Buffs Roll Past Falcons, Improve to 4-1

BOULDER — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes did exactly what good teams are supposed to do against an overmatched nonconference foe Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.

The Buffs built a big lead in the first half, kept the pressure on in the second and won handily, collecting an 81-70 win over visiting Air Force.

It was the 4-1 Buffs' fourth straight win after a season-opening loss, and CU's sixth in a row over the Falcons.

Colorado dominated the game in virtually every facet. CU had three players in double-figure scoring, led by 21 from Josh Scott and 18 from Josh Fortune.  George King, CU's leading scorer in each of the Buffs' first four games, added 14 as CU overcame a slow start to build a 16-point lead by intermission, an edge that grew to as much as 26 and never dipped below double digits for the entirety of the second half.

The Buffs also outrebounded the Falcons, 38-31, and shot 52 percent from the floor, including a 13-for-25 night from 3-point range. Wesley Gordon led CU with eight rebounds, followed by Scott with seven and Fortune with six. The 13 treys were the most by CU since a January 2006 game against Missouri.

"Overall I'm pretty pleased with the way our guys played," Boyle said. "We could still be a more consistent team. One of the challenges we laid out was to play 40 minutes of Colorado basketball … and I thought we played about 37 minutes. Consistency is something we're going to really try to talk about. This time of the season, our standards are set pretty high."

From the outset, the Falcons were obviously intent on taking away CU's inside game. AFA dropped into a tight zone defense in an attempt to force the Buffs to shoot from the outside — and CU was more than happy to oblige. The Buffs hit eight of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half, with Fortune (3-for-4) doing the bulk of the damage.

"It's really easy when you have guys that can shoot, Josh Fortune being one of them" said Scott, who found himself double-teamed nearly every time he touched the ball early. "That helps me out. You don't have to worry when you garner so much attention. If someone's getting attention, you drive the lane and find the open man. If you get double-teamed, you find the open man."

The Buffs were definitely open on the outside in the first half, as six different players hit at least one 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes.

"Him attracting so many traps and double teams, it freed up the offense and made the game easier for us as a team," Fortune said.

After falling behind early, the Buffs took their first lead of the game at the 12:54 mark of the first half when King hit a driving layup and added a free throw for a 15-14 CU lead.

The Buffs never trailed again, quickly building the lead to eight, 25-17. The Falcons managed to stay close for the next several minutes, pulling to within 27-24 on a Dezmond James 3-pointer, but CU quickly reeled off a 12-3 run that bumped the margin to 39-27 with three minutes left in the half. Scott hit a jump hook to start the run, and the Buffs added a pair of 3-pointers in the burst, one each from Brett Brady and Fortune.

Fortune then added another 3-pointer  a minute later and Scott scored CU's last four points of the half as the Buffs took a 46-30 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Scott was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field in the first half, and is now 24-for-31 from the field in CU's last four games.

The Buffs picked up in the second half where they left off in the first. Air Force loosened its zone and Scott immediately took advantage, scoring eight points in the first four minutes. CU opened the half with a 19-7 run to build a 26-point lead, 63-37, with 13 minutes still left in the game. The Falcons managed to reduce the margin back below 20, but never seriously threatened throughout the half.

"That's a really good team," Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich said. "They shoot the ball really well, they have size, they have depth and athleticism. I was really impressed watching them on film, but watching them live, they were really close and tight. I like that team."

Zach Moer led AFA with 13 points, Zach Kocur added 12 and Hayden Graham had 11.

Colorado also received some solid point guard play. Despite foul trouble for much of the game, starter Dominique Collier finished with seven points, two rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Thomas Akyazili saw the floor for 18 minutes and scored eight points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, and added a team-high four assists. CU's point guards also had just two turnovers in the game.

As Boyle said, it was the Buffs' best overall performance of the year. And while it's early — there are no doubt some tougher nonconference games on the horizon — it's obvious that Boyle sees the potential for something special in his squad.

"I love the makeup of this team, the character of this team and the toughness of this team —  but this team can be a lot better than the way we've played since we came home from our first two road games," Boyle said. "This is a coachable team of tremendous young men, and the ceiling is high. That's the good thing, we're not playing anywhere near our ceiling. That both excites and frustrates me as a coach because I want us to play up to that ceiling.  We're going to need to play near that ceiling as we move through the season."

The Buffs return to action Sunday with a 1 p.m. home game against Northern Colorado (Pac-12 Networks).

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu