Colorado
5-3
Colorado State
9-0
Brooks: Buffs Fall 62-60 To Rams, Drop To 5-3
December 10, 2014 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – Tad Boyle wants his Colorado men's basketball team to play hard, smart and together. The Buffaloes were one-for-three on Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
"We got the hard part," said a disappointed Boyle in the aftermath of a 62-60 loss to rival Colorado State that halted CU's 23-game home non-conference winning streak.
As for the other two parts – playing smart and together – they were merely two of CU's missing ingredients on a night when the big CEC crowd (10,966) wore black and was primed to erupt in a final-minute comeback.
But it never happened because the Buffaloes never gave them the chance. The only thing more noticeably absent than making plays down the stretch was Josh Scott's game. CU's leading scorer at 16.6 points a game was limited to a pair of second-half free throws. He missed all seven of his field goal attempts, with only two of those coming in the second half.
"Bottom line is I think I (stunk) tonight," said Scott, the 6-10 junior whose previous low games were no points two seasons ago against Arizona State (he played only 15 minutes due to a concussion) and one point against Washington State last February.
Continued Scott: "I think 'Ski' (Askia Booker), 'XJ' (Xavier Johnson) and Wes (Gordon) kept us in the game . . . I just didn't shoot the ball well."
Boyle said the unbeaten Rams (9-0) limited Scott's touches and prodded him into a night of frustration. "He couldn't catch the ball on the low block; they were fronting him and giving good help side (defense)," Boyle said. "He struggled offensively and got frustrated. Disappointing thing to me was that it leaked over to the defensive end; he gave up a late layup and that doesn't happen."
But it did Wednesday night and the Buffs (5-3) were left questioning themselves and what can be done to promote a quick reversal as the non-conference season heads into its final four games. Northern Colorado visits the CEC on Saturday (4 p.m.) and the Buffs play three games in Hawai'i's Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22-25.
"We're decent but decent isn't good enough," Boyle said of his team. He said he took "ownership" for the loss, noting, "We just didn't get it done tonight (and) I take responsibility for that. I'm not going to make any excuses for it. I've got to do a better job (and) we have to make better plays."
But it wasn't simply his team losing the game. The Rams, said Boyle, "came in and did what they had to do to get a win . . . they made plays down the stretch, we didn't."
With Scott coming in at 14 points below his average, the Buffs needed offensive compensation from somewhere, anywhere. Johnson supplied 20 points and Booker 18, and Gordon snatched a game-best 11 rebounds. CU outrebounded CSU handily (40-26) but committed 14 turnovers and had only six assists.
"The main issue we have to deal with is defense, the second is to take care of the ball," Booker said. "Guard the ball, box out, I mean you can go down the list . . . I didn't make enough plays, he (Scott) didn't make enough plays, the team didn't make enough plays."
The Rams did, particularly J.J. Avila, who finished with a team-high 19 points – including 11 in the second half. The 6-8, 250-pound Avila, said CSU coach Larry Eustachy, "was huge. He made some big plays."
The Buffs' backcourt suffered with the absence of freshman Dom Collier, who did not suit up because of sprained tendons in his left wrist and was wearing a cast. Boyle said Collier will not play Saturday.
CU, which had won three of the last four meetings, still leads the series 88-37, including a 52-9 record in Boulder.
The Buffs led 32-30 at halftime, and it took an 'XJ' layup at the buzzer to establish CU's two-point advantage. After CSU went up 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Stanton Kidd on the game's first possession, CU temporarily took control with a 9-1 run that produced an eight-point lead (14-6) which was the largest for either team.
But the Rams answered the Buffs' 9-1 run (and even went one better) with a 9-0 surge that put the visitors up 15-14. But it proved to be CSU's last lead of the half, although the Rams did tie the score at 30-30 on three free throws by John Gillon with 4.8 seconds left before intermission.
That was enough time for Johnson's layup to break the tie and give the Buffs their lead. But the Rams scored the first six points of the second half and jumped to a 36-32 lead before the Buffs got untracked. They didn't get their first field goal until Johnson hit a layup at the 15:30 mark to tie the score at 36-36.
From there, the Buffs found themselves only able to stay close. And being a man (Collier) down, their backcourt fouls were mounting up. With 11:35 remaining, Xavier Talton picked up his fourth foul, joining Jaron Hopkins on the bench with his fourth.
Still, CU was trailing by two to four points until CSU's leading scorer – Avila at 14.9 a game – connected on a conventional three-point play to push the Rams ahead 49-44 with 9:24 left.
With 6:24 to play, Scott finally got into the scoring column, hitting a pair of free throws to bring the Buffs to within two points (51-49). But the Rams promptly scored on two straight possessions – the second on a goal tending call on Johnson – and stretched their lead to 55-49 with 4:30 remaining.
The clock was working against CU, particularly with its inside game struck silent. CSU finished with a 28-24 points-in-the-paint advantage and a 17-10 bench points advantage.
The Rams boosted their lead to game-high eight (57-49) on an Avila layup, but Booker hit a short jumper to pull the Buffs to within six (57-51), then to within three (57-54) with a 3-pointer.
The CEC crowd roared, then groaned when Joe De Ciman matched Booker's trey to restore CSU's six-point bulge (60-54). Johnson scored on a put-back to make it 60-56, and CU called timeout with 52.3 seconds left.
A Wes Gordon tip pulled the Buffs to 60-58 before Gian Clavell hit one of two free throws (61-58) and Kidd duplicated that (62-58) with 22.3 seconds showing. Six seconds later, Booker hit one of two foul shots (62-59) and Avila missed a pair at the other end.
With 12 seconds left, Booker drove for a layup attempt rather than attempting a 3-pointer. "That's a complete mistake on my part," he said. "I realized that after I shot the ball . . . I'm going to try and learn from it."
Said Boyle: "I should have called a timeout after that free throw when it was a three-point game and twelve seconds to go. We needed a three at that time. We work on time and score every day in practice. I assumed that our guys knew needed a three at that point."
Down three points, Johnson couldn't get a put-back to fall but was fouled with 2.2 seconds left. He hit the first three throw (62-60) and missed the second. CSU controlled the rebound and a contingent of Rams fans could begin chanting "nine and oh, nine and oh" as the Buffs left the court.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
