Monday, December 19
USAFA, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
9-3
75
at
68
Air Force
6-6
1
2
F
Colorado
27
48
75
Air Force
21
47
68
Buffs Grind Out 75-68 Win Against Gritty Falcons
December 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
USAFA, Colo. – The Colorado Buffaloes began pulling away from Air Force in the final 10 minutes then faltered briefly before closing out the Falcons 75-68 on Monday night at Clune Arena.
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. But the Buffs kept their composure and dispatched the Falcons to earn their second true road win of the season.
Five CU players scored in double figures, led by Xavier Johnson's 14 and George King's 13. Derrick White added 12 before fouling out, while Wesley Gordon and freshman Deleon Brown added 10 each.
Brown dished out a team-best four assists – the Buffs had 18 on 28 made baskets – while Gordon and King each collected nine rebounds and Johnson contributed six.
But the Buffs were out-boarded by the Falcons 38-33 and committed 16 turnovers to the Falcons' 11. However, of CU's turnover total, 12 came in the first half.
"We don't make it easy on ourselves, that's for sure," Buffs coach Tad Boyle said. "We talk about three things – playing together, playing hard, playing smart . . . the smart part, the between-the-ears part, we've got a long way to go.
"We have to show improvement in our cerebral things – there's a lot of room for improvement there. And it's very frustrating."
CU also got nine points on 3-of-6 long-range shooting from Dominique Collier, who played 19 minutes in his first game back since suffering an early season foot injury.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led 27-21 at halftime – their largest first-half advantage – but they had to overcome 12 first-half turnovers and limit the Falcons to 29 percent shooting from the field (8-of-28) to earn their six-point lead.
CU opened the game with a 3-pointer by White – one of five by the Buffs in the first 20 minutes – to go ahead 3-0 but the Falcons outscored them 10-2 over the next 7 minutes.
After a Deleon Brown basket, Collier entered the game and promptly hit a trey, drawing CU to within 10-7. A minute later, a Wesley Gordon layup launched a 12-2 Buffs run, with a King 3-pointer giving CU its first lead (17-15) since the opening bucket.
Over the half's final 9:50, the Buffs outscored the Falcons 17-8 to take their six-point advantage to the locker room. But once the second half began, AFA made quick work of cutting into it.
The Falcons outscored the visitors 12-5 in the second half's first 4:54, taking a 33-32 lead on Zach Kocur's 3-pointer. That spurt boosted Air Force's confidence but CU's wasn't lacking.
The Buffs launched an 8-0 run to take a 40-35 lead, but the Falcons answered and tied the game at 41-41 with just over 11 minutes to play. From there, the game was tied three more times until CU fashioned another run – this one was 8-2 – and went ahead for good.
When Collier drained his third trey of the night, the Buffs took their largest lead of the night – 69-58 – and appeared to be comfortably in control. But the Falcons weren't done; they ran off eight straight points, cutting their deficit to five points (71-66).
But despite CU missing six consecutive free throws in the final 2 minutes, Air Force got no closer than five and the Buffs survived.
TURNING POINT: After Air Force pulled to a 48-48 tie with 9:55 to play, CU went on an 8-2 run started by Deleon Brown's conventional 3-point play. The run produced a 56-50 Buffs advantage and the Falcons never led again.
CU STANDOUTS: Xavier Johnson scored a team-high 14 points, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from the free throw line and grabbing six rebounds . . . . George King's hit half of his 12 field goal attempts and made one free throw for his 13 points. His nine rebounds tied Gordon for a team high . . . . Gordon was more aggressive offensively, making four of his five field goal tries . . . . White went 3-of-5 from long range, adding four rebounds and three assists in his 24 minutes before fouling out . . . . Brown was 3-of-6 from the field, making 1-of-3 treys, and 3-of-4 from the foul line, with four assists.
KEY STATISTICS: After committing 12 turnovers in the first half, CU cut the error total to four in the second half . . . . The Buffs shot 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) and 42 percent from long range (10-of-24). They held the Falcons to 36 and 31 percent in those same two categories . . . . CU was only 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the free throw line – not a comfortable percentage in a seven-point win.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 9-3 the hard way, gutting out a win while still searching for offensive consistency and better execution. The good news: They won at an arena that can be hostile, and against an opponent that plays a totally different game. There are positive to be found in that.
NOTEWORTHY: Colorado had its best first half shooting performance of the season hitting 52.6 percent (10-of-19). After starting 1-of-4 from the field the Buffaloes hit six straight and 7-of-8 which also coincided with a 10-0 Colorado run that gave the Buffaloes a 20-15 lead . . . . Air Force started out 5-of-10 but hit only 3-of-18 to close the half (16.7 percent) . . . . Colorado has held its last two opponents to 25 percent shooting in the first half (15-of-60) ... Colorado finished the game at 54 percent (27-of-50) its second best performance of the season (56.6 percent vs. Wofford).
. . . . CU had 12 first half turnovers, a season high for 20 minutes. The Buffaloes came in averaging just 12.7 turnovers per game . . . . Air Force, averaging 10.7 turnovers per game, had eight in the first half . . . . Both teams cleaned up their play in the second half. Colorado had just four turnovers in the final 20 minutes while Air Force had three ... Wesley Gordon had a team season-high five blocked shots; he had four in the first half alone which was better than his previous team season-high of three. . . . . Freshman Deleon Brown scored 33 points in his first 10 games. In his last two, he's scored 25 – 15 against Fort Hays State, 10 against Air Force. His two-game stats: 7-of-12 field goals, 4-of-8 3-pointers ... Colorado hit double-digits in 3-point field goals for the second time this year, hitting 10-of-24 for 41.7 percent. The Buffaloes had been just 13-of-51 the previous two games from 3-point range (.255)
QUOTEWORTHY: "Everybody who knows this team knows that our expectations are very high . . . I think expectations hurt this team a little. We're 9-3, we gutted out a tough win on the road." – Tad Boyle
"It's not always going to be pretty . . . we've let a couple (of games) slip by." – Boyle
"I feel like I'm starting to get into a little more of a routine offensively and defensively . . . and my teammates are looking for me." – Deleon Brown
"He rebounds the ball well (and) brings a lot to the table, but we all know how good he can be . . . but we've not played up to our ability level yet." – Boyle on George King and his team in general
NEXT UP: The Buffs close out their non-conference schedule with a 6:30 p.m. contest (Pac-12 Network) against Eastern Washington at the Coors Events Center.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
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. But the Buffs kept their composure and dispatched the Falcons to earn their second true road win of the season.
Five CU players scored in double figures, led by Xavier Johnson's 14 and George King's 13. Derrick White added 12 before fouling out, while Wesley Gordon and freshman Deleon Brown added 10 each.
Brown dished out a team-best four assists – the Buffs had 18 on 28 made baskets – while Gordon and King each collected nine rebounds and Johnson contributed six.
But the Buffs were out-boarded by the Falcons 38-33 and committed 16 turnovers to the Falcons' 11. However, of CU's turnover total, 12 came in the first half.
"We don't make it easy on ourselves, that's for sure," Buffs coach Tad Boyle said. "We talk about three things – playing together, playing hard, playing smart . . . the smart part, the between-the-ears part, we've got a long way to go.
"We have to show improvement in our cerebral things – there's a lot of room for improvement there. And it's very frustrating."
CU also got nine points on 3-of-6 long-range shooting from Dominique Collier, who played 19 minutes in his first game back since suffering an early season foot injury.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led 27-21 at halftime – their largest first-half advantage – but they had to overcome 12 first-half turnovers and limit the Falcons to 29 percent shooting from the field (8-of-28) to earn their six-point lead.
CU opened the game with a 3-pointer by White – one of five by the Buffs in the first 20 minutes – to go ahead 3-0 but the Falcons outscored them 10-2 over the next 7 minutes.
After a Deleon Brown basket, Collier entered the game and promptly hit a trey, drawing CU to within 10-7. A minute later, a Wesley Gordon layup launched a 12-2 Buffs run, with a King 3-pointer giving CU its first lead (17-15) since the opening bucket.
Over the half's final 9:50, the Buffs outscored the Falcons 17-8 to take their six-point advantage to the locker room. But once the second half began, AFA made quick work of cutting into it.
The Falcons outscored the visitors 12-5 in the second half's first 4:54, taking a 33-32 lead on Zach Kocur's 3-pointer. That spurt boosted Air Force's confidence but CU's wasn't lacking.
The Buffs launched an 8-0 run to take a 40-35 lead, but the Falcons answered and tied the game at 41-41 with just over 11 minutes to play. From there, the game was tied three more times until CU fashioned another run – this one was 8-2 – and went ahead for good.
When Collier drained his third trey of the night, the Buffs took their largest lead of the night – 69-58 – and appeared to be comfortably in control. But the Falcons weren't done; they ran off eight straight points, cutting their deficit to five points (71-66).
But despite CU missing six consecutive free throws in the final 2 minutes, Air Force got no closer than five and the Buffs survived.
TURNING POINT: After Air Force pulled to a 48-48 tie with 9:55 to play, CU went on an 8-2 run started by Deleon Brown's conventional 3-point play. The run produced a 56-50 Buffs advantage and the Falcons never led again.
CU STANDOUTS: Xavier Johnson scored a team-high 14 points, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from the free throw line and grabbing six rebounds . . . . George King's hit half of his 12 field goal attempts and made one free throw for his 13 points. His nine rebounds tied Gordon for a team high . . . . Gordon was more aggressive offensively, making four of his five field goal tries . . . . White went 3-of-5 from long range, adding four rebounds and three assists in his 24 minutes before fouling out . . . . Brown was 3-of-6 from the field, making 1-of-3 treys, and 3-of-4 from the foul line, with four assists.
KEY STATISTICS: After committing 12 turnovers in the first half, CU cut the error total to four in the second half . . . . The Buffs shot 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) and 42 percent from long range (10-of-24). They held the Falcons to 36 and 31 percent in those same two categories . . . . CU was only 11-of-22 (50 percent) from the free throw line – not a comfortable percentage in a seven-point win.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs improved to 9-3 the hard way, gutting out a win while still searching for offensive consistency and better execution. The good news: They won at an arena that can be hostile, and against an opponent that plays a totally different game. There are positive to be found in that.
NOTEWORTHY: Colorado had its best first half shooting performance of the season hitting 52.6 percent (10-of-19). After starting 1-of-4 from the field the Buffaloes hit six straight and 7-of-8 which also coincided with a 10-0 Colorado run that gave the Buffaloes a 20-15 lead . . . . Air Force started out 5-of-10 but hit only 3-of-18 to close the half (16.7 percent) . . . . Colorado has held its last two opponents to 25 percent shooting in the first half (15-of-60) ... Colorado finished the game at 54 percent (27-of-50) its second best performance of the season (56.6 percent vs. Wofford).
. . . . CU had 12 first half turnovers, a season high for 20 minutes. The Buffaloes came in averaging just 12.7 turnovers per game . . . . Air Force, averaging 10.7 turnovers per game, had eight in the first half . . . . Both teams cleaned up their play in the second half. Colorado had just four turnovers in the final 20 minutes while Air Force had three ... Wesley Gordon had a team season-high five blocked shots; he had four in the first half alone which was better than his previous team season-high of three. . . . . Freshman Deleon Brown scored 33 points in his first 10 games. In his last two, he's scored 25 – 15 against Fort Hays State, 10 against Air Force. His two-game stats: 7-of-12 field goals, 4-of-8 3-pointers ... Colorado hit double-digits in 3-point field goals for the second time this year, hitting 10-of-24 for 41.7 percent. The Buffaloes had been just 13-of-51 the previous two games from 3-point range (.255)
QUOTEWORTHY: "Everybody who knows this team knows that our expectations are very high . . . I think expectations hurt this team a little. We're 9-3, we gutted out a tough win on the road." – Tad Boyle
"It's not always going to be pretty . . . we've let a couple (of games) slip by." – Boyle
"I feel like I'm starting to get into a little more of a routine offensively and defensively . . . and my teammates are looking for me." – Deleon Brown
"He rebounds the ball well (and) brings a lot to the table, but we all know how good he can be . . . but we've not played up to our ability level yet." – Boyle on George King and his team in general
NEXT UP: The Buffs close out their non-conference schedule with a 6:30 p.m. contest (Pac-12 Network) against Eastern Washington at the Coors Events Center.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
Team Stats
COLO
AF
FG%
.540
.361
3FG%
.417
.308
FT%
.500
.800
RB
33
38
TO
16
11
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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