a trey, increasing the Pilots’ lead to 33-28. But Tad Boyle called his team’s 14 missed free throws “a big factor tonight. It started in the first half The Buffs, though, refused to let the game get away. Trailing 47-39, Colorado went on a 15-0 run the Buffs were finally about to regain their shooting touches. and it bled over to the second half. That could have gotten us back into the game, maybe tied the score to take a 54-47 lead at the 5:57 mark. Xavier Johnson had two 3-pointers in the run and White and Two-point baskets by King and White, followed by an “XJ” trey gave CU a 34-33 lead – its first or got us a lead.” George King each had one, with King’s trey giving the Buffs a 48-47 lead, their first since the first half. since 10-8 – and the Buffs wouldn’t relinquish it. The Rams regained their five-point advantage (32-27)on a driving layup by Carvacho to open At the same time, Colorado ratcheted up its defense. The Buffs put together eight straight defensive Of their next four field goals, two were treys –Bryce Peters, Fortune – that pushed the Buffs stops in the run, including a pair of turnovers. the second half. And Carvacho wasn’t done. With the shot clock dwindling to 2 seconds, he drained a ahead 43-37. The Pilots stayed within four to six points until a Fortune 3-pointer capped a 15-4 run and The Musketeers didn’t go away quietly. They quickly shaved CU’s seven-point lead back down to 3-pointer that preceded another trey by Omogbo and a layup by Prentiss Nixon. opened CU’s largest lead of the night at 14 points (66-52). The Pilots got no closer than nine points three at several different junctures, but the Buffs held them at bay down the stretch. Suddenly, CSU was up 40-31 with 15:57 remaining. And CU had one second-half field goal – a the rest of the way. A White basket with 1:08 remaining and the shot clock ticking down to zero gave CU a 65-60 stuff by Xavier Johnson – and a pair of free throws. The Rams were on a 10-4 run and weren’t Wesley Gordon grabbed 10 rebounds but was only 2-of-5 from the field. He didn’t score his slowing down – or at that point being slowed down. first points until 10:26 remained, but his conventional three-point play – he was fouled on a put-back lead. Bluiettt cut the margin to 65-63 with a basket and free throw but White answered with another Over the next 5:30 CU outscored the visitors 9-2 and crept to within 42-40 on a conventional – gave CU a 50-45 advantage at a critical second-half juncture. bucket with 29.2 remaining to put the lead back to four, 67-63. 3-point play by Akayzili, who was fouled on a layup. TURNING POINT: Trailing 30-28 at the half, the Buffs put together a 15-4 second-half run Xavier’s Edmond Sumner then missed one of two free throws to cut CU’s lead to three and the But by the half’s halfway point, the Rams maintained a 46-40 lead and the Buffs were still and pulled away. CU hit five 3-pointers in the second half after going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the Buffs turned it over on the inbounds. But White then blocked a Quentin Goodin layup, a Bluiett 3-pointer struggling at the free throw line. first half. bounced long and King grabbed his 10th rebound of the night before taking a foul. There was time enough for CU to pull it together, but a spark was needed. Gordon tried to provide KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs shot only 43 percent from the field for the game, but hit half of King hit one of two free throws with six seconds left to clinch the game before Xavier hit a layup it with a put-back (48-44) but he missed a free throw and yet another 3-point play opportunity slipped their second-half field goal attempts (14-of-28) . . . . They outrebounded the Pilots 38-28 and held at the buzzer to complete the scoring. away. them to 38 percent shooting in the second half (40 percent for the game). TURNING POINT: CU’s 15-0 run midway through the second half changed momentum for The Rams increased their lead to seven points – 56-49 – on a pair of free throws by junior college WHAT IT MEANS: A bounce-back game was needed after the disappointing home loss to the good and brought the crowd of 7,743 alive. The Buffs hit four 3-pointers in the stretch and also produced transfer Che Bob with 4:35 remaining. White connected on a pair of foul shots 15 seconds later, Rams, and the Buffs managed to get it in their first true road game of the season. It should give them eight consecutive defensive stops. reducing the Buffs’ deficit to 56-51. momentum and a shot of confidence as they head into the final two games of a crucial non-conference KEY STATISTICS: After starting 1-for-9 from 3-point range, the Buffs hit eight of their next 11. But Bob hit one of two free throws – his miss was CSU’s first of the night after hitting 18 in a stretch. … CU shot 44.6 percent from the field while holding Xavier to just 37.7 percent, including just 7-for-27 row – for another six-point Rams lead (57-51). The Buffs had 3:53 to make their comeback and avoid from 3-point range. … The Buffs had opened the game hitting just one of nine attempts from beyond their first homecourt loss of the season. the arc; they then hit eight of their final 11. A 3-pointer from the left wing by Wesley Paige with just over 3 minutes to play, one of two free throws by Bob and a layup by Devocio Butler pushed CSU’s lead to 12 points – 63-51. The Rams would push their lead to 16 with 1:08 remaining, and the night was all but over for the Buffs.

www.CUBuffs.com /CUBuffsMBB @CUBuffsMBB 65 colorado buffaloes

GAME 10 GAME 11 GAME 12 BYU 79, COLORADO 71 COLORADO 81, FORT HAYS STATE 71 COLORADO 75, AIR FORCE 68 Dec. 10, 2016, Provo, Utah (Marriott Center) Dec. 17, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Dec. 19, 2016, USAFA, Colo. (Clune Arena) VISITORS: Colorado 7-3 VISITORS: Fort Hays State VISITORS: Colorado 9-3 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 1-3 0-0 1-2 3 2 5 2 3 4 3 3 0 26 04 Gillum, Hadley f 7-11 1-1 0-1 0 4 4 4 15 1 2 1 1 19 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-5 0-0 2-4 2 7 9 4 10 3 3 5 1 27 11 Johnson, Xavier f 5-13 2-6 5-5 1 4 5 4 17 0 1 0 1 34 13 Smith, JaQuan f 3-8 0-0 0-0 1 7 8 1 6 1 2 1 0 20 11 Johnson, Xavier f 5-7 1-2 3-4 0 6 6 2 14 1 1 1 0 31 21 White, Derrick g 7-12 3-6 4-4 0 2 2 4 21 1 2 1 0 29 05 Kinnamon, Kyler g 0-2 0-2 1-2 0 2 2 4 1 4 3 0 1 24 21 White, Derrick g 4-7 3-5 1-1 1 3 4 5 12 3 1 1 0 24 24 King, George g 5-13 0-4 4-4 2 10 12 2 14 2 1 0 0 30 11Davis, Rob g 11-20 7-10 0-1 2 2 4 3 29 1 0 0 0 26 24 King, George g 6-12 1-4 0-2 2 7 9 2 13 1 3 0 1 29 44 Fortune, Josh g 0-8 0-6 0-0 0 3 3 4 0 1 2 0 0 22 12 O’Neil, Trey g 3-9 2-8 0-0 0 3 3 2 8 1 0 1 0 22 44 Fortune, Josh g 1-4 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 3 2 0 0 21 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-4 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 2 3 4 0 0 2 16 01 Nicholson, Aaron 0-4 0-3 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 17 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 10 05 Brown, Deleon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 14 Miller, Tory 2-2 0-0 2-4 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 0 0 9 23 Holmes, Grant 0-1 0-1 4-4 0 1 1 1 4 1 1 0 1 12 05 Brown, Deleon 3-6 1-3 3-4 0 0 0 1 10 4 2 0 1 24 23 Peters, Bryce 1-4 0-3 0-1 0 2 2 3 2 1 2 0 1 21 24 Stephens, Payton 0-1 0-1 2-2 1 0 1 3 2 0 1 0 3 13 14 Miller, Tory 1-1 0-0 2-3 1 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 11 25 Siewert, Lucas 2-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 8 25 Werth, Brady 1-3 0-1 0-0 2 3 5 3 2 1 2 0 0 16 15 Collier, Dominique 3-6 3-6 0-2 0 0 0 2 9 0 2 0 0 19 TEAM 30 Sabic, Emir 0-1 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 9 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 Totals...... 24-62 7-29 16-20 7 24 31 25 71 14 11 4 5 200 33 Kite, Drew 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 11 TEAM 1 2 3 1 35 Reed, Lake 1-5 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 11 Totals...... 27-50 10-24 11-22 7 26 33 22 75 18 16 7 3 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-33 45.5% 2nd Half: 9-29 31.0% Game: 38.7% DEADBALL TEAM 1 1 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-16 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-13 23.1% Game: 24.1% REBOUNDS Totals...... 26-65 10-29 9-13 9 27 36 28 71 13 14 5 8 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-19 52.6% 2nd Half: 17-31 54.8% Game: 54.0% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 12-15 80.0% Game: 80.0% 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-32 21.9% 2nd Half: 19-33 57.6% Game: 40.0% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 41.7% REBOUNDS HOME: BYU 7-3 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-16 18.8% 2nd Half: 7-13 53.8% Game: 34.5% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 9-17 52.9% Game: 50% 4 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 69.2% 0 HOME: Air Force 6-6 04 Emery, Nick g 8-15 3-8 3-4 0 4 4 3 22 2 2 0 3 32 HOME: Colorado 8-3 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 05 Rose, L.J. g 2-8 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 3 5 3 1 0 1 24 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 35 Graham, Hayden f 4-12 0-5 4-6 2 7 9 3 12 1 0 0 1 31 12 Mika, Eric f 3-11 0-0 11-13 3 4 7 3 17 6 5 3 0 30 33 Toohey, Frnak c 2-5 1-1 0-0 2 2 4 5 5 1 4 1 2 22 23 Childs, Yoeli f 5-7 0-0 1-5 2 10 12 3 11 0 1 1 0 34 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-3 0-0 3-3 1 6 7 3 7 1 3 1 0 24 30TJ Haws, g 5-9 4-5 2-3 0 5 5 3 16 4 4 0 2 36 11 Johnson, Xavier f 5-8 0-1 5-7 1 4 5 3 15 0 2 0 1 23 02CJ Siples, g 4-8 4-6 3-4 1 3 4 3 15 2 1 0 2 25 02 Frampton, Zach 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 21 White, Derrick g 1-4 0-2 8-8 1 2 3 1 10 6 0 2 1 31 05 Kocur, Zach g 4-8 2-5 2-2 1 3 4 3 12 2 0 0 0 26 10 Beo, Steven 1-3 1-1 0-2 1 3 4 2 3 2 0 0 2 21 24 King, George g 2-8 0-4 3-3 0 5 5 3 7 2 0 0 1 19 15 Van, Jacob g 1-7 0-4 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 3 1 0 0 30 13 Leifson, Colby 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 44 Fortune, Josh g 5-9 3-6 2-2 0 2 2 1 15 1 0 0 1 23 01 Norman, Dane 2-2 0-0 3-3 3 0 3 2 7 1 0 1 0 13 21 Davis, Kyle 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 4 0 1 0 0 11 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-1 0-0 1-6 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 0 2 14 12 Scottie, Lavelle 2-5 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 4 7 0 1 0 1 14 24 Guinn, Davin 0-1 0-1 1-2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 05 Brown, Deleon 4-6 3-5 4-6 0 3 3 0 15 2 2 0 2 19 20 Lyons, Trevor 2-7 1-2 1-1 2 1 3 1 6 2 2 0 1 20 31 Shaw, Braiden 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 Louder, Pervis 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 7 40 Aytes, Jamal 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 14 Miller, Tory 2-5 0-0 5-6 0 3 3 2 9 1 2 0 0 14 32 Manning, Ryan 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 12 TEAM 4 4 8 23 Peters, Bryce 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 14 TEAM 2 2 1 Totals...... 25-56 9-20 9-14 6 30 36 17 68 15 13 5 1 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-4 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 0 2 0 1 1 0 17 Totals...... 22-61 8-26 16-20 15 23 38 22 68 14 11 2 7 200 33 Repine, Josh 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-33 48.5% 2nd Half: 10-25 40.0% Game: 44.8% DEADBALL TEAM 2 2 4 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-28 28.6% 2nd Half: 14-33 42.4% Game: 36.1% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 47.4% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 5-15 33.3% Game: 30.8% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 15-25 60.0% Game: 62.1% 6 Totals...... 22-51 6-22 31-41 7 33 40 16 81 15 13 4 8 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2% 2nd Half: 10-25 40.0% Game: 43.1% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100% 2nd Half: 14-18 77.8% Game: 80.0% 2 Officials: Dick Cartmell, Mike Scyphers, Kevin Brill 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% Game: 27.3% REBOUNDS Attendance: 13664 F Throw % 1st Half: 13-18 72.2% 2nd Half: 18-23 78.3% Game: 75.6% 6 Officials: Verne Harris, Keith Kimble, Tom O’Neill Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Officials: Rick Batsell, Armando Rivas, Micah Pauldino Attendance: 3530 Colorado 38 33 71 Attendance: 7268 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total BYU 40 39 79 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 27 48 75 Fort Hays State 22 49 71 Air Force 21 47 68 Colorado 39 42 81

PROVO, Utah – Suffering from frigid shooting and being beat on the boards, Colorado suc- BOULDER — Minutes after an 81-71 win over visiting Fort Hays State on Saturday, Colorado USAFA, Colo. – The Colorado Buffaloes began pulling away from Air Force in the final 10 cumbed to Brigham Young 79-71 at the Marriott Center. head coach Tad Boyle didn’t sugarcoat his feelings. minutes then faltered briefly before closing out the Falcons 75-68 on Monday night at Clune Arena. The Buffaloes (7-3) scored only one field goal in the final 8:52, shot only 38.7 percent from the “This coaching staff has been here for seven years and this team has two things going for it right CU (9-3) led by as many as 11 points before AFA (6-6) cut the margin to 71-66 with 2:33 to play. field (24-of-62) for the night and hit just 7 of their 29 3-point attempts. Making matters worse, BYU now,” Boyle said. “Number one they own the most disappointing loss in that seven-year span, the But the Buffs kept their composure and dispatched the Falcons to earn their second true road win of the (7-3) outrebounded CU 46-31. Colorado State game a few weeks ago. Now they can also add that they own the most disappointing season. After battling back from a 10-point second-half deficit to take a 61-58 lead onThomas Akya- win, which is the Fort Hays State game here today.” Five CU players scored in double figures, led by Xavier Johnson’s 14 and George King’s zili’s 3-pointer, the Buffs didn’t get another field goal until Derrick White hit a trey with 44 seconds Boyle was clearly frustrated with the Buffs’ second-half effort. After bumping a 17-point halftime 13. Derrick White added 12 before fouling out, while Wesley Gordon and freshman Deleon to play. lead up to 21 early in the second half, the Buffs then went into early vacation mode. Fort Hays cut the Brown added 10 each. White, who sat out almost 8 minutes in the second half with four fouls, led CU with 21 points – 16 deficit back to single digits twice, including down to nine, 76-67, with just under three minutes left to Brown dished out a team-best four assists – the Buffs had 18 on 28 made baskets – while Gordon of them in the first half.Xavier Johnson added 17 points and George King recorded his fourth play before the Buffs held on down the stretch. and King each collected nine rebounds and Johnson contributed six. double-double in seven games – 14 points and 12 rebounds. Not that the Buffs were ever truly in danger of losing to the Division II Tigers. But instead of But the Buffs were out-boarded by the Falcons 38-33 and committed 16 turnovers to the Falcons’ But beyond that threesome, the Buffs suffered. Josh Fortune went 0-for-8 from the field, includ- putting the game away when they had the chance, they allowed Fort Hays to stay close, thanks in 11. However, of CU’s turnover total, 12 came in the first half. ing 0-for-6 from long range. Wesley Gordon took only three shots, making one, made one of two great part to a 29-point second half from sharpshooter Rob Davis. “We don’t make it easy on ourselves, that’s for sure,” Buffs coach Tad Boyle said. “We talk free throws and added five rebounds. “We have to dictate defensively,” Boyle said. “If we can’t dictate against Fort Hays, I don’t know about three things – playing together, playing hard, playing smart ...the smart part, the between-the- how we’re going to dictate against Utah or Arizona State or Arizona or anybody in the Pac-12.” BYU had four players in double figures, topped by Nick Emery’s 22. Yoeli Childs had a double-dou- ears part, we’ve got a long way to go.” HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs threatened to blow the game open early, jumping out to an ble – 11 points, 12 rebounds. CU also got nine points on 3-of-6 long-range shooting from Dominique Collier, who played 19 18-2 lead in the first eight minutes. George King scored the first five points for CU andDerrick HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led once (3-2) in the first half and trailed 40-38 at halftime. minutes in his first game back since suffering an early season foot injury. White hit six straight free throws in the early run. But they might have felt OK about that deficit; they trailed by as many as eight points twice before White HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led 27-21 at halftime – their largest first-half advantage – but But the Tigers then managed to keep the gap from expanding much more and Colorado led by 17 put them on his shoulders. they had to overcome 12 first-half turnovers and limit the Falcons to 29 percent shooting from the field at the half, 39-22. King and Josh Fortune both had seven points in the opening half while Xavier The 6-5 senior scored 12 of CU’s final 14 first-half points, bringing the Buffs to within 34-33 with a (8-of-28) to earn their six-point lead. Johnson and White had six apiece. pair of free throws with 2:46 before the break. Exactly 2 minutes later, his second 3-pointer of the half CU opened the game with a 3-pointer by White – one of five by the Buffs in the first 20 minutes Davis, meanwhile, struggled for Fort Hays in the opening 20 minutes, going 0-for-4 from the field, produced a 38-38 tie, but a put-back by Eric Mika gave BYU its 40-38 halftime lead. – to go ahead 3-0 but the Falcons outscored them 10-2 over the next 7 minutes. a big part of Fort Hays’ 7-for-32 shooting woes in the half. White led all scorers with 16 first-half points and was the only CU player in double figures. While Colorado then opened the second half much like the first, threatening to blow the game open. After a Brown basket, Collier entered the game and promptly hit a trey, drawing CU to within 10-7. he was 2-of-4 beyond the arc, his teammates went 2-of-12. Fortune hit a 3-pointer in the first minute and Johnson followed with a free throw to bump CU’s cushion A minute later, a Wesley Gordon layup launched a 12-2 Buffs run, with a King 3-pointer giving CU its The Cougars, meanwhile, hit half of their 10 first-half trey attempts, with Emery canning three of to 21, 43-22. first lead (17-15) since the opening bucket. those in four tries. They had the same number of field goal attempts (33) as the Buffs but made one But almost as soon as the Buffs built their big lead of the game, Davis caught fire and very nearly Over the half’s final 9:50, the Buffs outscored the Falcons 17-8 to take their six-point advantage more (16). shot the Tigers back into the game by himself. The Fort Hays senior scored eight points in a 10-0 Fort to the locker room. But once the second half began, AFA made quick work of cutting into it. BYU continued its accurate long-range shooting to open the second half, getting a pair of treys from Hays run and with 14:46 to go in the game, the Tigers had cut CU’s lead down to eight, 47-39. The Falcons outscored the visitors 12-5 in the second half’s first 4:54, taking a 33-32 lead on Zach TJ Haws after a short jumper from the 6-10 Mika. After Haws’ second triple, Mika added a pair of free The Buffs, though, never let the Tigers get closer than eight. They quickly pushed the lead back Kocur’s 3-pointer. That spurt boosted Air Force’s confidence but CU’s wasn’t lacking. throws and Childs a jumper to complete a 7-0 run and send the Cougars up by double digits (52-42). to double digits, putting together a 12-2 run spurred by a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws from The Buffs launched an 8-0 run to take a 40-35 lead, but the Falcons answered and tied the game To compound the Buffs’ problems, White was whistled for his third foul with 16:54 to play and freshman Deleon Brown. at 41-41 with just over 11 minutes to play. From there, the game was tied three more times until CU went to the bench. But CU’s offense was stagnant without him – and he quickly returned. The Tigers then made one more run at the Buffs, narrowing the gap to nine, 76-67, with 2:55 to fashioned another run – this one was 8-2 – and went ahead for good. But not for long. Just over 2 minutes later, he picked up his fourth personal foul and sat down with go, but Fortune and Tory Miller both hit a pair of free throws in the final two minutes to keep the When Collier drained his third trey of the night, the Buffs took their largest lead of the night – 14:06 remaining without having scored a second-half point. Tigers at bay. 69-58 – and appeared to be comfortably in control. But the Falcons weren’t done; they ran off eight Who would the Buffs turn to offensively? Johnson, Fortune and Brown finished with 15 points each for the Buffs whileWesley Gordon straight points, cutting their deficit to five points (71-66). “XJ” scored the next 10 points in a 10-1 run, pulling CU to within 53-52 with 12:06 left. During led CU with seven rebounds. Colorado also had a mere 40-36 rebounding edge on the Tigers, another But despite CU missing six consecutive free throws in the final 2 minutes, Air Force got no closer that stretch he hit a 3-pointer, added three more on a conventional 3-point play, a pair of free throws statistic that left Boyle scratching his head. than five and the Buffs survived. and a short jumper. TURNING POINT: After Fort Hays had pulled to within eight with 14:46 still to go in the TURNING POINT: After Air Force pulled to a 48-48 tie with 9:55 to play, CU went on an 8-2 But Johnson joined White on the bench after being inadvertently elbowed in the face by Haws. game, the Buffs went on a 12-2 run to rebuild a comfortable cushion and the Tigers never pulled closer run started by Brown’s conventional 3-point play. The run produced a 56-50 Buffs advantage and the Another Buff needed to step up, and it was King, whose two free throws gave CU a 54-53 lead – its than nine again. Falcons never led again. first since 3-2. WHAT IT MEANS: While the Buffs have shown they can play well in spurts, consistency is still WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 9-3 the hard way, gutting out a win while still The Buffs got a 3-pointer from Thomas Akyazili to go up 61-58, but a trey by Haws tied the score at a huge issue with this team. With just two more non-conference games to go before the Pac-12 season, searching for offensive consistency and better execution. The good news: They won at an arena that can 61-61. And one of two free throws by Wesley Gordon, Haws added a 3-point play to give BYU a 64-62 they need to figure out how to put together a full 40 minutes. be hostile, and against an opponent that plays a totally different game. There are positive to be found lead with 7:41 to play. in that. The Cougars completed an 8-0 run with a layup by Emery, sending their lead to 69-62. That was when White checked back in, and 5:45 remained. It didn’t help. BYU increased its lead to nine points (73-64) and CU, able only to convert free throws until White’s 3-pointer with 44 seconds to play, couldn’t catch up.

66 2017-18 COLORADO BASKETBALL colorado buffaloes

GAME 13 GAME 14 GAME 15 COLORADO 76, EASTERN WASHINGTON 68 UTAH 76, COLORADO 60 ARIZONA STATE 78, COLORADO 77 Dec. 22, 2016, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Jan. 1, 2017, Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center) Jan. 5, 2017, Tempe, Ariz. (Wells Fargo Arena) VISITORS: Eastern Washington 8-5 VISITORS: Colorado 10-4, 0-1 Pac-12 VISITORS: Colorado 10-5, 0-2 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 14 Peatling, Mason f 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 4 6 5 2 0 0 1 0 24 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-3 0-0 2-3 2 2 4 3 8 1 1 1 0 18 01 Gordon, Wesley f 1-3 0-0 2-2 1 3 4 1 4 0 1 1 0 27 24 Wiley, Jacob f 4-6 0-0 2-2 3 5 8 5 10 1 2 2 0 25 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-8 1-1 0-2 0 7 7 2 7 0 4 0 1 28 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-7 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 13 1 0 0 0 15 44 Von Hofe, Felix f 3-14 2-10 1-2 0 4 4 0 9 1 0 0 0 37 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-6 1-3 2-2 0 1 1 1 5 0 2 0 0 16 21 White, Derrick g 10-20 3-6 12-12 3 2 5 2 35 5 6 3 1 36 13 Vulikic, Luka g 3-9 1-2 5-8 0 1 1 4 12 2 1 0 0 28 21 White, Derrick g 6-12 3-6 0-0 0 2 2 3 15 8 2 0 2 33 24 King, George g 1-9 0-6 2-2 2 5 7 2 4 1 0 0 1 32 32 Bliznyuk, Bogdan g 9-20 3-5 4-5 1 4 5 3 25 5 0 0 1 38 44 Fortune, Josh g 1-5 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 14 44 Fortune, Josh g 2-5 0-2 1-1 1 3 4 1 5 4 1 0 0 25 02 Gibson, Ty 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 13 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 14 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 04 Washington, Sir 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 13 05 Brown, Deleon 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 05 Brown, Deleon 2-4 1-2 0-1 1 2 3 2 5 1 1 0 0 17 20 Benzel, Cody 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 14 Miller, Tory 4-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 8 0 1 0 0 19 14 Miller, Tory 4-5 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 3 8 1 0 0 0 15 34 Hunt, Jesse 1-3 0-2 2-3 0 4 4 2 4 0 0 0 0 11 23 Peters, Bryce 0-4 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 12 15 Collier, Dominique 0-2 0-1 1-2 2 2 4 2 1 2 1 0 0 16 40 McKay, Geremy 0-0 0-0 1-4 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 24 King, George 4-6 1-2 2-2 2 3 5 4 11 0 2 0 0 22 23 Peters, Bryce 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 13 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 9 TEAM 3 2 5 TEAM 1 1 2 TEAM 2 1 3 Totals...... 23-60 7-23 15-24 11 25 36 27 68 10 4 3 2 200 Totals...... 27-59 5-22 18-20 13 23 36 16 77 16 12 4 2 200 Totals...... 23-57 6-18 8-11 9 24 33 16 60 11 15 1 5 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 11-28 39.3% Game: 40.4% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29 44.8% 2nd Half: 10-31 32.3% Game: 38.3% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-31 48.4% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 45.8% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-12 33.3% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 30.4% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 22.7% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100% 2nd Half: 6-7 66.7% Game: 72.7% 2 F Throw % 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 10-13 76.9% Game: 62.5% 6 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 14-15 93.3% Game: 90.0% 0 HOME: Utah 10-3, 1-0 Pac-12 HOME: Colorado 10-3 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min HOME: Arizona State 9-7, 2-1 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 13 Collette, David f 7-11 0-0 0-0 1 8 9 1 14 2 1 1 0 24 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-5 0-0 5-7 5 5 10 1 11 1 1 2 0 26 35 Kuzma, Kyle f 6-12 1-4 1-2 1 5 6 2 14 0 1 0 2 30 05 Oleka, Obinna f 7-11 0-3 1-2 3 7 10 3 15 0 3 1 1 35 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-5 0-1 4-5 0 3 3 4 10 0 2 0 0 24 01 Zamora, JoJo g 4-5 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 2 10 1 1 0 1 22 33 Vila, Ramon f 1-1 0-0 2-2 4 0 4 5 4 0 0 0 1 15 21 White, Derrick g 4-8 1-2 8-10 2 3 5 2 17 7 3 4 0 30 03 Daniels, Devon g 3-8 0-1 0-0 0 4 4 1 6 1 1 0 0 28 00 Holder, Tra g 3-14 1-5 4-4 2 1 3 3 11 3 2 0 1 36 24 King, George g 2-9 1-5 0-2 0 3 3 4 5 1 0 0 0 21 15 Bonam, Lorenzo g 6-8 3-3 0-0 0 0 0 2 15 1 1 0 1 24 11 Evans II, Shannon g 6-14 3-7 3-3 0 1 1 3 18 3 1 0 1 34 44 Fortune, Josh g 4-10 3-7 2-2 0 5 5 1 13 4 1 0 0 30 02 Barefield,Sedrick 2-8 0-2 5-6 1 3 4 1 9 8 2 0 3 28 44 Justice, Kodi g 4-6 2-3 0-0 0 5 5 3 10 2 2 1 2 31 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 0 12 05 Van Dyke, Parker 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 10 01 O’Field, Maurice 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 6 05 Brown, Deleon 1-4 1-3 2-2 1 0 1 0 5 0 1 1 1 25 10 Connor, Jake 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 04 Graham, Torian 7-15 4-8 0-0 0 2 2 2 18 2 2 1 0 35 14 Miller, Tory 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 5 5 2 6 0 0 0 0 15 20 Rydalch, Beau 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 42 Tshisumpa, Jethro 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 8 15 Collier, Dominique 1-3 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 6 21 Rawson, Tyler 2-3 0-1 0-2 1 2 3 2 4 2 1 2 1 19 TEAM 1 3 4 23 Peters, Bryce 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 7 30 Bealer, Gabe 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Totals...... 29-62 10-26 10-11 11 21 32 21 78 11 10 6 6 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 34 Johnson, Jayce 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 8 TEAM 1 2 3 40 Reininger, Marc 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-33 48.5% 2nd Half: 13-29 44.8% Game: 46.8% DEADBALL Totals...... 23-51 6-19 24-33 9 29 38 19 76 15 9 8 1 200 43 Jokl, Jakub 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-14 35.7% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 38.5% REBOUNDS TEAM 1 2 3 2 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 90.9% 0 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-23 34.8% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 45.1% DEADBALL Totals...... 32-61 6-16 6-10 7 26 33 14 76 18 10 3 8 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% Game: 41.6% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7% 2nd Half: 18-31 58.1% Game: 52.5% DEADBALL Officials: Dick Cartmell, Michael Irving, Nate Harris F Throw % 1st Half: 14-21 66.7% 2nd Half: 10-12 83.3% Game: 72.7% 3 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 37.5% REBOUNDS Attendance: 5147 Officials: Gregory Nixon, Eric Curry, Rick O’Neill F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 60.0% 2 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Attendance: 6958 Officials: Mike Reed, Steve Olson, Eric Curry Colorado 37 40 77 Attendance: 12108 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Arizona State 41 37 78 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Eastern Washington 35 33 68 Colorado 29 31 60 Colorado 32 44 76 Utah 36 40 76

BOULDER — Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes hoped to finish their non-conference season SALT LAKE CITY — For about nine minutes Sunday, the Colorado Buffaloes looked ready to TEMPE, Ariz. — Colorado’s Derrick White scored 35 points, including a go-ahead bucket with a wire-to-wire consistent effort. open the Pac-12 season on a high note at Utah. with 19.6 seconds left in the game, but Arizona State’s Tra Holder hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds Instead, the Buffs had to battle back from a big early deficit, then hold on down the stretch to come But that note turned sour in a hurry. A 20-14 CU lead with just more than 11 minutes to play remaining to hand the Buffs a 78-77 loss Thursday night. away with a 76-68 win over visiting Eastern Washington on Thursday at the Coors Events Center. turned into a seven-point deficit by halftime, and when the dust had settled, the Utes had collected their The Buffs, who lost forward Xavier Johnson to a double-ejection after an incident with ASU’s The Buffs received 17 points from Derrick White and an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double sixth straight win over Colorado, a 76-60 decision in the conference opener for both teams. Jethro Tshisumpa in the first half, had battled back from a pair of nine-point deficits early in the second from Wesley Gordon to improve to 10-3. Bogdan Bliznyuk led all scorers with 25 points for the Sunday’s game was the first of three straight on the road for the Buffs, who dropped to 10-4 half. A 10-0 run gave Colorado a 56-55 lead with 10:47 left in the game, and there were a dozen lead Eagles, who were playing their third road game in five days. overall while the Utes improved to 10-3. changes down the stretch. HOW IT HAPPENED: If the Eagles were tired from their road trip, they didn’t show it, jumping Derrick White led CU with 15 points and George King chipped in 11, but the Utes had four White scored 15 of Colorado’s final 19 points, including two field goals and a pair of free throws out to a 19-2 lead on the strength of a 17-1 run that included 15 straight points from Bliznyuk. players in double figures, led by Lorenzo Bonam with 15. in the final 3:20 that gave the Buffs the lead each time. His final basket of the night, coming on a drive The Buffs didn’t help their cause in that stretch, missing their first eight field goal attempts. Fresh- CU dropped to 10-4 overall (0-1 Pac-12 play) while Utah improved to 10-3, 1-0. to the rim, gave CU a 77-76 lead with just under 20 seconds to play. man Deleon Brown finally ended the drought with a 3-pointer with 12:18 to go in the half and HOW IT HAPPENED: Early on, the Buffs looked ready to end Utah’s five-game win streak in Colorado then forced a miss from ASU’s Torian Graham, but Holder squeezed in to grab the rebound Colorado then slowly chipped away at the deficit, closing the gap to 35-32 by halftime. The Buffs got a the series. White and Xavier Johnson scored five points each in the first four minutes as Colorado and attempt to tip it back in and was fouled by White. Holder hit both free throws and a last-second big boost from their bench in the comeback, with the reserves scoring 16 of CU’s first half points as well jumped out to a 10-2 lead, leading to a Utah timeout. desperation heave by George King was blocked by ASU. as contributing some key defensive stops. The Utes then rallied to knot the score at 14-14, but a quick 6-0 Colorado run put the Buffs back “There is no doubt our guys battled,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I have a total different “The way you chip away is not by trading baskets, you have to get stops,” Boyle said. “The stops on top, 20-14, capped by a Thomas Akyazili steal and layup. feeling in my heart, in my gut than I did after the Utah game because I thought our guys battled and hopefully can lead to some transition baskets, which it did, especially in the second half. We know the But that was the last spark the Buffs had to show. The Utes then went on a 13-2 run to take a fought. They lost a player in the first half, we lost a player in the first half. I think our player was a little only way to get back in this thing is to get some stops.” 27-22 lead and finished the half outscoring Colorado 22-9 over the last 11 minutes to take a 36-29 more important to us than theirs was to them.” Colorado finally took the lead for the first time early in the second half. An 8-0 run, sparked by a lead into halftime. White was 10-for-20 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free throw line but CU’s only other “It just stopped,” Colorado coach said. “We stopped moving the ball offensively. We pair of Josh Fortune 3-pointers, gave CU a 40-37 lead at the 17:16 mark, but the Eagles didn’t go Tad Boyle double-figures scorer was Johnson, who had 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting before his ejection. thought, ‘OK, we can make one pass, it’s going to be this easy the rest of the game.’ Well guess what, away. A pair of Jacob Wiley buckets helped EWU regain the edge, and the lead see-sawed for the next HOW IT HAPPENED: Thanks to 13 first-half points from Johnson on 6-for-7 shooting, the Buffs you have to get the ball moved side to side, we have to play inside out, we have to give their defense five minutes. came back from an early 20-12 deficit to tie the game at 32-32 with 3:11 to go in the half. a chance to make a mistake, but we had no patience on offense.” With just under nine minutes to play, Colorado finally began to take control when White helped White sparked the comeback as the Buffs put together a 7-0 run to erase a 32-25 ASU lead. The Buffs also compounded their woes by turning the ball over. After taking advantage of six Utah spark a 17-3 run that turned a 55-53 deficit into a 70-58 lead. Johnson started the run by scoring on an inbounds pass followed by a White drive to the hoop and a turnovers in the early going, the Buffs returned the favor, committing 10 turnovers in the first half which Xavier Johnson started the roll with three of four free throws to give CU a 56-55 lead, followed White 3-pointer. the Utes happily converted into 14 points. by two Tory Miller buckets, both on assists from White. White then added a driving layup with just That precipitated a timeout from ASU, and the Sun Devils responded by scoring the next five points. “They have 14 points of their 36 at halftime off our turnovers,” Boyle said. “You put a lot of over six minutes to go before dishing a beautiful feed to Johnson for a fast-break layup. A White free The two teams then traded buckets before the fracas involving Tshisumpa and Johnson. pressure on your defense when you turn it over that much.” throw, followed by a layup at the four-minute mark stretched CU’s lead to 70-58. The incident began when Johnson drove to the basket and was met by Tshisumpa, with both The Buffs also lost their shooting touch over the last 11 minutes of the half. After hitting five of players going to the floor. After they untangled themselves, Tshisumpa shoved Johnson and players Along with his 17 points, White finished with a game-high seven assists, four blocks and five their first six shots, CU converted on just seven of its final 23 field goal attempts. from both teams rushed to attempt to break up the rumble. rebounds. Any hopes Colorado harbored of a comeback in the second half were dashed in a hurry. The Utes While the Buffs lost the player who was leading them in scoring at the time, Tshisumpa left the Defensively, the Buffs did a much better job on Bliznyuk in the second half. After the EWU standout scored on their first three possessions of the half before Wesley Gordon finally scored on a follow-shot hit eight of 12 field goal tries in the first half, he went just 1-for-8 after intermission. dunk. game with two points and one rebound. After CU built its 12-point edge, Eastern Washington managed to cut the lead back to single digits The Utes then continued to pour it on. After closing the first half with their 22-9 run, they opened After the ejections, Colorado cut ASU’s lead to four, 41-37, at the half on a pair of free throws each with under three minutes to go, then cut it to four with 1:03 to go. The Buffs, though, managed to hold the second with a 22-8 burst, a 44-17 differential that put the game away. Bonam, who scored 10 from Dominique Collier and Wesley Gordon. the Eagles at bay for the win, with a Gordon dunk with 46 seconds remaining putting the lead back to points in the Utes’ second-half opening salvo, hit a 3-pointer to give Utah a 58-37 lead with 12:09 to Despite the loss of Johnson, the Buffs bounced back in the second half. CU finally took the lead for six and White finishing the scoring with a pair of free throws. go in the game and Colorado never challenged again. the first time since early in the game on a White 3-pointer that capped a 10-0 run and gave Colorado a “We did a much better job offensively in the second half of not settling for jump shots,” Boyle said. Utah finished shooting a blistering 52.5 percent from the field (32-for-61) while Colorado was 56-55 lead with 10:47 to go. “One of the reasons we fell down 19-2 is we settled for jump shots, the jump shots weren’t going in, just 23-for-57. The game then see-sawed back and forth for the final 10 minutes, setting the stage for the final we weren’t getting offensive rebounds, we were on our heels.” TURNING POINT: After jumping to a quick 10-2 lead, then building a 20-14 edge, the Buffs minutes. The Buffs trailed 76-75 with just under two minutes to go, but regained the lead on White’s TURNING POINT: The 17-3 Colorado run in the second half gave the Buffs a double-digit gave up a 13-2 run that handed Utah the lead with 6:41 to go in the half. Colorado never led again. drive to the basket with 20 seconds left. lead. The CU offense finally hit its stride in the transition game and the defense forced six empty EWU WHAT IT MEANS: Life won’t get any easier. The Buffs have two more games on the road, at The Buffs then forced a miss by ASU’s Graham in the final seconds, but Holder was fouled on the possessions in the stretch. Arizona State on Thursday and at Arizona on Saturday. They then get two home games, but they come rebound and tip-in attempt and hit both of his free throw to seal the win. WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs take a 10-3 record into the holiday break and Pac-12 play. against nationally ranked UCLA and USC. The Buffs need to establish some consistency soon or they Colorado did win the rebound battle, 36-32, but ASU also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, includ- could find themselves in a big hole early in the Pac-12 season. ing the final one of the game.

www.CUBuffs.com /CUBuffsMBB @CUBuffsMBB 67 colorado buffaloes

GAME 16 GAME 17 GAME 18 #17/17 ARIZONA 82, COLORADO 73 #4/4 UCLA 104, COLORADO 89 #25/25 USC 71, COLORADO 68 Jan. 7, 2017, Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center) Jan. 12, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Jan. 15, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Colorado 10-6, 0-3 Pac-12 VISITORS: UCLA 17-1, 4-1 Pac-12 VISITORS: USC 16-3, 3-3 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 6-8 1-1 3-3 4 5 9 4 16 2 0 1 0 26 22TJ Leaf, f 4-7 2-2 2-3 3 2 5 3 12 1 2 0 1 28 01 Buggs, Charles f 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 11 11 Johnson, Xavier f 9-20 4-10 4-6 1 5 6 2 26 1 1 1 0 29 40 Welsh, Thomas c 2-7 0-0 0-0 1 5 6 5 4 0 0 1 0 19 04 Metu, Chimezie f 11-14 0-0 2-2 2 4 6 3 24 0 2 0 1 32 21 White, Derrick g 3-7 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 4 7 3 4 1 2 34 02 Ball, Lonzo g 3-6 2-5 3-3 0 2 2 4 11 8 3 0 3 34 11 McLaughlin, Jordan g 3-11 1-4 2-2 1 1 2 1 9 3 1 0 1 32 24 King, George g 5-9 2-5 0-0 5 6 11 3 12 0 1 0 0 25 10 Hamilton, Isaac g 7-11 4-5 2-2 1 3 4 2 20 2 2 0 1 33 22 Melton, De’Anthony g 3-13 0-2 0-0 4 5 9 3 6 6 2 0 1 33 44 Fortune, Josh g 1-4 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 1 3 0 1 20 20 Alford, Bryce g 11-18 9-14 6-6 0 2 2 2 37 1 0 0 0 34 30 Stewart, Elijah g 3-9 0-4 5-6 2 1 3 3 11 1 0 0 1 27 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 03 Holiday, Aaron 5-8 2-5 2-2 0 3 3 2 14 3 3 0 0 29 00 Aaron, Shaqquan 2-6 0-1 2-2 3 1 4 1 6 0 0 0 1 22 05 Brown, Deleon 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 13 Anigbogu, Ike 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 3 4 0 0 0 0 12 02 Mathews, Jonah 3-9 2-7 3-4 2 3 5 2 11 1 0 0 0 26 14 Miller, Tory 2-5 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 3 4 1 2 0 0 19 14 Goloman, Gyorgy 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 4 2 1 2 1 0 11 03 Henderson, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 15 Collier, Dominique 1-6 1-5 3-5 0 2 2 4 6 3 2 0 1 21 TEAM 1 1 31 Rakocevic, Nick 1-3 0-0 2-6 3 3 6 0 4 1 1 0 0 16 23 Peters, Bryce 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 13 Totals...... 35-62 19-31 15-16 5 23 28 25 104 16 12 2 5 200 TEAM 2 2 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 Totals...... 26-66 3-19 16-22 17 20 37 15 71 12 7 0 5 200 TEAM 1 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-33 54.5% 2nd Half: 17-29 58.6% Game: 56.5% DEADBALL Totals...... 27-62 9-29 10-14 12 26 38 25 73 11 15 4 5 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 9-15 60.0% 2nd Half: 10-16 62.5% Game: 61.3% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-31 41.9% 2nd Half: 13-35 37.1% Game: 39.4% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 6-7 85.7% 2nd Half: 9-9 100% Game: 93.8% 0 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-10 10.0% 2nd Half: 2-9 22.2% Game: 15.8% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 17-33 51.5% Game: 43.5% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 9-10 90.0% Game: 72.7% 3 HOME: Colorado 10-7, 0-4 Pac-12 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-14 35.7% 2nd Half: 4-15 26.7% Game: 31.0% REBOUNDS ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min HOME: Colorado 10-8, 0-5 Pac-12 F Throw % 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 8-9 88.9% Game: 71.4% 2 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-6 0-0 6-10 4 2 6 2 12 2 2 1 0 32 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min HOME: Arizona 15-2, 4-0 Pac-12 11 Johnson, Xavier f 8-14 3-6 2-4 0 6 6 2 21 1 1 0 1 30 01 Gordon, Wesley f 0-1 0-1 2-4 3 5 8 4 2 1 1 1 0 25 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 05 Brown, Deleon g 1-3 0-1 1-1 1 1 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 16 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-10 2-2 1-2 1 6 7 1 15 2 1 0 0 34 10 Markkanen, Lauri f 6-12 4-5 6-7 1 5 6 4 22 0 1 0 0 22 21 White, Derrick g 5-12 1-4 9-10 0 4 4 2 20 2 2 0 1 33 05 Brown, Deleon g 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 14 Ristic, Dusan c 7-15 0-0 3-5 4 4 8 2 17 0 1 0 0 33 24 King, George g 4-9 2-2 3-4 3 2 5 0 13 1 1 0 1 29 21 White, Derrick g 4-13 1-5 1-2 1 4 5 2 10 5 1 1 0 37 01 Alkins, Rawle g 3-9 1-4 3-4 0 2 2 2 10 2 0 1 1 32 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 10 24 King, George g 6-13 4-8 0-2 4 5 9 2 16 2 4 0 1 31 02 Simmons, Kobi g 2-7 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 4 2 3 0 2 28 14 Miller, Tory 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 3 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 10 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 05 Allen, Kadeem g 3-6 3-3 9-11 0 5 5 1 18 4 0 0 1 32 15 Collier, Dominique 2-6 1-3 2-2 0 1 1 2 7 4 2 0 2 18 14 Miller, Tory 3-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 4 6 0 3 0 0 13 00 Jackson-Cartwright 2-4 0-1 4-4 1 1 2 2 8 6 2 0 1 26 23 Peters, Bryce 3-4 1-2 4-6 0 0 0 3 11 1 1 0 0 17 15 Collier, Dominique 3-7 2-4 3-3 0 0 0 2 11 3 2 0 1 23 21 Comanche, Chase 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 3 3 3 3 1 2 0 0 17 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 23 Peters, Bryce 1-4 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 3 0 2 0 0 13 25 Pinder, Keanu 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 10 44 Fortune, Josh 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM 3 3 TEAM 1 2 3 44 Fortune, Josh 2-4 1-2 0-0 1 3 4 2 5 1 2 1 0 14 Totals...... 24-55 8-14 26-33 9 23 32 16 82 15 11 1 5 200 Totals...... 27-58 8-19 27-38 12 22 34 17 89 11 11 1 6 200 TEAM 2 1 3 Totals...... 25-55 11-24 7-13 13 26 39 20 68 14 17 3 2 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9% 2nd Half: 13-26 50.0% Game: 43.6% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-34 41.2% 2nd Half: 13-24 54.2% Game: 46.4% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 57.1% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 42.1% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-24 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-31 41.9% Game: 45.5% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 12-16 75.0% 2nd Half: 14-17 82.4% Game: 78.8% 5 F Throw % 1st Half: 12-19 63.2% 2nd Half: 15-19 78.9% Game: 71.1% 8 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-11 63.6% 2nd Half: 4-13 30.8% Game: 45.8% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 53.8% 3 Officials: Rick Randall, Deldre Carr, Randy Heimerman Officials: Gregory Nixon, Shawn Lehigh, Tom Nally Attendance: 14644 Attendance: 8755 Officials: Mike Reed, Chris Rastatter, Larry Spaulding Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Attendance: 8036 UCLA 51 53 104 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 27 46 73 Colorado 45 44 89 USC 34 37 71 Arizona 39 43 82 Colorado 35 33 68

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Colorado Buffaloes cut a 20-point second-half deficit down to five BOULDER — For 20 minutes Thursday night, the Colorado Buffaloes came close to matching BOULDER — For the second time in 10 days, the Colorado Buffaloes held the lead over a Saturday but could never completely close the gap and fell, 82-73, to No. 17 Arizona at the McKale fourth-ranked UCLA bucket for bucket. Pac-12 foe in the final minute of a game. Center. But Colorado had no answer for the hot-shooting Bruins in the second half, as UCLA carved out a But for the fifth game in a row, the Buffs came up short Sunday, falling 71-68 to visiting USC at The Buffs, who dropped their third straight to fall to 10-6 overall and 0-3 in Pac-12 play, ended up 104-89 win at the Coors Events Center to hand the Buffs their fourth straight loss. the Coors Events Center. The loss dropped Colorado to 10-8 on the year and 0-5 in Pac-12 play. The with more field goals (27-24), more 3-pointers (9-8) and more rebounds (38-32) than the hosts. But Sparked by three 3-pointers from Bryce Alford in the first three minutes of the half, UCLA quickly five straight losses make up the longest losing streak in Tad Boyle’s tenure in Boulder. the Wildcats ended up with a 33-14 edge in free throw attempts and outscored the Buffs 26-10 from turned a six-point halftime lead into a 20-point margin with 11 minutes to go and the Buffs never made “We’re a little bit snakebit right now,” Boyle said. “I look at the Arizona State game and I look the stripe. a serious run at closing the gap after that. at tonight’s game and we’re right there — we just come up a little short.” “I applaud our guys’ fight and effort,” Buffs head coachTad Boyle said. “We cut it to five (but) The Bruins finished the game shooting 56.5 percent from the field (35-for-62), including a At ASU, it was two Sun Devils free throws with 1.6 seconds left on the clock that sank the Buffs, we couldn’t get over the hump. The difference in the game was free throws. They could get to the free sparkling 19-for-31 night from 3-point range (61.3 percent). Alford, who hit 9 of his 14 3-point tries, 78-77. throw line, we couldn’t get to the free throw line.” finished with a game-high 37 points. Sunday, it was a bucket by USC’s Chimezie Metu with 29 seconds remaining that erased a 68-67 Xavier Johnson led the Buffs with 26 points and six rebounds, George King had a 12-point, “Tip my hat to UCLA,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “They’re a terrific offensive basketball Colorado lead. That was followed by two empty CU possessions and two Trojan free throws to produce 11-rebound double-double and Wesley Gordon added 16 points and nine rebounds. team, as good of an offensive team as I’ve coached against at the collegiate level in 23 years. My hat the final score. Lauri Markkanen led Arizona with 22 points. goes off to Steve Alford and obviously his son Bryce, who had a heck of a night. They just move the The Buffs had battled back from a 67-60 deficit with 2:44 remaining by scoring eight straight HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 10-1 lead, getting a 3-pointer from ball and share the ball, they’re very very difficult to guard in transition and halfcourt.” points. A George King bucket followed by two Xavier Johnson 3-pointers, the last with 43 King to open the scoring and quickly following with a Gordon offensive rebound and basket, a Josh The loss, CU’s fourth in a row, dropped the Buffs to 10-7 overall and 0-4 in Pac-12 play while the seconds on the clock, gave Colorado a 68-67 lead. Fortune dunk and another King 3-pointer. Bruins improved to 16-1, 4-1. But the Buffs couldn’t come up with one more defensive stop, then missed a chance to regain the That led to an Arizona timeout and the Wildcats began to chip away at the lead after the break, Xavier Johnson led the Buffs with 21 points, Derrick White added 20 and George King lead and another chance to tie at the buzzer. narrowing CU’s edge to 13-10. chipped in 13. The Buffs were their own worst enemy for much of the game. Colorado committed 17 turnovers Colorado momentarily stemmed the tide, getting a 3-pointer from Derrick White and another HOW IT HAPPENED: For the first 20 minutes, the Buffs appeared ready to run with the and allowed USC to collect 17 offensive rebounds. The Trojans converted those turnovers into 20 points Gordon bucket for an 18-10 edge, but the Wildcats knocked out an 11-0 run to take a lead they never Bruins. After falling behind early, 7-2, Colorado battled back to take the lead twice in the first 20 and turned those offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. relinquished. minutes. A Johnson 3-pointer gave Colorado a 12-9 edge at the 15:34 mark and a Bryce Peters King, whose 3-point attempt at the buzzer to tie the game just missed, led the Buffs with 16 Colorado halted the run briefly with a King runner in the lane, but Arizona answered with eight free throw helped the Buffs to a 21-20 lead at the midway point of the half. points and Johnson added 15. USC’s Metu led all players with 24 points, 20 in the first half. The Bruins, though, quickly regained the lead and held it the rest of the half. UCLA’s big lead of Colorado jumped out to a 22-11 lead at the 11-minute mark on the straight points, then a 10-0 run to end the half. It all added up to a 29-9 finish in the last 13 minutes HOW IT HAPPENED: the half was eight points, 51-43, with just more than a minute to go, but a Gordon jumper as time strength of five 3-pointers from five different players. after Colorado’s 18-10 lead. expired pulled Colorado back to within six, 51-45, at intermission. But just when the Buffs looked ready to take control, they hit a stretch of costly turnovers. Those The Buffs contributed to the big Arizona finish with a string of costly turnovers. All told, the Buffs White led the Buffs in scoring in the first half with 12 points while Johnson added 11 and King miscues, combined with USC going inside to big man Metu, allowed the Trojans to slowly chip away at committed eight turnovers in the first half, which the Wildcats converted into 13 points. Colorado chipped in eight. One big reason the Buffs stayed close was a 23-16 ege on the boards, including 10 the lead. finished with 15 turnovers, which the Wildcats converted into 24 points. offensive rebounds. A Metu bucket and two free throws pulled the Trojans to within one, 32-31, at the 1:48 mark of The 10-0 Arizona burst at the end of the half started with three free throws from Kadeem Allen, But the Bruins quickly doused any serious hopes of a CU upset early in the second half. Three the half before CU’s Derrick White finished a 3-point play to bump the lead back to four. then another Allen free throw after a technical on Boyle. Allen finished the first half with 12 points. quick 3-pointers from Alford helped the Bruins boost their lead to double digits and the margin hit 20 The Trojans answered with three points in the final 40 seconds to send the Buffs into the locker Colorado closed the half with a 3-pointer from Johnson at the buzzer, but the Buffs still trailed just nine minutes into the half. An Isaac Hamilton 3-pointer at the 11:40 mark off an assist from Lonzo room at the half with a 35-34 lead. 39-27 at intermission. Ball pushed UCLA’s cushion to 82-62 Metu finished the first half with 20 points while Dominique Collier had 11 and King and White The Wildcats then seemed poised to put the game away early in the second half. Sparked by a pair “That was kind of the one that I thought stuck a dagger in us a little bit,” Boyle said. “Lonzo had six each for Colorado. The Buffs also finished the half with 11 turnovers, which USC converted into of 3-pointers from Markkanen, the Wildcats built their lead to 20, 59-39, with just under 12 minutes to Ball is as good as there is. If there’s a better point guard in the country, I’d like to see him. He’s pretty 14 points. play. special.” The Buffs managed to extend their lead to four early in the second half but the Trojans came back But the Buffs refused to quit and began shaving the deficit. Led by Gordon and King, Colorado Ball finished with 11 points and eight assists. and finally took their first lead since early in the game on a Jonah Mathews 3-pointer that put USC up closed the gap to 12 at two different junctures midway through the half, then cut the margin to five at The Buffs did cut UCLA’s margin down to 13 with seven minutes to go on a White layup and free 45-43 with just under 16 minutes to go. 69-64 with three minutes remaining on a King offensive rebound and bucket. throw, but that was as close as CU could come down the stretch. The Buffs then came back to tie the game at several junctures, the latest at 57-57 with nine That was as close as the Buffs could get, though. A Johnson turnaround jumper cut the Arizona “When you score 89 points in your own building, it should be good enough, but against UCLA it’s minutes to play. But from that point, the Buffs scored just one point — a Johnson free throw — over margin back to five, 71-66, with 2:20 to go, but Arizona bumped the lead back to nine, then kept the not,” Boyle said. “Not the way we defended UCLA. … There are times in life where you have to tip the next six minutes. White ended the drought with a layup but USC’s Jonah Mathews answered with Buffs at bay at the free throw line over the final two minutes. your hat to your opponent. They deserved to win. They were a better team than us tonight. “ a 3-pointer and the Trojans led 67-60 with 2:44 to go. Gordon was especially tough for the Buffs in the second half. After playing just 10 minutes in the The Buffs don’t have much time to fret over the loss. They play host to No. 25 USC on Sunday, That led to Colorado’s last-gasp 8-0 run. CU finally regained the lead with 43.1 seconds to go on first half because of foul trouble and scoring just four points, he came back after intermission to add with the Trojans coming to Boulder on the heels of an 86-64 loss Thursday at Utah. Johnson’s 3-pointer, 68-67, before Metu answered with a short jumper to give the Trojans a 69-68 12 points and five rebounds. King, meanwhile, was the game’s leading rebounder, with five of his 11 “Big game,” Boyle said. “No question about it. We’ve got to dig deep and find out what we’re edge with 24.6 seconds remaining. boards coming on the offensive end. made of on Sunday at 6:30.” Colorado then missed a chance to regain the lead and two USC free throws provided the final margin, with the Buffs missing one more chance at the buzzer.

68 2017-18 COLORADO BASKETBALL colorado buffaloes

GAME 19 GAME 20 GAME 21 WASHINGTON 85, COLORADO 83, OT WASHINGTON STATE 91, COLORADO 89, OT COLORADO 85, OREGON STATE 78 Jan. 18, 2017, Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena) Jan. 21, 2017, Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum) Jan. 26, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Colorado 10-9, 0-6 Pac-12 VISITORS: Colorado 10-10, 0-7 Pac-12 VISITORS: Oregon State 4-17, 0-8 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-6 0-0 1-3 5 6 11 5 5 2 3 5 0 31 01 Gordon, Wesley f 5-6 0-1 5-5 0 6 6 2 15 3 1 1 0 36 12 Eubanks, Drew f 10-13 0-0 7-9 2 9 11 4 27 0 1 3 0 36 11 Johnson, Xavier f 10-19 1-3 3-4 5 6 11 2 24 1 4 0 0 39 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-8 2-4 1-2 3 5 8 2 15 2 2 1 0 33 23 Rakocevic, Gligorije c 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 22 15 Collier, Dominique g 2-7 2-4 1-3 1 0 1 2 7 2 1 0 0 27 15 Collier, Dominique g 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 1 2 12 00 McLaughlin, JaQuori g 3-7 3-3 3-4 0 0 0 2 12 4 1 0 1 34 21 White, Derrick g 9-24 0-5 5-5 1 1 2 1 23 8 2 1 2 41 21 White, Derrick g 8-16 1-6 8-8 2 3 5 2 25 6 3 2 0 37 01 Thompson, Stephen g 10-16 4-7 2-3 0 6 6 3 26 3 4 1 2 37 24 King, George g 4-6 2-3 1-1 2 5 7 2 11 2 2 0 0 30 24 King, George g 6-9 3-5 3-4 0 9 9 3 18 0 1 0 0 32 24 Manuel, Kendal g 3-9 1-6 2-2 1 3 4 1 9 2 2 0 1 36 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 10 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-3 0-1 2-2 2 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 11 02 Stacy, Ronnie 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 7 14 Miller, Tory 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 5 5 4 6 1 2 0 0 21 05 Brown, Deleon 1-6 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 15 14 Dahlen, Matt 1-1 0-0 0-1 2 4 6 4 2 0 1 1 1 19 23 Peters, Bryce 0-2 0-1 0-1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 14 Miller, Tory 3-7 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 3 6 1 2 0 0 17 15 Sanders, Tanner 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 44 Fortune, Josh 3-5 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 7 1 1 0 0 15 23 Peters, Bryce 2-6 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 3 4 2 0 0 0 19 22 Muller, Daine 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+ TEAM 6 2 8 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 34 Kone, Ben 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 Totals...... 33-74 6-18 11-17 20 28 48 19 83 17 15 6 3 225 44 Fortune, Josh 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 10 TEAM 2 TEAM 2 1 3 Totals...... 28-51 8-19 14-19 6 26 32 24 78 9 14 6 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-33 51.5% 2nd Half: 10-30 33.3% OT: 6-11 54.5% Game: 44.6% DEADBALL Totals...... 32-67 6-21 19-22 12 28 40 18 89 17 12 5 2 225 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 1-5 20.0% OT: 0-3 0.0% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-27 59.3% 2nd Half: 12-24 50.0% Game: 54.9% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 0-3 0.0% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% OT: 4-4 100% Game: 64.7% 4 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-27 44.4% 2nd Half: 18-34 52.9% OT: 2-6 33.3% Game: 47.8% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 42.1% REBOUNDS HOME: Washington 9-9, 2-4 Pac-12 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-10 20.0% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% OT: 0-2 0.0% Game: 28.6% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-3 100% 2nd Half: 11-16 68.8% Game: 73.7% 3 F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% OT: 2-2 100% Game: 86.4% 2 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min HOME: Colorado 11-10, 1-7 Pac-12 15 Dickerson, Noah f 4-5 0-0 2-6 2 5 7 4 10 0 1 2 0 18 HOME: Washington State 10-9, 3-4 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 41 Atewe, Matthew f 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 0 2 0 17 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 14 Miller, Tory f 3-4 0-0 0-2 0 5 5 3 6 0 0 0 0 24 01 Crisp, David g 4-11 4-8 2-2 0 4 4 3 14 4 1 0 0 42 24 Hawkinson, Josh f 7-12 1-2 3-4 1 5 6 4 18 3 1 0 0 43 25 Siewert, Lucas f 1-3 1-1 0-0 4 1 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 9 04 Thybulle, Matisse g 3-11 1-5 0-0 1 3 4 3 7 0 1 3 1 38 42 Clifford, Conor c 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 4 1 2 1 0 18 00 Akyazili, Thomas g 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 6 0 0 1 15 20 Fultz, Markelle g 13-24 0-2 11-15 2 3 5 2 37 8 3 3 3 43 02 Iroegbu, Ike g 8-16 0-3 4-5 2 6 8 4 20 4 2 0 0 41 05 Brown, Deleon g 3-5 1-2 0-1 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 0 9 22 Green, Dominic 4-10 3-7 0-0 2 2 4 3 11 1 3 1 1 36 22 Flynn, Malachi g 2-8 2-6 0-0 1 1 2 2 6 6 3 0 2 36 23 Peters, Bryce g 5-6 3-3 2-5 1 3 4 2 15 2 1 0 0 23 23 Johnson, Carlos 1-6 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 1 25 23 Callison, Charles g 12-16 6-9 0-0 0 1 1 3 30 2 0 0 5 37 01 Gordon, Wesley 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 0 0 15 33 Timmins, Sam 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 6 03 Franks, Robert 0-6 0-1 1-3 2 4 6 2 1 0 1 4 0 29 11 Johnson, Xavier 4-7 1-1 1-2 2 1 3 2 10 1 1 0 0 23 TEAM 3 2 5 04 Daniels, Viont’e 4-5 4-5 0-1 0 1 1 0 12 1 0 0 0 21 15 Collier, Dominique 2-5 1-2 5-6 0 1 1 1 10 2 0 0 3 14 Totals...... 31-70 8-25 15-23 13 24 37 20 85 13 10 13 6 225 TEAM 2 2 21 White, Derrick 1-3 0-0 3-7 0 3 3 2 5 2 0 1 1 29 Totals...... 35-65 13-26 8-13 6 23 29 19 91 17 9 5 7 225 24 King, George 8-15 4-8 4-8 1 2 3 3 24 0 2 0 1 27 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-31 32.3% 2nd Half: 16-31 51.6% OT: 5-8 62.5% Game: 44.3% DEADBALL 44 Fortune, Josh 1-5 1-4 0-0 1 3 4 0 3 3 0 0 1 12 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-12 8.3% 2nd Half: 6-10 60.0% OT: 1-3 33.3% Game: 32.0% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-29 51.7% 2nd Half: 17-30 56.7% OT: 3-6 50.0% Game: 53.8% DEADBALL TEAM 2 2 F Throw % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% OT: 7-8 77.8% Game: 65.2% 5 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-14 42.9% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% OT: 0-2 0.0% Game: 50.0% REBOUNDS Totals...... 29-58 12-22 15-31 12 19 31 18 85 18 7 1 7 200 F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% OT: 2-3 66.7% Game: 61.5% 2 Officials: Deron White, Tom O’Neill, Kevin Brill Attendance: 6416 Officials: Tony Padilla, Shawn Lehigh, Scott Brown TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-32 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-26 50.0% Game: 50.0% DEADBALL Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total Attendance: 2920 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-13 53.8% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 54.5% REBOUNDS Colorado 39 28 16 83 Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total F Throw % 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 13-25 52.0% Game: 48.4% 7 Washington 24 43 18 85 Colorado 35 48 6 89 Washington State 39 44 8 91 Officials: Michael Irving, Gerry Pollard, Kevin Brill Attendance: 7341 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Oregon State 40 38 78 Colorado 41 44 85

SEATTLE — Once again, the Colorado Buffaloes couldn’t protect a lead in the final minute — PULLMAN, Wash. — The script changed slightly but the result was the same for the Colorado BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes finally found a way to finish what they started Thursday but Wednesday night, it happened twice in the same game. Buffaloes on Saturday, as they dropped their seventh straight game, a 91-89 overtime loss to Washing- night. The result was an 85-83 overtime loss at Washington in a game the Buffs led by 17 early in the ton State. After losing a lead four times in the final minute of regulation or overtime in their seven-game skid, second half. The loss, CU’s sixth straight, dropped Colorado to 10-9 overall and 0-6 in Pac-12 play The Buffs overcame a 10-point deficit in the final four minutes to force overtime, but were the Buffs instead put a game away, collecting an 85-78 win over Oregon State at the Coors Events while the Huskies improved to 9-9, 2-4. outscored 4-0 in the final minute of the extra period to leave them winless in Pac-12 play at 0-7, 10-10 Center to finally break into the Pac-12 win column. Xavier Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Buffs while Derrick White added overall. CU improved to 11-10 overall and 1-7 in Pac-12 play while OSU dropped to 4-17, 0-8. 23 points and eight assists. UW star freshman Markelle Fultz led all scorers with 37. “Same old story,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We let a team that’s been struggling to George King led the Buffs with a season-high 24 points and freshman Bryce Peters, who HOW IT HAPPENED: Wednesday’s game was the third time in six conference games CU has score, that scored 47 points in this building two nights ago against Utah, hang 91 on us...They made got his first career start, celebrated with a career-high 15 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 night from held the lead with less than a minute to play. some tough shots, don’t get me wrong. But our defense right now is not good enough to beat anybody 3-point range. “We’re finding ways to lose, we’re not finding ways to win,” CU head coachTad Boyle said. in this league. It doesn’t matter who we play, it doesn’t matter where we play them.” HOW IT HAPPENED: The win didn’t come easily and it didn’t start in conventional fashion. “We had our chances. This team’s got fight, it’s got resolve, we just don’t have that killer instinct that Indeed, the Cougars looked nothing like the team that came into the game as the second-lowest CU head coach Tad Boyle shook up his starting lineup, putting three freshmen — Deleon Brown, you need to have.” scoring team in the Pac-12 and the second-worst 3-point shooting team. The Cougars shot 54 percent Peters and Lucas Siewert — on the floor with junior Tory Miller and sophomore Thomas The Buffs did indeed have their chances, even after allowing Washington to completely erase a from the field for the game (35-for-65), including 50 percent from 3-point range (13-for-26). WSU’s Akyazili. It was the first start of the season for Peters, Akyazili, Siewert and Miller, and just the third 41-24 lead the Buffs held early in the second half. Colorado still led by 12 at the midway point of the Charles Callison had a career-high 30 points on 12-for-16 shooting, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range start for Brown. half, and by one, 65-64, with 57 seconds remaining after the Huskies had tied the game at 64-64. and Viont’e Daniels was 4-for-5 from long distance. “That move was more a way to honor and to reward the guys who come to practice every day But Fultz hit two free throws with 43 seconds left to give Washington its first lead since early in The Buffs shot a respectable 47 percent from the floor (32-for-67) but were just 6-for-21 from be- and who don’t get the minutes or haven’t gotten the starts,” Boyle said. “Four of the five guys tonight the game and Noah Dickerson extended the lead to two with one of two free throws after CU missed yond the arc. Derrick White led the Buffs with 25 points, Xavier Johnson scored 17, George hadn’t started yet this year, and we threw Deleon (Brown) in there because he’s such a team-oriented on its next possession. King had 16 and Wesley Gordon chipped in 15. defender and he gives you everything he’s got every single day. Other guys have had their opportunities Colorado did tie the game at 67-67 with 10 seconds remaining, enough to send the game into HOW IT HAPPENED: For the fourth time in their seven-game losing streak, the Buffs had the and I thought it was time for those guys who hadn’t to get their chance.” overtime when Fultz missed a last-gasp 3-point attempt at the buzzer. lead in the final minute of regulation or overtime but couldn’t close the deal. The new group held its own, both to begin the game and to start the second half. Colorado led But it was the same story in overtime. Colorado fell behind by four, 73-69, but battled back to Saturday, they came back to force the extra period, then jumped out to a four-point lead in the 12-10 early with the new lineup and 41-40 at the half after Boyle had reinserted his starters,. take the lead four different times in the final minutes, the last on a Johnson offensive rebound and first minute of overtime on two free throws from King and a Johnson basket. But in crunch time, it was a combination of the newcomers and the regulars who made the bucket with 33 seconds remaining. But the Buffs turned the ball over on their next possession, then missed two straight shots while difference. The Huskies, though, had one more answer, getting a wide-open David Crisp 3-pointer in transition the Cougars hit a pair of buckets to tie the score, 87-87. Colorado finally regained the lead on a White After a see-saw first 14 minutes of the second half, the Buffs took an eight-point lead with just after Johnson’s basket. The Buffs missed on their next possession, Crisp added two free throws with 12 drive to the basket with 1:49 remaining and had a chance to extend the lead to four after forcing a more than six minutes remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers from Peters. But even before the Events seconds left for an 85-81 UW lead and all that was left was a meaningless Colorado basket with two WSU miss, but a turnover handed the ball back to the Cougars with under a minute to go. Center crowd of 7,341 could relax, the Beavers quickly cut the margin back to two, 72-70, with four seconds remaining. WSU’s Josh Hawkinson then tied the game from the paint with 40 seconds remaining. CU’s Bryce minutes left to play. For 20 minutes, the Buffs looked to be well on their way to ending their losing streak. Peters missed a short attempt on CU’s next possession and Washington State’s Ike Iroegbu grabbed the The situation no doubt brought back memories of earlier games this season in which the Buffs had The two teams traded buckets early in the game before Colorado slowly began opening up a lead loose ball and went the length of the floor for the winning bucket with 10.5 seconds left. seen leads dissipate down the stretch. that hit 15 by halftime, 39-24. Colorado’s last chance ended with a White 3-pointer bouncing off the rim just before the buzzer. Thursday, however, CU’s defense finally answered the bell while the offense, which had been The Buffs built the edge on some solid shooting from the floor — 17-for-33 in the first 20 As has also been the case in the losing streak, the Buffs started quickly in this one, jumping out stellar all night, kept up the pace. The Buffs put together an 8-0 run, getting four consecutive defensive minutes — while also playing some solid defense. Fultz produced his fair share of points with 12 on to a 14-7 lead just six minutes into the game. Gordon had four points in the early run, Johnson added stops in the burst. 5-for-10 shooting, but the rest of the Huskies were just a combined 5-for-21 from the field. three and King added a 3-pointer. “We went on a little run and we were able to string some stops together to get it up to 80-70,” The Buffs took the lead at the 16:01 mark of the half, 8-6, on a George King 3-pointer. CU But again, the Buffs couldn’t maintain the pace. After hitting six of their first 10 field goal tries, Boyle said. “Stephen Thompson is an excellent player and we were trying to trap him to get the ball built the margin to eight midway through the half, 25-17, then took control minutes later. After Fultz they hit just four of their next 13. At the same time, their defense went lax and the Cougars heated up. out of his hands late, and Drew Eubanks was a beast down low. We were trying to get the ball out of hit a jumper to pull Washington to within 28-22, the Buffs finished the half with an 11-2 run to take Washington State put together a 13-4 run and finally took its first lead of the game at the 9:38 mark Thompson’s hands late and have somebody else beat us.” their 15-point halftime lead. on a Callison basket. Miller started the run with a jump hook from the lane. Then came a King 3-pointer and another White started the burst with a layup, followed by a Tory Miller bucket from the paint. Colorado WSU then built its lead to as much as seven, 34-27, with just under four minutes to play but the Miller bucket before a King free throw gave the Buffs a 10-point edge with just 1:35 left on the clock. senior Josh Fortune then had a hand in the final seven points of the half. Fortune handed an assist Buffs managed to close the gap to four, 39-35, by halftime. Johnson led the Buffs with 10 points in The Buffs could have made it much easier on themselves by simply hitting their free throws. CU to Johnson for an easy bucket, then grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup the first half and Gordon added eight. connected on just 15 of 31 tries from the stripe, including a 6-for-10 effort in the final two minutes. for a 36-24 edge. He then finished the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining. Washington State built its lead to as much as 10 in the second half, mostly on the strength of Colorado’s best shooting percentage of the night actually came from 3-point range (12-for-22) while The Huskies chipped away at Colorado’s lead on the strength of Fultz’s scoring from all over the Callison’s 3-pointers. The Buffs closed the gap to two, 81-79, with 1:36 to go on a White three-point finishing 50 percent from the field overall (29-for-58) — meaning CU had its worst percentage from court and Crisp’s 14 points, including four 3-pointers. After hitting just one of 12 3-point tries in the first play, then finally tied it at 83-83 with 7 seconds left on two White free throws after WSU’s Ike Iroegbu the free throw line. half, the Huskies hit 7 of 13 tries after intermission. missed the front end of a one-and-one with 16 seconds to go. The Buffs were outrebounded by the Beavers, 32-31, and OSU ended up shooting 55 percent The Buffs, meanwhile, who shot better than 50 percent in the first half, went cold from the field. Callison finally missed at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. from the floor (28-for-51). But when the Buffs needed stops most, they produced them.

www.CUBuffs.com /CUBuffsMBB @CUBuffsMBB 69 colorado buffaloes

GAME 22 GAME 23 GAME 24 COLORADO 74, #10/10 OREGON 65 COLORADO 81, STANFORD 74 CALIFORNIA 77, COLORADO 66 Jan. 28, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Feb. 2, 2017, Stanford, Calif. (Maples Pavilion) Feb. 5, 2017, Berkeley, Calif. (Haas Pavilion) VISITORS: Oregon 19-3, 8-1 Pac-12 VISITORS: Colorado 13-10, 3-7 Pac-12 VISITORS: Colorado 13-11, 3-8 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Bell, Jordan f 3-6 0-0 1-2 1 6 7 5 7 0 2 2 0 25 01 Gordon, Wesley f 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 3 2 1 4 2 0 18 14 Miller, Tory f 4-7 0-0 2-3 2 7 9 3 10 2 1 1 2 33 24 Brooks, Dillon f 2-6 0-3 5-6 3 4 7 4 9 4 6 1 0 31 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-11 1-4 6-9 1 5 6 2 19 3 1 0 1 28 25 Siewert, Lucas f 2-4 1-3 2-2 1 0 1 5 7 0 0 0 0 18 03 Pritchard, Payton g 6-12 5-9 2-2 1 5 6 2 19 3 2 0 1 30 15 Collier, Dominique g 2-5 2-4 2-2 0 1 1 3 8 1 2 0 1 21 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-7 1-5 2-2 0 0 0 2 5 1 0 1 0 25 05 Dorsey, Tyler g 4-12 1-7 0-0 2 2 4 1 9 1 2 0 1 33 21 White, Derrick g 6-8 2-2 5-6 0 8 8 4 19 8 3 4 2 33 21 White, Derrick g 8-18 3-9 6-6 3 1 4 2 25 3 3 2 0 34 31 Ennis, Dylan g 3-10 3-7 1-4 0 2 2 5 10 3 2 0 2 32 24 King, George g 0-3 0-2 0-2 0 4 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 21 24 King, George g 2-7 0-0 3-3 4 4 8 5 7 1 2 1 1 33 02 Benson, Casey 1-3 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 22 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 11 Smith, Keith 3-8 2-6 1-2 2 5 7 5 9 0 1 0 0 24 05 Brown, Deleon 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 10 05 Brown, Deleon 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 41 Sorkin, Roman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 14 Miller, Tory 4-5 0-0 2-3 3 4 7 3 10 2 4 0 0 20 23 Peters, Bryce 3-8 0-1 1-4 1 1 2 1 7 1 0 0 0 18 TEAM 3 1 4 1 23 Peters, Bryce 3-4 3-4 4-4 0 1 1 0 13 0 1 0 0 14 44 Fortune, Josh 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 Totals...... 22-57 11-34 10-16 13 25 38 25 65 12 16 3 4 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-3 0-1 1-2 1 3 4 2 3 2 2 0 0 12 TEAM 2 1 3 1 44 Fortune, Josh 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 0 5 0 1 0 0 20 Totals...... 21-57 6-21 18-22 14 18 32 20 66 13 9 6 4 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7% 2nd Half: 8-27 29.6% Game: 38.6% DEADBALL TEAM 2 1 3 1 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-14 35.7% 2nd Half: 6-20 30.0% Game: 32.4% REBOUNDS Totals...... 26-49 9-22 20-28 8 30 38 22 81 19 23 6 4 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-23 39.1% 2nd Half: 12-34 35.3% Game: 36.8% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 9-14 64.3% Game: 62.5% 2 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 28.6% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-26 57.7% 2nd Half: 11-23 47.8% Game: 53.1% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 13-13 100% Game: 81.8% 5 HOME: Colorado 12-10, 2-7 Pac-12 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-12 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 40.9% REBOUNDS ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min HOME: California 17-6, 8-3 Pac-12 F Throw % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8% 2nd Half: 13-19 68.4% Game: 71.4% 3 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-5 0-0 0-1 3 3 6 1 8 4 0 2 1 23 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 11 Johnson, Xavier f 2-5 1-2 5-10 2 7 9 3 10 1 2 1 1 28 HOME: Stanford 11-11, 3-7 Pac-12 10 Rabb, Ivan f 4-10 0-2 3-4 3 8 11 3 11 0 1 2 0 32 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-7 1-5 2-2 1 1 2 0 5 1 1 0 1 22 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 23 Bird, Jabari f 4-11 2-5 0-1 3 3 6 4 10 0 2 0 0 26 21 White, Derrick g 8-16 3-4 4-5 2 3 5 2 23 4 3 1 4 36 10 Humphrey, Michael f 6-9 0-2 1-2 3 5 8 4 13 1 2 1 1 23 22 Okoroh, Kingsley c 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 3 0 21 24 King, George g 4-10 2-5 3-4 2 6 8 2 13 0 3 0 0 25 11 Pickens, Dorian f 5-9 3-6 0-0 1 1 2 3 13 1 0 0 1 32 13 Moore, Charlie g 6-14 5-8 0-0 2 0 2 3 17 8 3 0 1 32 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 8 22 Travis, Reid f 4-11 0-0 1-2 3 2 5 3 9 0 3 0 1 36 3 Mullins, Grant g 3-14 2-9 8-8 1 3 4 1 16 3 1 0 2 36 05 Brown, Deleon 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 8 02 Cartwright, Robert g 3-8 0-3 2-4 0 2 2 2 8 2 2 0 1 26 12 Moute a Bidias, R 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 14 Miller, Tory 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 2 4 0 1 0 1 14 15 Allen, Marcus g 3-10 0-2 2-3 0 1 1 3 8 2 3 0 4 27 2 Singer, Sam 4-7 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 2 9 2 1 0 0 22 23 Peters, Bryce 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 11 01 Sanders, Christian 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 3 0 4 1 0 1 11 31 Domingo, Stephen 1-2 1-2 2-3 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 11 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-1 1-1 2-2 1 1 2 1 5 1 0 0 0 12 03 Allen, Malcolm 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 44 Rooks, Kameron 4-5 0-0 1-2 2 4 6 3 9 1 0 1 0 18 44 Fortune, Josh 1-3 0-1 0-2 1 3 4 3 2 2 1 1 0 13 14 Sheffield,Marcus 4-10 3-6 8-9 0 2 2 0 19 3 0 0 2 25 TEAM 3 3 6 2 TEAM 2 1 3 20 Sharma, Josh 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 3 2 0 1 0 0 8 Totals...... 26-63 11-29 14-18 16 24 40 20 77 16 11 6 3 200 Totals...... 25-59 8-22 16-26 16 25 41 17 74 14 12 5 8 200 21 Walker, Camerson 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 30 Verhoeven, Grant 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 7 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-38 42.1% 2nd Half: 10-25 40.0% Game: 41,3% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29 44.8% 2nd Half: 12-30 40.0% Game: 42.4% DEADBALL TEAM 1 1 2 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 9-22 40.9% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 37.9% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 3-11 27.3% Game: 36.4% REBOUNDS Totals...... 27-60 6-19 14-24 9 20 29 26 74 13 12 1 11 200 F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 14-18 77.8% Game: 77.8% 4 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 12-21 57.1% Game: 61.5% 4 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-22 50.0% 2nd Half: 16-38 42.1% Game: 45.0% DEADBALL Officials: Randy McCall, Tony Padilla, Frank Harvey III Attendance: 9719 Officials: Dick Cartmell, Gregory Nixon, Bill Vinovich 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 2-11 18.2% Game: 31.6% REBOUNDS Attendance: 9374 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total F Throw % 1st Half: 5-12 41.7% 2nd Half: 9-12 75.0% Game: 58.3% 4 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 26 40 66 Officials: Michael Greenstein, Bert Smith, Kelly Pfeifer, Alex Campoli Oregon 34 31 65 California 41 36 77 Attendance: 3849 Colorado 35 39 74 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 41 40 81 Stanford 31 43 74

BOULDER — It took longer than expected, but when the Colorado Buffaloes most folks expect- STANFORD, Calif. — At this point of the season, style points don’t matter. BERKELEY, Calif. — Playing without the services of senior starters Xavier Johnson and ed to see all season finally showed up, it was a game to remember. The Colorado Buffaloes played some solid defense in the second half Thursday and overcame a Wesley Gordon, the shorthanded Colorado Buffaloes put forth a valiant effort Sunday at Cal before Derrick White scored 23 points — 17 in the second half — and a tenacious Colorado season-high 23 turnovers to collect an 81-74 win at Stanford, ending a 10-game road losing streak in eventually falling, 77-66. defense forced 16 Oregon turnovers to propel the Buffs to a 74-65 win over the No. 10 Ducks on Pac-12 play in the process. The Buffs, who trailed by as many as 23 in the first half, cut the lead to five with just more than Saturday at the Coors Events Center. The win, Colorado’s third in a row, improved the Buffs to 13-10 overall and 3-7 in Pac-12 play three minutes to play, but that was as close as they could come as the Bears held the Buffs at bay down The win, Colorado’s second straight, improved the Buffs to 12-10 and 2-7 in Pac-12 play. The while Stanford dropped to 11-11, 3-7. the stretch. Ducks, who saw their 17-game win streak come to an end, fell to 19-3 and suffered their first confer- CU senior Derrick White had an outstanding all-around game, finishing with 19 points, eight The loss ended a three-game winning streak and dropped Colorado to 13-11 overall and 3-8 in ence loss to fall to 8-1. rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and a pair of steals. Pac-12 play. Cal improved to 17-6, 8-3. “That’s the Colorado basketball team we all know and love,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I “He’s so important to us,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “He just makes winning basketball plays. “I’m proud of our guys’ fight and toughness and determination,” head coach Tad Boyle said. couldn’t be more proud of the guys.” He knows how to play. You can’t teach the things he does.” “The guys that were out there just played there hearts out.” HOW IT HAPPENED: The win was CU’s third in six games against ranked teams this year and Xavier Johnson also had 19 points for CU to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Derrick White, who fueled the CU comeback, finished with 25 points — 15 in the second the highest-ranked team the Buffs have beaten since they knocked off No. 9 Arizona last February. CU’s bench contributed 33 points to the win, including 13 from freshman Bryce Peters and 10 from half — and Tory Miller had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Buffs. It was a team effort on both ends of the floor.George King added 13 points to White’s 23 and Tory Miller, who also had seven rebounds. HOW IT HAPPENED: With big men Johnson and Gordon benched for violating team rules, Xavier Johnson scored 10. Johnson also led the Buffs in rebounding with nine, King nabbed eight “We overcame a lot to get this road victory,” Boyle said. “Our guys played with great toughness the Buffs were at a decided disadvantage inside, where the Bears boasted two 7-footers in the starting and Wesley Gordon had an eight-point, six-rebound, four-assist night. and great determination and we overcame 23 turnovers on the road. That’s really hard to do.” lineup. Defensively, White had four steals and the Buffs finished with eight, tying a season high and their HOW IT HAPPENED: After taking a 10-point lead into the locker room at intermission, Making it even tougher on the Buffs was Cal’s outside shooting, as the Bears hit nine 3-pointers most in Pac-12 play. The Buffs also reaped 15 points off the 16 Oregon turnovers and limited Oregon’s the Buffs saw Stanford cut that margin to four eight minutes into the half before a 13-2 CU run put in the first half. Dillon Brooks to nine points, four under his season average. Oregon shot just 38.6 percent in the game Colorado in control for good. “We buried ourselves into a hole in the first half with them hitting nine threes,” Boyle said. (22-for-57), their worst performance in Pac-12 play, and had only two players in double figures. “They cut it to four and we bowed our back, much like we did against Oregon State at home “Obviously our zone wasn’t very good in terms of guarding the 3-point line.” Most importantly, the Buffs closed the deal down the stretch. After Oregon had cut a 12-point CU when they cut it to two,” Boyle said. “This team is coming, they’re starting to believe in each other a The Bears broke open a tight game midway through the first period with a 19-0 run that was lead to four with just under two minutes to play, CU’s defense took over. Oregon managed just four little bit.” fueled by five 3-pointers, giving Cal a 32-12 lead with 6:20 still to go in the first half. The CU deficit points on its final six possessions while the Buffs hit seven free throws and a layup in the final 1:48 to Peters (13 points) fueled the run with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and White also ballooned to as much as 23 minutes later before Colorado finally shaved it down to 15 at the half, put the game away. had a 3-pointer in the burst to give CU a 66-51 edge with just under eight minutes to play. The Buffs thanks to seven straight points to finish the period. White had a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer in “Maybe the guys said ‘enough is enough,’” Boyle said. “They did it, I didn’t do it. We had our still led by 15 with six minutes to go, and while the Cardinal managed to whittle the edge down to the stretch. game plan, but it’s the players’ job to go out and execute what they’ve been told to do and tonight single digits, they never got closer than seven in the final minutes. White then continued his run early in the second half, scoring CU’s first eight points of the period they did it to a ‘T.’ The good thing about our team is we didn’t get our heads down, we didn’t stop The Buffs earned the win despite a scoreless night from junior George King and just two points and George King hit a pair of free throws at the 16:12 mark to cut Cal’s one-time 23-point lead to competing.” from big man Wesley Gordon. seven, 43-36. The Buffs started quickly, hitting their first four 3-point attempts — two from King and one each “We had other guys step up, there’s no doubt,” Boyle said. “Our bench was MVP of this game. The Bears then built the lead back to double digits, but the Buffs had one more run in them. An from Dominique Collier and Johnson — to produce a 14-2 run and a 14-5 lead just four minutes They came in and gave us great minutes. … We won this thing without some of our key guys having 8-2 Colorado burst that began at the seven-minute mark saw Colorado cut the Cal lead to six, 60-54, in. great nights. That’s another good sign.” on a pair of Lucas Siewert free throws with 4:28 to go. A minute later, CU narrowed the margin to The Ducks, though, slowly chipped away at the lead and briefly led before Colorado got a late Had the Buffs taken care of the ball a little better, the game likely never would have been close. five, 62-57, on a White 3-pointer. bucket from Tory Miller to give CU a 35-34 edge at the half. CU’s 23 turnovers led to 23 Stanford points. That, though, was as close as the Buffs could come. The Buffs had several good looks at the The second half was much like the first. The Buffs built a six-point edge midway through the period “Just silly stuff,” Boyle said. “This time of year you can’t be doing that kind of stuff, so we bucket in the final minutes but couldn’t connect, forcing CU to foul and send the Bears to the free throw on back-to-back 3-pointers from White, only to see the Ducks rally to tie the game at 51-51 with 5:40 dodged a bullet with those tonight.” line. to go. Still, Boyle was overall pleased with the effort, especially that of CU’s defense. Stanford shot 50 “We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Boyle said. “Critical times in the game we broke down White then sparked a 13-1 run to give CU its first double-digit lead of the night. Gordon started percent from the field in the first half, but the Buffs clamped down in the second half and cut that defensively and let them kind of expand that thing back to 10. We made shots to get ourselves back the run with a strong move inside, followed by a White 3-pointer, a White three-point play and a King percentage to 42. Colorado held Stanford forward Reid Travis to nine points on 4-for-11 shooting, seven into it. You really have to play almost a flawless second half to come back from that kind of deficit. I three-point play that also resulted in a double-technical foul on CU’s Johnson and Oregon’s Jordan Bell. points under his season average. thought we tried, we just weren’t quite good enough in the critical stages.” White then added two more free throws to give the Buffs a 64-52 lead with 3:11 to go. “I think they’re really starting to take pride in their defense,” Boyle said. “Our post guys took a The Buffs did a solid job on Cal’s leading scorer, Ivan Rabb, holding the 6-foot-11 forward to just But Oregon wouldn’t go away quietly. The Ducks rallied with three straight 3-pointers while the big challenge. Reid Travis is a heck of a player down there and so is Michael Humphrey. Defensively we 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting, five under his season average. Buffs could manage just one free throw to cut CU’s lead to four. played well.” “I thought George King defensively on Ivan Rabb did as good of a job defensively as anybody we That’s when the Buffs’ defense stepped up one more time to rebuild the lead over the final two After a see-saw first 10 minutes of the game, the Buff put together a 10-0 run to take a 29-18 had tonight,” Boyle said. “He really took on the challenge and battled him.” minutes, forcing the Ducks to foul. Colorado struggled once again at the line — 16-for-26 — but did lead with six minutes to go in the half. White started the run with a 3-pointer before Johnson hit a Senior Josh Fortune had five points, five rebounds and five assists. manage to hit seven of 10 tries in the final 1:48 to close out the win. pair of free throws and White added two more. Dominique Collier then tossed in a 3-pointer on an The Buffs refused to blame the loss on the absence of Miller and Johnson. offensive rebound and assist from Miller. “You always want to have Wes and X, but we’re always ready to play,” Miller said. “(Cal) That was enough to send CU into the locker room at halftime with a 41-31 lead. went on a shooting streak and kudos to them. … We’ve got to move forward. We’re going to need Overall, it was a solid first half for the Buffs, as they shot 57 percent from the field (15-for-26) everybody to step up like they did tonight. “ and held a commanding 17-9 edge on the boards. But, 12 turnovers that led to 11 Stanford points prevented the lead from being larger.

70 2017-18 COLORADO BASKETBALL colorado buffaloes

GAME 25 GAME 26 GAME 27 COLORADO 81, WASHINGTON 66 COLORADO 81, WASHINGTON STATE 49 COLORADO 60, OREGON STATE 52 Feb. 9, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Feb. 12, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Feb. 16, 2017, Corvallis, Ore. (Gill Coliseum) VISITORS: Washington 9-15, 2-10 Pac-12 VISITORS: Washington State 11-14, 4-9 Pac-12 VISITORS: Colorado 16-11, 6-8 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 15 Dickerson, Noah f 5-8 0-0 4-6 2 7 9 3 14 0 4 0 0 27 13 Pollard, Jeff f 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 12 01 Gordon, Wesley f 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 4 4 1 1 1 0 19 22 Green, Dominic f 1-6 0-4 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 26 24 Hawkinson, Josh f 3-8 0-3 2-2 1 8 9 4 8 1 6 2 0 35 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-10 2-2 3-7 1 3 4 2 17 1 2 1 2 32 33 Timmins, Sam f 1-3 0-0 0-0 5 6 11 3 2 1 1 3 0 31 02 Iroegbu, Ike g 2-7 1-2 0-0 2 3 5 2 5 2 3 0 0 30 15 Collier, Dominique g 2-4 2-4 2-2 0 3 3 1 8 1 3 0 2 21 01 Crisp, David g 7-17 3-10 0-0 0 3 3 2 17 3 2 0 1 33 22 Flynn, Malachi g 2-9 2-6 0-0 0 2 2 2 6 1 4 0 0 29 21 White, Derrick g 7-11 1-3 5-5 0 1 1 0 20 4 2 2 3 35 04 Thybulle, Matisse g 3-9 2-4 3-4 0 0 0 3 11 3 3 0 1 28 23 Callison, Charles g 3-5 3-4 0-0 0 0 0 4 9 3 4 0 0 28 24 King, George g 3-10 0-1 1-2 4 3 7 2 7 0 2 0 1 27 00 Baruti, Bitumba 1-2 0-0 3-3 2 0 2 2 5 0 1 0 1 15 03 Franks, Robert 3-6 2-2 2-2 0 4 4 2 10 1 0 3 0 21 14 Miller, Tory 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 15 02 Kingma, Dan 2-3 2-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 6 1 0 0 1 21 04 Daniels, Viont’e 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 1 1 0 0 16 23 Peters, Bryce 1-5 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 25 23 Johnson, Carlos 4-7 0-2 1-1 1 2 3 4 9 1 2 0 0 16 10KJ Langston, 1-3 0-2 0-1 1 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 14 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 24 Duruisseau, Devenir 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 Shpreyregin, Steven 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 44 Fortune, Josh 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 0 2 0 1 13 32 Bowman, Greg 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 42 Clifford, Conor 1-1 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 1 0 13 TEAM 3 2 5 TEAM 2 2 2 TEAM 2 2 Totals...... 22-53 5-15 11-16 11 22 33 13 60 9 13 4 10 200 Totals...... 17-44 9-22 6-8 4 20 24 17 49 9 24 6 0 200 Totals...... 24-56 7-22 11-14 12 22 34 21 66 10 14 3 4 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-25 32.0% 2nd Half: 14-28 50.0% Game: 41.5% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-18 44.4% 2nd Half: 9-26 34.6% Game: 38.6% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29 44.8% 2nd Half: 11-27 40.7% Game: 42.9% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 40.9% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 4-12 33.3% Game: 31.8% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 68.8% 3 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% Game: 75.0% 0 F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 9-11 81.8% Game: 78.6% 1 HOME: Oregon State 4-23, 0-14 Pac-12 HOME: Colorado 15-11, 5-8 Pac-12 HOME: Colorado 14-11, 4-8 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-4 0-0 1-1 3 4 7 2 7 2 0 1 3 20 12 Eubanks, Drew f 5-7 0-0 4-5 3 5 8 3 14 2 3 4 0 30 14 Miller, Tory f 4-8 0-0 3-4 1 4 5 4 11 0 0 0 3 24 11 Johnson, Xavier f 1-8 0-2 2-4 2 3 5 2 4 3 1 0 1 20 23 Rakocevic, Gilgorije c 4-6 1-1 1-1 1 4 5 3 10 0 2 2 0 36 25 Siewert, Lucas f 5-10 2-3 0-0 1 5 6 2 12 0 2 0 2 30 15 Collier, Dominique g 2-5 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 4 2 2 0 1 18 00 McLaughlin, JaQuori g 6-14 2-7 2-2 0 2 2 3 16 2 2 2 2 35 15 Collier, Dominique g 4-8 0-1 2-3 0 2 2 1 10 5 0 0 4 27 21 White, Derrick g 9-11 3-4 2-3 1 1 2 1 23 3 1 1 3 26 01 Thompson, Stephen g 2-12 1-7 0-0 0 4 4 2 5 1 8 0 4 37 21 White, Derrick g 6-10 0-2 4-5 1 3 4 2 16 3 0 0 0 33 24 King, George g 5-11 1-3 0-0 0 4 4 0 11 0 1 1 1 23 24 Manuel, Kendal g 0-5 0-2 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 2 2 1 2 34 24 King, George g 8-13 2-2 3-3 7 5 12 0 21 0 1 2 0 31 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 15 02 Stacy, Ronnie 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 3 1 0 2 1 0 14 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 14 Dahlen, Matt 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 23 Peters, Bryce 5-8 0-2 0-0 2 0 2 2 10 6 1 0 0 25 14 Miller, Tory 4-5 0-0 3-4 2 2 4 3 11 0 0 0 0 19 15 Sanders, Tanner 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 10 44 Fortune, Josh 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 16 23 Peters, Bryce 5-9 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 3 12 2 2 0 2 19 34 Kone, Ben 1-2 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 2 4 0 1 0 0 10 TEAM 1 1 1 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 4 6 2 2 2 2 0 0 20 TEAM 5 2 7 Totals...... 32-63 4-12 13-17 13 22 35 15 81 15 8 3 10 200 33 Repine, Josh 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals...... 19-50 6-20 8-10 9 22 31 16 52 7 18 9 9 200 44 Fortune, Josh 2-4 2-4 1-2 0 1 1 1 7 1 1 0 1 6 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-31 51.6% 2nd Half: 16-32 50.0% Game: 50.8% DEADBALL TEAM 2 1 3 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 9-21 42.9% Game: 38.0% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS Totals...... 32-62 8-21 9-14 12 25 37 18 81 16 11 3 12 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 30.0% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 76.5% 0 F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 80.0% 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0% 2nd Half: 19-36 52.8% Game: 51.6% DEADBALL Officials: Verne Harris, Michael Irving, Tommy Nunez 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-11 45.5% 2nd Half: 3-10 30.0% Game: 38.1% REBOUNDS Officials: Michael Greenstein, Kevin Brill, Bill Vinovich Attendance: 7387 F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 64.3% 3 Attendance: 4281 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Washington 31 35 66 Colorado 24 36 60 Colorado 42 39 81 Officials: Mike Scyphers, Gregory Nixon, Chris Rastatter Oregon State 25 27 52 Attendance: 7612 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Washington State 24 25 49 Colorado 37 44 81

BOULDER — Both Colorado and Washington were missing some firepower Thursday night in BOULDER — History suggested the Colorado-Washington State game Sunday night might be CORVALLIS, Ore. — Earlier this week Colorado coach Tad Boyle said the key to winning their Pac-12 matchup at the Coors Events Center. a close one. on the road was “toughness.” But the Buffs had plenty of other weapons while the Huskies … not so much. The Buffs didn’t let history have a say. Colorado put together perhaps its most complete game of Boyle’s Buffs were tough enough Thursday night to collect their second Pac-12 road win of the The result was an 81-66 Colorado win, with the Buffs getting six players in double-figure scoring, the season on both ends of the floor, rolling to an 81-49 win at home, the Buffs’ fifth victory in their season, scoring the last eight points of the game to snare a 60-52 decision at Oregon State. The win led by George King’s 21-point, 12-rebound double-double. last six games. was Colorado’s sixth in its last seven games and improved the Buffs to 16-11 overall and 6-8 in Pac-12 The win, a little payback for an overtime loss in Seattle earlier this season, was CU’s fourth in the Colorado improved to 15-11 overall and 5-8 in Pac-12 play while the Cougars, who lost for the play while setting up a key game at No. 7 Oregon on Saturday. last five games and improved the Buffs’ record to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in Pac-12 play. The Huskies fifth time in their last six games, fell to 11-14, 4-9. The Beavers, meanwhile, dropped their 14th straight game, falling to 4-23 and 0-14. lost their sixth in a row to fall to 9-15, 2-10. HOW IT HAPPENED: The last time the two teams met, the Buffs dropped a 91-89 overtime The Buffs were by no means at their best, especially offensively, connecting on just 41.5 percent Washington played without the Pac-12’s leading scorer, freshman Markelle Fultz, who sat out decision — the third overtime contest between the two teams in their last five meetings. of their field goal tries (22-for-53). But they were good enough on the defensive end, particularly in with a knee injury. The Buffs played without seniors Xavier Johnson and Wesley Gordon, both The Buffs never gave overtime a chance in this one. CU used a 13-0 run late in the first half to the final two minutes, when they forced four straight empty OSU possessions and answered with points of whom missed their second straight game because of a violation of team rules. build a 33-17 lead and take a 37-24 edge into the locker room at halftime. Colorado then scored the on each of them. The Huskies obviously greatly missed Fultz, who scored 37 points against the Buffs in their first first seven points of the second half and the Cougars never came closer than 15 again, with the Buffs “We gutted that one out, there’s no doubt about it. I thought our defense was pretty good most game. building the margin to as much as 35 down the stretch. of the night,” Boyle said. “We finished the game with four straight stops and were able to make a The Buffs, however, had plenty of balance to make up for the absence of the two seniors. Along “That was our best all-around performance we’ve had all year,” head coach Tad Boyle said. couple big plays.” with King’s 21 points, Derrick White added 16, Lucas Siewert had 12, Tory Miller had 11 “There’s not a lot of things I can point to as a coach that I was disappointed in. I thought our guys Derrick White led the Buffs with 20 points, four assists, three steals and two blocks and and Dominique Collier and Bryce Peters each had 10. defended, they rebounded, we turned them over 24 times and we had 16 assists and 11 turnovers, a played a huge role in the final two minutes when the Buffs broke away from a 52-52 tie with the last David Crisp led Washington with 17 points. good ratio. Overall it was a great team effort.” eight points of the game. HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs were in control for most of this one, breaking open a tight Indeed, the Buffs dominated in virtually every facet of the game. Four Buffs scored in double Xavier Johnson added 17 points and four rebounds for the Buffs while George King had game nine minutes into the first half to build a double-digit lead that hit as much as 14 in the first half figures, led byDerrick White, who finished with 23 points, three assists and three steals. George seven points and seven rebounds. and was still at 11 at halftime, 42-31. King and Tory Miller both added 11 points and four rebounds while Bryce Peters had 12 points, HOW IT HAPPENED: After trailing by one at the half, the Buffs seemed ready to take control In their first meeting this year, the Buffs saw the Huskies erase a 15-point Colorado lead at the two assists, two rebounds and two steals as CU shot 51.6 percent from the floor (32-for-62). with a 9-0 run that produced a 46-35 lead with just more than seven minutes left to go. Dominique half to come back and force overtime, then collect the win in the extra period. Defensively, the Buffs were equally dominant. Colorado forced WSU into a season-high 24 turn- Collier fueled the run with a steal and assist to King for a dunk, then finished the burst with a Thursday, the Buffs never let the Huskies back in the game. Colorado built the lead to as much as overs — nine more than in any previous Pac-12 game — and CU converted those miscues into 34 3-pointer. 16, 59-43, midway through the second half and while the Huskies did manage to momentarily close points. The Buffs also had a 37-24 edge on the boards and held Washington State to just 38.6 percent But almost before the Buffs could catch their breath, the Beavers answered with a 9-0 run, then the gap to seven with just more than five minutes to go, Colorado quickly answered with an 11-0 run shooting (17-for-44). ultimately tied the game at 50-50. to seal the victory. The difference between the Jan. 21 loss at WSU and Sunday night’s win couldn’t be more The two teams then traded buckets before Colorado put the game away with the final eight points Siewert hit a 3-pointer to start the run, then grabbed a defensive rebound to lead to a White dramatic. In the first game, the Cougars shot 53 percent from the field (35-for-65), including 50 of the game. Johnson started the run with a free throw, followed by a White jumper on a perfectly bucket. Peters continued the run with a drive down the lane and dunk before King hit two free throws percent from 3-point range. Sunday, they managed only 44 shots and made just 17. executed play out of a timeout. On OSU’s ensuing possession, White recorded a block and steal of a and a basket to put the game away. CU’s defense, meanwhile, forced five straight empty possessions The explanation, White said, is simple. shot attempt by OSU’s 6-foot-11 Gilgorije Rakocevic, which led to a Johnson 3-pointer and a 58-52 in the run. “We guarded,” the CU senior said. “They scored 91 points (in WSU) and tonight they scored 49 lead with just 32 seconds remaining. “It was a good victory for us,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “I thought we played well, even points. We’ve committed to the defensive end. We talked about it early but we really didn’t commit to White then added two more free throws to finish the scoring. though we were shorthanded a few guys. We had six guys in double figures, 15 assists and eight it. So these last few games, starting with the Oregon game, we committed to the defensive end and Defensively, the Buffs did their job, particularly on OSU standout Stevie Thompson. The sopho- turnovers, which is a really good ratio.” that is the reason we’re on this run right now.” more guard had 26 points in their first meeting of the year, but finished the night with just five points on King’s stat line was no doubt the standout of the night, as he continued to be Colorado’s leading The Buffs put Sunday’s game away late in the first half with the 13-0 run. King started the run 2-for-12 shooting, including 1-for-7 from 3-point range. He also had just one assist and eight turnovers. rebounder in Pac-12 play. with a baseline drive and two-handed jam. Miller then added a bucket inside, Peters hit a 3-pointer and “I thought Derrick and Bryce (Peters) did a terrific job on Stevie Thompson, who is a heck of a But the Buffs had plenty of help from other players, a necessity on a night when Johnson and Lucas Siewert then looped in a turnaround jump-hook before Josh Fortune closed the run with player,” Boyle said. “Terrific defensive effort by those guys.” Gordon didn’t play. another 3-pointer, giving Colorado a 33-17 lead with 2:40 to go in the half. While the Buffs were struggling from the floor, they also made sure the Beavers experienced the Not only did the Buffs get contributions from virtually everyone, they got them at key moments. Colorado led 37-24 at the half, then scored the first seven points of the second half to bump the same. OSU shot just 38 percent for the night (19-for-50). Peters started a 10-0 run in the first half that broke an 18-18 tie by following his own miss and lead to 20. WSU managed to briefly cut the lead to 15, but Colorado quickly regained control and The Buffs trailed 25-24 at the half. CU hit four of its first six field goal tries, but then connected collecting a layup. White then added a layup before Peters scored again, this time getting a slam dunk steadily built the lead for the rest of the game, pushing it to as much as 35 in the final minutes. on just four of the next 19 to finish the half 8-for-25. The Beavers weren’t much better, shooting just courtesy of a Collier steal and assist. The Buffs then added four more free throws — two each from CU also turned in another solid game in the paint. Senior Wesley Gordon returned after a two- 10-for-29 in the opening half. Collier and Miller — to take a 28-18 lead with 8:35 to go in the half. game suspension and finished with seven points and seven rebounds, and along with Miller, accounted TURNING POINT: The game wasn’t decided until the final 1:48, when the Buffs broke open The Buffs also turned up the defense in that stretch, forcing five consecutive empty UW posses- for 18 of the Buffs 42 points inside. Gordon and Miller also did a solid job a 52-52 tie with the final eight points of the game. The key play was a White block and steal that led sions, including a pair of turnovers — two of Washington’s 10 in the first half. The Huskies briefly cut on WSU big men Josh Hawkinson and Conor Clifford, limiting the duo to just 12 points. Hawkinson’s to a Johnson 3-pointer and a six-point CU lead. the gap back to six, but Colorado rebuilt the cushion to 14, then took an 11-point edge into the locker eight points were only the fourth time this season he’s been held to single digits. WHAT IT MEANS: Once 0-7 in Pac-12 play, the Buffs are now 6-8 and take some momentum room at the half, 42-31. into Saturday’s meeting with Oregon in Eugene. If the Buffs can come up with a win over the No. 7 Ducks, who they beat in Boulder earlier this year, they have a good chance to win their final three at home and finish the regular season with 20 wins.

www.CUBuffs.com /CUBuffsMBB @CUBuffsMBB 71 colorado buffaloes

GAME 28 GAME 29 GAME 30 #7/8 OREGON 101, COLORADO 73 UTAH 86, COLORADO 81 COLORADO 91, STANFORD 72 Feb. 18, 2017, Eugene, Ore. (Matthew Knight Arena) Feb. 23, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Mar. 2, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) VISITORS: Colorado 16-12, 6-9 Pac-12 VISITORS: Utah 18-10, 9-7 Pac-12 VISITORS: Stanford 14-15, 6-11 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 0-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 21 13 Collette, David f 5-7 1-1 3-4 1 5 6 4 14 2 0 0 0 27 10 Humphrey, Michael f 5-6 0-0 3-6 1 3 4 3 13 0 2 0 1 22 11 Johnson, Xavier f 3-11 0-7 3-4 2 2 4 3 9 2 1 1 0 23 35 Kuzma, Kyle f 7-11 1-2 10-12 2 4 6 3 25 1 0 0 0 24 22 Travis, Reid f 6-11 0-0 2-4 3 5 8 1 14 0 1 0 0 23 15 Collier, Dominique g 5-10 1-4 2-2 0 1 1 4 13 1 1 0 2 19 01 Zamora, JoJo g 3-6 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 3 8 1 2 0 1 24 01 Sanders, Christian g 3-5 2-2 1-3 1 0 1 1 9 2 1 0 0 20 21 White, Derrick g 4-10 1-4 1-2 1 0 1 1 10 2 3 2 1 29 15 Bonam, Lorenzo g 3-4 2-2 4-4 0 3 3 5 12 3 2 0 1 27 11 Pickens, Dorian g 0-5 0-3 1-2 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 20 24 King, George g 7-10 3-4 1-2 0 4 4 3 18 2 1 0 0 30 30 Bealer, Gabe g 3-7 2-5 0-0 0 4 4 0 8 1 2 0 0 26 15 Allen, Marcus g 6-16 1-6 2-2 2 1 3 3 15 2 2 0 0 23 00 Akyazili, Thomas 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 2 1 2 0 0 9 02 Barefield,Sedrick 1-6 0-0 4-6 1 1 2 3 6 3 3 0 2 26 02 Cartwright, Robert 1-6 1-4 0-0 2 2 4 2 3 7 2 0 1 28 05 Brown, Deleon 0-5 0-3 2-2 0 2 2 2 2 1 2 0 0 17 05 Van Dyke, Parker 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 3 0 0 1 11 03 Allen, Malcolm 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 14 Miller, Tory 2-3 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 1 5 2 1 0 2 20 21 Rawson, Tyler 2-3 1-2 3-4 0 1 1 3 8 0 0 0 0 19 14 Sheffield,Marcus 4-6 2-4 0-0 0 2 2 1 10 2 0 1 0 18 25 Siewert, Lucas 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 1 1 1 0 13 34 Johnson, Jayce 2-2 0-0 1-2 0 7 7 3 5 0 0 1 0 16 20 Sharma, Josh 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 4 0 0 1 1 0 13 44 Fortune, Josh 3-4 3-3 2-2 0 1 1 1 11 0 0 0 0 19 TEAM 1 21 Walker, Cameron 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 7 TEAM 2 2 Totals...... 26-47 9-19 25-32 5 28 33 24 86 14 10 1 5 200 30 Verhoeven, Grant 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 7 Totals...... 26-60 9-27 12-18 7 17 24 20 73 12 12 4 5 200 33 Stanback, Trevor 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 11 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-26 53.8% 2nd Half: 12-21 57.1% Game: 55.3% DEADBALL TEAM 1 1 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 14-31 45.2% Game: 43.3% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-12 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 47.4% REBOUNDS Totals...... 27-60 7-23 11-19 13 21 34 20 72 14 10 4 4 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-15 40.0% 2nd Half: 3-12 25.0% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 22-28 78.6% Game: 78.1% 2 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-26 50.0% 2nd Half: 14-34 41.2% Game: 45.0% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 10-14 71.4% Game: 66.7% 4 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 4-13 30.8% Game: 30.4% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 16-13, 6-10 Pac-12 F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 57.9% 4 HOME: Oregon 24-4, 13-2 Pac-12 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-4 0-0 4-5 1 3 4 4 12 1 1 0 0 25 HOME: Colorado 17-13, 7-10 Pac-12 01 Bell, Jordan f 3-4 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 0 6 4 0 1 4 26 11 Johnson, Xavier f 2-7 1-4 3-4 1 4 5 4 8 2 3 0 0 24 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 24 Brooks, Dillon f 9-16 5-8 0-0 0 3 3 2 23 1 3 3 2 24 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-6 0-3 6-8 2 2 4 3 8 2 1 0 0 25 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-4 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 1 10 5 1 1 0 23 03 Pritchard, Payton g 1-5 1-3 0-2 0 3 3 3 3 11 4 0 2 31 21 White, Derrick g 10-17 4-7 7-9 0 6 6 4 31 5 4 4 1 36 11 Johnson, Xavier f 7-13 1-2 0-1 5 4 9 3 15 1 1 0 1 22 05 Dorsey, Tyler g 2-8 1-5 3-4 1 3 4 0 8 1 2 0 0 24 24 King, George g 5-8 2-4 0-0 3 1 4 4 12 1 1 0 1 36 15 Collier, Dominique g 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 5 0 0 1 12 31 Ennis, Dylan g 7-11 3-6 3-4 4 2 6 1 20 3 3 1 0 31 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 21 White, Derrick g 4-7 1-2 0-1 0 2 2 0 9 8 0 1 2 32 02 Benson, Casey 3-4 2-2 6-6 1 0 1 0 14 3 0 0 0 21 05 Brown, Deleon 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 24 King, George g 6-10 3-5 0-1 0 5 5 0 15 2 1 0 1 28 10 Noebel, Charlie 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 14 Miller, Tory 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 4 5 0 0 0 0 18 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 21 Gross, Evan 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 4 25 Siewert, Lucas 2-5 1-3 0-0 1 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 13 05 Brown, Deleon 4-5 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 10 0 1 0 0 14 25 Boucher, Chris 6-7 2-2 4-5 0 7 7 5 18 0 1 2 0 18 44 Fortune, Josh 0-5 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 35 Bigby-Williams, Kave 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 5 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 9 TEAM 2 1 3 14 Miller, Tory 4-5 0-0 2-4 0 2 2 3 10 0 0 0 0 14 41 Sorkin, Roman 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 8 Totals...... 26-59 8-24 21-28 12 21 33 24 81 13 10 4 2 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 4-6 4-5 3-4 1 2 3 1 15 2 0 0 0 21 TEAM 2 3 5 33 Repine, Josh 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Totals...... 34-59 16-29 17-23 10 28 38 15 101 25 16 7 8 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-32 37.5% 2nd Half: 14-27 51.9% Game: 44.1% DEADBALL 44 Fortune, Josh 2-7 0-4 2-2 3 1 4 1 6 2 1 1 0 21 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% Game: 33.3% REBOUNDS TEAM 2 1 3 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-27 55.6% 2nd Half: 19-32 59.4% Game: 57.6% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 20-25 80.0% Game: 75.0% 0 Totals...... 35-62 11-23 10-17 12 24 36 17 91 25 6 3 5 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 9-17 52.9% Game: 55.2% REBOUNDS TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-30 53.3% 2nd Half: 19-32 59.4% Game: 56.5% DEADBALL F Throw % 1st Half: 8-10 80.0% 2nd Half: 9-13 69.2% Game: 73.9% 5 Officials: Mike Reed, Frank Harvey III, Rick Randall 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-12 50.0% 2nd Half: 5-11 45.5% Game: 47.8% REBOUNDS Attendance: 7142 F Throw % 1st Half: 3-6 50.0% 2nd Half: 7-11 63.6% Game: 58.8% 1 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Officials: Kipp Kissinger, Keith Kimble, Nate Harris Officials: Randy McCall, Chris Rastatter, Eric Curry Utah 37 49 86 Attendance: 12364 Attendance: 8008 Colorado 29 52 81 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 32 41 73 Stanford 35 37 72 Oregon 45 56 101 Colorado 41 50 91

EUGENE, Ore. — Colorado’s hopes of collecting a much-needed road win over a ranked foe BOULDER — The script may have been slightly different but the ending was the same for the BOULDER — Earlier this week, Tad Boyle put the Colorado Buffaloes through a drill in which lasted for roughly 16 minutes Saturday. Colorado Buffaloes. baskets didn’t count unless they were assisted by a teammate. With 9:45 to go in the first half, the Buffs had matched No. 7 Oregon punch for punch and held Despite 31 points from senior Derrick White, the Buffs lost their seventh straight game to The Buffs took the lesson to heart. Colorado recorded a season-high 25 assists Thursday night and a 25-23 lead over the Ducks on their home floor. With 3:57 to go in the half, the Buffs still trailed by Utah, an 86-81 decision Thursday night at the Coors Events Center. rolled to a 91-72 win over Stanford at the Coors Events Center, a win that ended a two-game skid and just three after a Lucas Siewert 3-pointer pulled Colorado to within 35-32. The loss, the Buffs’ second in a row, dropped them to 16-13 overall and 6-10 in Pac-12 play while provided Boyle with his 100th win at the Events Center. But from that point on, the two teams went in decidedly different directions. Colorado went ice Utah improved to 18-10, 9-7. Colorado improved to 17-13 overall and 7-10 in Pac-12 play while Stanford dropped to 14-15, cold, the Ducks put together a 10-0 run to close the half and continued the onslaught after intermission. “Our defense wasn’t good enough tonight,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “I mean Utah just 6-11. The win also means the Buffs can finish no lower than ninth in the Pac-12 Tournament seeding By the time the dust had cleared, the Buffs were on the short end of a long afternoon, 101-73. came in here and schooled us. For us to beat anybody in this league, especially somebody like Utah and still has a chance to finish as high as seventh. The loss dropped Colorado to 16-12 overall and 6-9 in Pac-12 play. Oregon, which collected who’s as efficient and good as they are offensively, we can’t have as many breakdowns as we had. “We really shared the ball tonight,” Boyle said. “Togetherness on offense was big time. We still its 42nd straight home win, improved to 24-4,13-2, while avenging a 74-65 loss in Boulder in late We didn’t guard the 3-point line, we didn’t guard the basket, we didn’t guard the ball, our ball screen have some improvements to go defensively and rebounding the ball. But this team showed when we January. defense was atrocious. We knew going in it was going to be a key, it wasn’t good enough. It cost us play together, and share it offensively and play with energy and passion defensively, this team can be George King led Colorado with 18 points and Dominique Collier added 13. Oregon’s Dillon the game.” as good as they want to be and beat any team in our league.” Brooks led all scorers with 23. Despite the defensive lapses, the Buffs had their chances down the stretch. `The Buffs were as sharp as they’ve been all season offensively, with the 91 points a season high. The HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs kept it close in the early going and actually led with less than A White 3-pointer pulled the Buffs to within 81-78 with 1:36 remaining but Utah answered with season-high assists also meant balanced scoring, with six different players in double figures.Xavier 10 minutes to go in the first half. Oregon hit its first five 3-point tries to take an early 19-11 lead, but a David Collette layup as the shot clock was set to expire. Colorado then closed to within two on three Johnson, George King and Lucas Siewert each tallied 15 points while Wesley Gordon, the Buffs responded with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 21-21, then took a 25-23 lead with 9:45 to Dominique Collier free throws with 37.8 seconds remaining and stayed within three when Utah’s Tory Miller and Deleon Brown each added 10. Derrick White, meanwhile, had nine points, eight go in the half on a pair of Deleon Brown free throws. Tyler Rawson hit just one of two free throws. assists, two rebounds and two steals. The Buffs fueled their comeback by hitting six of seven field goal tries, including a 3-pointer and But Collier missed a 3-pointer on CU’s next trip down the floor and the Utes were able to close the HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs broke open a close game with a 16-5 run to start the second short jumper from Derrick White. At that point, the Buffs were shooting better than 50 percent from game out at the free throw line, hitting five in the final 30 seconds. half, expanding a six-point halftime lead into a 17-point margin, then continued to build the cushion. the floor, including from behind the 3-point line. White led the Buffs in scoring with 31 and also had a team-high six rebounds and five assists. Kyle The Buffs had an assist on each of their first seven baskets of the half as Stanford had no answer. But after taking the two-point edge, the Buffs went cold and the Ducks stayed hot. Oregon built its Kuzma led Utah with 25 points. Dominique Collier had three straight assists in the run, dishing to Gordon for a fast-break dunk, then lead to 35-27 before Colorado managed to close the gap to 35-32 on buckets from King and Siewert, Utah shot 55.3 percent from the field (26-for-47), including a 9-for-19 night from 3-point range. to Johnson for a 3-pointer and finally to Johnson for another fast-break dunk. only to see the Ducks close the half on a 10-0 run. CU began taking ill-advised 3-pointers and missed The Buffs finished at 44.1 percent (26-for-59) and 8-for-24 from beyond the arc. “That was the best start of the second half we’ve had all year,” Boyle said. “The credit goes to its last six shots of the half, allowing Oregon to carry a 45-32 lead into the locker room at intermission. HOW IT HAPPENED: After falling behind 7-0 early, the Buffs slowly climbed back into the our players. Our fans are great, our crowd is great, but they thrive off how we play. Our players came “It’s senior night here and they were loaded for bear,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We game and finally took a 15-13 lead at the 11:50 mark of the first half on a Lucas Siewert out and played with great energy, we got some stops and we got some transition.” knew that coming in, that they would be ready for us, and they were. But I tell you what, we came 3-pointer. The Buffs didn’t let up on the gas after the early run. Instead, they continued to build the lead, out of the chute ready, too. We were toe to toe with them there for the first 15 minutes. But then our But the lead didn’t last long. Utah answered with a 19-5 run, closing the burst with back-to-back expanding it to as much as 24, and the assists kept coming. When King scored inside to give CU a offense got very very stagnant and we kind of became ‘3-dependent.’ They just kept rolling for the 3-pointers to take a 32-20 edge with 5:25 remaining and Colorado never led again. Colorado did 79-56 lead with eight minutes to go, the Buffs had assisted on 13 of their 16 baskets of the half and whole 40 minutes” manage to cut the margin to eight, getting nine straight points from White and a George King they finished with 16 assists on 19 baskets after intermission. Any hopes the Buffs had of coming back in the second half were quickly snuffed as the Ducks bucket to narrow Utah’s lead to 37-29 at the half. Along with White’s eight assists, the Buffs got five each from Gordon and Collier, as Colorado opened the period with a 19-2 surge for a 64-34 lead with 13:13 still to play. The Buffs never closed The Utes hit 14 of their 26 field goal tries in the first half, including a 6-for-12 effort from 3-point finished with 25 assists on 35 buckets — and just five turnovers, by far their best ratio of the year in the gap to less than 26 the rest of the game. range. The Buffs, meanwhile, were just 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) while hitting only four of their 13 that department. White, who had 23 points in the Buffs’ win in Boulder, was held to just 10 points on 4-for-10 3-point tries. “As a point guard, I have to do a better job of getting people the ball,” White said. “I was trying shooting. “I thought in the first half our offense got selfish and we took bad shots and that caused some to get people shots early. We did a good job of rolling hard on the ball screens and I was just trying to “You have to give them some credit,” Boyle said. “They played extremely well. They’re legit. We problems for us,” Boyle said. “I thought the second half our offense was much better. We shared the find the open man.” knew that when they were in Boulder and they showed it tonight. Part of this you have to tip your hat ball, we attacked the paint. I thought our defense wasn’t good enough the whole game.” White, who is second in scoring in the conference in Pac-12 games, took just seven shots and to Oregon, the other part you’ve got to learn from if you’re Colorado.” The Buffs did make a brief run early in the second half, jumping out with a 7-2 run to pull within made four. The Buffs were dominated in virtually every statistical category. Colorado shot just 43.3 percent three, 39-36. After a back-and-forth first 15 minutes that featured eight lead changes and seven ties, the Buffs from the field (26-for-60), including a 9-for-27 effort from beyond the arc. The Ducks shot 57.6 But Colorado then turned the ball over three straight times and the Utes were more than happy finally took control with an 11-2 run that produced a 39-31 lead with just more than two minutes left percent for the game (34-for-59), including 16-for-29 on 3-point attempts. to convert the miscues into five points and rebuild the cushion to eight, 44-36. From that point on, the in the half. Brown started the burst with a 3-pointer, quickly followed by treys from King and Siewert CU was also outrebounded 38-24, and while the Buffs committed just 12 turnovers, the Ducks Utes held the Buffs at bay until Colorado was able to close the gap in the final two minutes. before a White drive and bucket gave CU its 8-point lead. converted those miscues into 21 points. “We weren’t consistent enough,” Boyle said. “We cut the thing to six multiple times. We kept Stanford finally ended the run with a 3-pointer from Robert Cartwright, then added another basket scoring the second half. We scored 52 points. But we could not get stops when we needed to get before King scored again to send Colorado into the locker room at halftime with a 41-35 lead. stops.” Indeed, Colorado scored unanswered points only three times in the entire second half, with the Buffs’ longest run of the half just five points.

72 2017-18 COLORADO BASKETBALL colorado buffaloes

GAME 31 GAME 32 GAME 23 COLORADO 54, CALIFORNIA 46 COLORADO 73, WASHINGTON STATE 63 #7/7 ARIZONA 92, COLORADO 78 Mar. 4, 2017, Boulder, Colo. (Coors Events Center) Mar. 8, 2017, Las Vegas, Nev. (T-Mobile Arena) Mar. 9, 2017, Las Vegas, Nev. (T-Mobile Arena) VISITORS: California 19-11, 10-8 Pac-12 VISITORS: Washington State 13-18 VISITORS: Colorado 19-14 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Rabb, Ivan f 4-11 1-2 2-2 2 11 13 2 11 1 2 1 2 36 24 Hawkinson, Josh f 4-7 1-3 3-4 3 9 12 4 12 5 1 0 0 36 01 Gordon, Wesley f 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 4 3 1 1 1 0 24 44 Rooks, Kameron c 2-7 0-0 4-8 4 3 7 1 8 0 0 2 0 20 42 Clifford, Conor f 7-12 0-0 0-1 0 3 3 4 14 0 2 1 0 34 11 Johnson, Xavier f 7-17 2-5 4-4 3 4 7 2 20 1 0 2 1 31 03 Mullins, Grant g 4-11 2-7 0-1 0 6 6 3 10 1 0 0 3 37 02 Iroegbu, Ike g 5-10 3-3 3-5 2 0 2 3 16 3 2 0 2 36 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-5 0-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 19 13 Moore, Charlie g 0-6 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 1 3 0 0 17 22 Flynn, Malachi g 0-6 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 2 0 3 1 0 0 31 21 White, Derrick g 9-19 4-10 9-9 0 6 6 4 31 5 4 1 2 37 23 Bird, Jabari g 3-8 1-4 4-5 1 2 3 2 11 0 4 0 2 37 23 Callison, Charles g 7-17 2-6 0-0 0 1 1 2 16 2 2 0 0 34 24 King, George g 3-8 0-4 5-5 2 5 7 1 11 0 1 2 1 33 02 Singer, Sam 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 5 0 2 0 0 1 22 03 Franks, Robert 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 10 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 12 Moute a Bidias, R 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 04 Daniels, Viont’e 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 4 4 2 3 3 2 0 0 19 05 Brown, Deleon 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 3 3 0 1 0 1 6 14 Coleman, Don 2-6 0-0 2-3 2 0 2 2 6 0 3 0 0 10 12 Shpreyregin, Steven 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 22 Okoroh, Kingsley 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 2 0 17 TEAM 1 1 2 14 Miller, Tory 1-1 0-0 1-2 1 3 4 5 3 0 0 0 0 12 25 Davis, Roman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Totals...... 25-56 7-14 6-11 8 21 29 20 63 17 11 1 2 200 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 TEAM 2 2 4 33 Repine, Josh 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-30 56.7% 2nd Half: 8-26 30.8% Game: 44.6% DEADBALL Totals...... 15-55 4-15 12-19 12 30 42 20 46 5 12 5 8 200 44 Fortune, Josh 1-4 1-3 1-2 0 1 1 2 4 2 0 0 0 25 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 50.0% REBOUNDS TEAM 1 1 F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 54.5% 3 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-30 30.0% 2nd Half: 6-25 24.0% Game: 27.3% DEADBALL Totals...... 24-61 8-25 22-26 9 24 33 21 78 10 7 6 5 200 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-7 42.9% 2nd Half: 1-8 12.5% Game: 26.7% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 19-13 F Throw % 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 63.2% 3 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-30 40.0% 2nd Half: 12-31 38.7% Game: 39.3% DEADBALL 01 Gordon, Wesley f 4-7 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 8 3 1 2 1 27 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 32.0% REBOUNDS HOME: Colorado 18-13, 8-10 Pac-12 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-10 1-3 6-7 2 4 6 4 19 0 1 1 2 33 F Throw % 1st Half: 11-14 78.6% 2nd Half: 11-12 91.7% Game: 84.6% 3 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 16 01 Gordon, Wesley f 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 0 2 1 3 2 17 21 White, Derrick g 8-15 3-8 7-10 1 4 5 1 26 5 0 1 1 38 HOME: Arizona 28-4 11 Johnson, Xavier f 5-13 1-4 8-8 2 4 6 1 19 0 2 0 1 33 24 King, George g 2-7 1-6 2-2 1 4 5 2 7 2 2 0 0 30 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 21 White, Derrick g 5-11 3-5 4-8 0 8 8 2 17 4 3 1 1 37 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 10 10 Markkanen, Lauri f 5-9 4-7 6-7 1 2 3 0 20 2 1 0 0 29 24 King, George g 2-5 1-2 0-2 1 8 9 1 5 0 2 0 0 30 14 Miller, Tory 0-2 0-0 3-5 2 7 9 3 3 0 1 1 0 16 14 Ristic, Dusan c 7-8 0-0 1-4 1 7 8 1 15 1 1 0 0 21 44 Fortune, Josh g 0-1 0-1 2-2 1 2 3 0 2 1 3 0 0 22 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 01 Alkins, Rawle g 5-8 3-4 2-2 0 1 1 3 15 3 2 1 1 27 00 Akyazili, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 44 Fortune, Josh 2-6 1-2 2-2 3 2 5 2 7 2 1 0 1 25 05 Allen, Kadeem g 3-6 1-2 6-8 1 4 5 3 13 1 2 0 1 24 05 Brown, Deleon 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 10 TEAM 1 1 2 35 Trier, Allonzo g 6-12 1-4 6-7 0 3 3 4 19 3 1 1 0 34 12 Lombard, Mitch 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ Totals...... 23-53 7-23 20-26 12 25 37 15 73 13 11 5 6 200 00 Jackson-Cartwright 1-2 1-2 1-2 0 7 7 1 4 7 0 0 1 30 14 Miller, Tory 0-4 0-0 0-2 1 3 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 12 02 Simmons, Kobi 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 6 15 Collier, Dominique 4-6 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 10 1 0 1 3 24 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-25 32.0% 2nd Half: 15-28 53.6% Game: 43.4% DEADBALL 21 Comanche, Chance 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 14 25 Siewert, Lucas 0-4 0-1 1-2 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 12 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-11 18.2% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 30.4% REBOUNDS 25 Pinder, Keanu 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 4 0 0 0 2 0 15 33 Repine, Josh 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ F Throw % 1st Half: 9-13 69.2% 2nd Half: 11-13 84.6% Game: 76.9% 3 TEAM 2 0 2 TEAM 1 3 4 Totals...... 30-54 10-19 22-30 6 28 34 20 92 17 7 4 3 200 Totals...... 16-47 7-17 15-24 7 32 39 15 54 9 12 5 7 200 Officials: Greg Nixon, Tony Padilla, Mike Greenstein Attendance: 9978 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3% 2nd Half: 16-25 64.0% Game: 55.6% DEADBALL TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-28 25.0% 2nd Half: 9-19 47.4% Game: 34.0% DEADBALL Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 6-8 75.0% Game: 52.6% REBOUNDS 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-8 12.5% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 41.2% REBOUNDS Washington State 41 22 63 F Throw % 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 16-20 80.0% Game: 73.3% 3 F Throw % 1st Half: 7-12 58.3% 2nd Half: 8-12 66.7% Game: 62.5% 3 Colorado 27 46 73 Officials: Michael Irving, Deron White, Marc Beasley Officials: Dick Cartmell, Deldre Carr, Eric Curry, Kevin Brill Attendance: 8392 Attendance: 18153 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total California 25 21 46 Colorado 37 41 78 Colorado 22 32 54 Arizona 38 54 92

BOULDER — One game after putting on an offensive clinic against Stanford, the Colorado LAS VEGAS — Earlier this week, Colorado senior Derrick White said conference tourna- LAS VEGAS — Now the waiting game begins. Buffaloes struggled to find the basket Saturday afternoon against Cal. ments are moments when big-time players make big-time plays. Despite 31 points from guard Derrick White, the Colorado Buffaloes couldn’t match Arizona’s But the Buffs did play solid defense, and when it mattered most, they scored — enough to come White delivered exactly that for the Buffs on Wednesday, fueling a furious second-half Colorado firepower down the stretch Thursday night, dropping a 92-78 decision to the Wildcats in the Pac-12 away with a 54-46 win over Bears in the regular season finale for both teams. rally that produced a 73-63 win over Washington State in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena. The win improved Colorado to 18-13 overall and 8-10 in Pac-12 play and, combined with Arizona at T-Mobile Arena. Now 19-14 on the year, the Buffs will wait for Sunday’s postseason tournament invitations to be State’s loss to Arizona on Saturday, clinched the No. 7 seed for CU in the Pac-12 tournament. The win, Colorado’s third in a row and ninth in their last 12 games, means the Buffs’ season issued. Any thoughts of an NCAA bid were snuffed by the seventh-ranked Wildcats, but Tad Boyle’s The Buffs shot just 34 percent from the field (16-for-47) but they also held Cal to just 27.3 is alive for at least another day. The seventh-seeded Buffs (19-13) will face second seed Arizona on crew is still hoping a call from the NIT will extend their season. percent shooting (15-for-55). Thursday in a 7 p.m. matchup. White’s 31 points — the most by a Buff in Pac-12 postseason play and fourth-most by a CU “This was the old-school grind-it-out Colorado basketball,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “Obvi- “It was a tale of two halves, obviously,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “First half, I thought our player in Colorado’s postseason history — led all scorers. Xavier Johnson added 20 for Colorado ously if you put that offensive performance on Thursday with the defensive performance today and defense was atrocious. … But our second half, our guys really dialed in, and the numbers show it.” and George King chipped in 11, but they were the only Buffs to finish with more than one field goal. you’ve got the recipe for beating anybody. … We put it all together, defense and offense, we can Indeed, the Buffs appeared on their way to a one-and-done appearance after the first 20 minutes, The Wildcats countered with five players in double figures, led by Lauri Markkanen with 20. beat anybody in this league. But we also know if we don’t we could be one and done and on the way a half in which they trailed by as much as 19 and were still down by 14 at intermission, 41-27. HOW IT HAPPENED: For at least a half Thursday night, visions of a conference tournament home.” But sparked by 15 points and four assists from White in the second half, the Buffs went on a run were still dancing through the Buffs’ heads. Colorado fell behind by as much as nine in the first Fittingly, it was a 3-point bucket from senior Derrick White on Senior Day that clinched Sat- 32-11 tear to turn a 14-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead, 59-52, with just more than six half, but rallied to take the lead momentarily, and trailed by only one, 38-37, at intermission. urday’s win. With 20 seconds remaining and the shot clock ticking down, White buried a trey in front minutes to go. But the Wildcats broke from the gate with a 14-2 run to start the second half and while Colorado of the CU bench to give the Buffs a 52-46 lead with just 20.6 seconds remaining. CU senior Xavier The Cougars then rallied to cut the margin back to two, but the Buffs quickly rebuilt the cushion managed to cut the gap back to seven at one point, the Buffs could never come closer than that again. Johnson then hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds on the clock to finish the scoring. to hold WSU at bay down the stretch for the win. Arizona shot a blistering 64 percent from the field in the second half (16-for-25), including 6-for-8 from Johnson led the Buffs in scoring with 19 points and White added 17 to go with eight rebounds White finished with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists andXavier Johnson added 19 3-point range, while the Buffs hit just 12 of their 31 field goal tries after intermission. and a game-high four assists. Junior George King had just five points, but added a team-high nine points and six rebounds. Tory Miller had just three points but added a team-high nine rebounds. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you lose to a team like Arizona,” Boyle said. “These rebounds, eight coming in the second half. Ivan Rabb had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Bears. Charles Callison and Ike Iroegbu each scored 16 for WSU while Josh Hawkinson finished his career guys, they’re a legitimate top 10 team in the country and I think they showed it tonight. I thought our HOW IT HAPPENED: After trailing for much of the first half, the Buffs finally took the lead with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. guys really competed, especially that first half. The second half of the game got away from us a little eight minutes into the second half when a Dominique Collier 3-pointer gave Colorado a 35-32 HOW IT HAPPENED: After a first half in which the Buffs’ defense seemed half-hearted and bit in terms of not being able to make shots. We had some good looks that just didn’t go down.” edge. their offense struggled from everywhere on the floor, White helped reverse the momentum with a The Wildcats led by as much as 18 midway through the half before the Buffs put together one But the big play of the half might have been a spectacular King one-handed follow-dunk that tied terrific start to the second half. more surge. Two White free throws and a White 3-pointer pulled Colorado to within single digits, the game at 32-32. King’s basket ignited a previously sedate crowd and when Collier’s 3-pointer gave The Buffs opened the half with a 3-pointer from Dominique Collier, followed by seven straight 76-67, with 4:31 still to play, but Arizona answered with five straight points and the cushion never hit Colorado the lead, the crowd helped carry the Buffs the rest of the way. points from White in a 10-2 CU run that cut WSU’s once-comfortable margin to six. Two minutes later, single digits again. “That was a big-time play,” Boyle said. “George has the ability to make those kind of plays, White added six more points, then provided three assists in an 14-2 run that finally gave Colorado the “These guys know we respect Derrick White as much as any player in our conference,” Arizona game-changing type plays.” lead. coach Sean Miller said. “He’s an unbelievable player. We knew we were in for a test and that’s what But the Buffs could not manage to build a cushion bigger than five points over the ensuing eight White opened the stretch with a dish to Johnson that yielded a 3-pointer that gave CU a 52-49 we got. They play really hard. They play together, very well coached and physical.” minutes, and it took another Collier 3-pointer — coming as the shot clock was about to expire — to lead, its first lead since 3-2. White then added another assist to Wesley Gordon for an easy layup, While the Wildcats remained hot the entire second half, even Colorado’s big guns misfired more give the Buffs some breathing room in the final three minutes. Collier hit the bucket just after the Bears then finished with a toss to Johnson for an alley-oop tip and 56-52 edge. often than not. White was 9-for-19 from the field, Johnson was 7-for-17 and King 3-for-8. The Buffs had closed the gap to one, 44-43, and two Johnson free throws a minute later pushed the margin to Johnson, who had 12 of his 19 points after halftime, completed the run with a slam dunk in also hit just eight of their 25 3-point tries while the Wildcats were a far more efficient 10-for-19 from six. transition off an assist from George King, and an ensuing free throw gave the Buffs a 59-52 lead beyond the arc. Along with leading the Buffs in scoring, Johnson also spent much of his afternoon shadowing with just 6:16 remaining. The Buffs did play well enough in the first half to at least throw a scare into the highly partisan Cal’s Rabb, the Bears’ leading scorer and rebounder. Rabb needed 4-for-11 shooting to produce his 11 The Cougars did manage to cut the CU lead back to two, 60-58, and again at 62-60 with 2:28 Arizona crowd. points — including just four after halftime — and missed two shots in the final minutes as the Bears remaining.But the Buffs answered with a King basket inside, Johnson produced a pair of big rebounds The Buffs led by three, 15-12, just six minutes in before the Wildcats threatened to blow the attempted to close the gap. — one on each end of the floor — and White found Josh Fortune for a huge 3-pointer with just game open with a 15-3 run. Two Kadeem Allen free throws with 8:29 remaining put Arizona up by The Buffs trailed by three at the half, thanks to shooting woes and a healthy Cal edge on the more than two minutes to go to bump Colorado’s cushion back to five. nine and seemingly in control. boards. CU’s big men ran into foul trouble early — Wesley Gordon drew his second foul barely The statistical differences between the two halves were indeed stark. The Cougars shot 56.7 But the Buffs just as quickly responded. White, who had just seven points in the first game with two minutes into the game and Tory Miller was whistled for his second a minute later — leaving percent in the first half (17-for-30), then just 30.8 percent after halftime (8-for-26). The Buffs, mean- Arizona this year, started a 7-0 run with a short jumper, then finished it with a pair of free throws to the Bears’ big men to roam the paint virtually unimpeded. The Bears held a 28-19 rebounding edge by while, after hitting just eight of their first 25 shots came back to hit 15 of 28 after halftime. Colorado pull the Buffs within two at 27-25. halftime, which produced eight second-chance points and helped Cal to a 25-22 halftime lead. also won the rebound battle, 37-29, by producing 10 more boards after intermission. Arizona regrouped and built its cushion back to seven, but Colorado then put together a 10-2 burst Colorado never found a rhythm in the first half. After the Cougars jumped out to a 9-3 lead, the that gave the Buffs a 37-36 lead with 38 seconds left in the half. White, who scored nine of CU’s final Buffs managed to cut the gap to 9-7 — only to see Washington State put together a 21-4 run that 14 points of the half, had a 3-pointer in the run, as did Josh Fortune. Seconds after Fortune’s trey, gave WSU a 30-11 lead with seven minutes to go in the half. Johnson gave the Buffs their first lead since early in the game with a pair of free throws. Colorado managed to reduce the deficit to 14 by half, but still entered halftime trailing 41-27. Arizona, though, answered with a Dusan Ristic jump hook with 8 seconds remaining to take a 38-37 lead into the intermission.

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GAME 34 UCF 79, COLORADO 74 Mar. 15, 2017, Orlando, Fla. (CFE Arena) VISITORS: Colorado 19-15 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 01 Gordon, Wesley f 3-5 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 3 7 2 1 1 0 22 11 Johnson, Xavier f 6-14 1-5 0-1 3 1 4 3 13 1 1 0 1 34 15 Collier, Dominique g 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 16 21 White, Derrick g 11-21 3-9 5-5 2 4 6 4 30 6 1 2 0 40- 24 King, George g 1-5 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 1 30 05 Brown, Deleon 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 14 Miller, Tory 1-4 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 2 0 0 0 10 25 Siewert, Lucas 2-7 1-4 0-0 0 3 3 2 5 1 2 0 1 15 44 Fortune, Josh 5-10 2-6 0-0 2 2 4 2 12 1 0 0 0 26 TEAM 3 2 5 1 Totals...... 30-71 9-33 5-6 15 19 34 24 74 14 7 3 3 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-32 46.9% 2nd Half: 15-39 38.5% Game: 42.3% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 5-23 21.7% Game: 27.3% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-1 0.0% 2nd Half: 5-5 100% Game: 83.3% 2 HOME: UCF 22-11 ## Player fg-a 3fg-a ft-a of de tot pf tp a to bk s min 03 Davis, A.J. f 5-9 2-5 5-6 1 7 8 1 17 3 2 0 0 35 14 Banyard, Nick f 2-4 1-3 1-4 0 5 5 1 6 0 2 0 0 33 24 Fall, Tacko c 5-7 0-0 0-2 3 5 8 3 10 2 1 3 0 30 01 Taylor, B.J. g 7-13 5-8 7-12 1 2 3 2 26 4 1 0 1 38 12 Williams, Matt g 6-10 4-5 1-2 0 4 4 2 17 3 2 0 0 39 00 Efianayi,Tank 0-2 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 12 05 Mumin, Djordjije 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21 Brown, Chad 0-1 0-0 1-4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 10 51 Laing, Nathan 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 TEAM 1 1 2 Totals...... 25-46 12-22 17-32 7 27 34 10 79 12 10 3 3 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-26 61.5% 2nd Half: 9-20 45.0% Game: 54.3% DEADBALL 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-10 60.0% 2nd Half: 6-12 50.0% Game: 54.5% REBOUNDS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-4 0.0% 2nd Half: 17-28 60.7% Game: 53.1% 8

Officials: Tim Gattis, Terry Moore, Anthony Franklin Attendance: 3675 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total Colorado 34 40 74 UCF 38 41 79

ORLANDO, Fla. — Another spectacular performance from senior Derrick White couldn’t save the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday. Despite a 30-point, six-rebound, six-assist night from White, the Buffs dropped a 79-74 decision to UCF at CFE Arena in their NIT opener. The loss ended CU’s season at 19-15, only the second time in the seven-year Tad Boyle era that the Buffs failed to reach the 20-win plateau. Colorado fought back from a 12-point deficit in the first half to trail by just four at the half before White scored CU’s first six points of the second half to tie the game at 40-40. But UCF slowly built the lead back to as much as 13, then held Colorado off down the stretch at the free throw line. Colorado actually had five more field goals than the Knights, but the Buffs shot just 30-for-71 from the field, including only 9-for-33 from 3-point range. The Knights were 25-for-46 from the field, including 12-for-22 from beyond the arc. UCF also made 17 of its 32 free throws while Colorado shot just six free shots and made five. “This game kind of encapsulates the whole season when you look at it from a lot of different perspectives,” Boyle said. “We dug ourselves a hole, we had to climb out of it and we did climb out of it. We battled, we fought, we scratched, we clawed. We had to overcome a lot of adversity. I’m proud of our fight. “But at some point in these high-level games at the end of the year … you have to make shots when the shots are there to be made. We had some open looks that we didn’t make. They had open looks and they made them.” Two other Buffs playing in their last game in a CU uniform also finished in double digits, with Xavier Johnson scoring 13 and Josh Fortune adding 12. HOW IT HAPPENED: Even after trailing by 13 with less than two minutes to go in the game, the Buffs very nearly forced the game into overtime. Thanks to the Knights missing four of six free throws over the next minute and a half, Colorado was able to cut a 72-59 deficit to 74-71 with 23 seconds to go on a White 3-pointer, then narrow the gap to 76-74 nine seconds later on a Johnson trey. UCF’s A.J. Davis then made just one of two free throws on the Knights’ next possession, but a White 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining banged off the rim and Davis then sealed the win with two more free throws. “Our guys fought,” Boyle said. “We came back, it was a one-possession game and Derrick had a great look to tie that thing and it didn’t go in. They shot 32 free throws, we shot six. Now 14 of them, we were fouling at the end intentionally. You take those 14 away, they shoot 18 free throws, we shoot 6. Big difference in terms of being able to get to the free throw line. We weren’t able to, they were.” The Buffs also couldn’t get stops when they most needed them. Every time they closed the gap, the Knights answered with a mini-run to rebuild a cushion. “That was our problem all year,” White said. “We didn’t guard well enough to win today. We didn’t guard well enough to win all year long. That was our biggest issue.” One thing that wasn’t as big of an issue as the Buffs thought it might be was the presence of 7-foot-6 UCF center Tacko Fall. While Fall finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, he had only four points and three rebounds after intermission. The Buffs trailed 25-13 midway through the first half before closing the gap to four by intermission, 38-34. They momentarily tied the game at 40, but fell behind again by double digits before the final rally fell just short. B.J. Taylor led UCF with 26 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range.

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