ROTTERDAM, Holland - The University of Colorado men's basketball team broke open a six-point first quarter lead into a 23-point cushion at halftime and cruised to a 96-57 victory over the Rotterdam Challengers, Monday night at the Topsportcentrum.
The Buffaloes dominated every facet of the game from a 55-29 advantage on the glass and forced Rotterdam into 25 turnovers. CU shot 47 percent from the field (41-of-87) to wrap up the five-game exhibition against semi-professional teams from France, Belgium and The Netherlands with a 2-3 record.
"I thought tonight was our best performance as a team; offensively, defensively, our bench played very well and I was really pleased with the way we played," said CU head coach Tad Boyle. "Individually, there were some great performances as well. The best thing from this trip is every player really improved; every player got a chance to play and get in the flow of real-live game situations against good competition. This trip is invaluable to our program this year."
CU recorded a five-game best 47 made field goals with four players in double figures led by freshman forward Josh Scott with 19 points (8-of-13) and five rebounds; junior forward Andre Roberson (18 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman forward Xavier Johnson (11 points, 10 rebounds) notched double-doubles; and senior guard Sabatino Chen poured in 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and six steals.
Freshman forward Wesley Gordon chipped-in with eight points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Askia Booker added nine points and five assists. Everyone played in the game for CU with 11 of 13 players scoring (Dinwiddie and Beau Gamble six points each; Xavier Talton four points and five rebounds; Ben Mills and Eli Stalzer two points each). Juniors Jeremy Adams and Shane Harris-Tunks did not play in any of the games as both are nursing injuries.
With a six-point first quarter lead (26-20) engineered by Scott's seven points and Chen's four assists, CU held the Challengers scoreless through the first 4:40 of the second quarter jumping out to a 34-20 lead before the home team scored their first basket.
CU then raced out to a 42-22 margin behind Scott's eight points, then three-point plays by Booker and Dinwiddie pushed their advantage to 57-34 at the break. Rotterdam was out-scored 31-14 in the second quarter, while CU also dominated the glass during the first 20 minutes by a 32-13 margin.
The third quarter was the same as the second as Chen scored six of CU's next 10 points for a 67-34 lead, while Rotterdam only mustered 10 points in the third quarter. CU's starters out-scored Rotterdam starters, 53-27.
The attendance for the game – 374 – was the largest crowd to see the Buffaloes in the five game exhibition schedule, and in fact, surpassed the previous four games combined.
Chip Jones led Rotterdam with nine points. Jones and three others each had five rebounds apiece.
CU closes its stay in Amsterdam on Tuesday with a tour of the Anne Frank House in the afternoon followed by a Canal Cruise and BBQ farewell dinner. Wednesday morning the Buffaloes depart Amsterdam en route to Chicago then Denver later that night.
