Saturday, December 10
Provo, Utah
8:00 PM
University of Colorado
71
at
79
Brigham Young
Photo by: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Cold-Shooting Buffs Battle Back But Fall To Cougars, 79-71
December 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
PROVO, Utah – Suffering from frigid shooting and being bludgeoned on the boards, the Colorado Buffaloes succumbed to Brigham Young 79-71 on Saturday night at the Marriott Center.
The Buffs (7-3) scored only one field goal in the final 8:52, shot only 38.7 percent from the field (24-of-62) for the night and hit just 7 of their 29 3-point attempts.
Making matters worse, BYU (7-3) outrebounded CU 46-31 in an area that Buffs coach Tad Boyle emphasizes nightly.
"We got our tails kicked on the backboard – that was the key to the game," Boyle said. "We're not there yet mentally . . . that's what's frustrating; this was a winnable game."
After battling back from a 10-point second-half deficit to take a 61-58 lead on Thomas Akyazili's 3-pointer, the Buffs didn't get another field goal until Derrick White hit a trey with 44 seconds to play.
"We got back in it, made some shots, then our offensive execution went south," Boyle said. "We have to be better than we were tonight down the stretch and I take responsibility for that."
White, who sat out almost 8 minutes in the second half with four fouls, led CU with 21 points – 16 of them in the first half. Xavier Johnson added 17 points and George King recorded his fourth double-double in seven games – 14 points and 12 rebounds.
But beyond that threesome, the Buffs suffered. Josh Fortune went 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-6 from long range. Wesley Gordon took only three shots, making one, made one of two free throws and added five rebounds.
"Our 'big three' – Derrick, X and George – gave us some good minutes," Boyle said. "But Wes and Josh are struggling. I believe in them, but we better figure it out. We need help."
BYU had four players in double figures, topped by Nick Emery's 22 points and Eric Mika's 17. Yoeli Childs had a double-double – 11 points, 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led once (3-2) in the first half and trailed 40-38 at halftime. But they might have felt OK about that deficit; they trailed by as many as eight points twice before White put them on his shoulders and carried them to intermission.
The 6-5 senior scored 12 of CU's final 14 first-half points, bringing the Buffs to within 34-33 with a pair of free throws with 2:46 before the break. Exactly 2 minutes later, his second 3-pointer of the half produced a 38-38 tie, but a put-back by Mika gave BYU its 40-38 halftime lead.
White led all scorers with 16 first-half points and was the only CU player in double figures. In fact, he was the only player in a Buffs uniform posing a consistent offensive threat – particularly from long range.
While he was 2-of-4 beyond the arc, his teammates went 2-of-12. CU's overall first-half shooting was only slightly better; the Buffs hit 15 of their 33 field goal attempts (45.5 percent) but were 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
The Cougars, meanwhile, hit half of their 10 first-half trey attempts, with Emery canning three of those in four tries. They had the same number of field goal attempts (33) as the Buffs but made one more (16).
CU got six first-half points from King, with his five rebounds a team-high. But the Cougars outrebounded their visitors 21-16 and a bigger second-half discrepancy was on the way.
BYU continued its accurate long-range shooting to open the second half, getting a pair of treys from TJ Haws after a short jumper from the 6-10 Mika. After Haws' second triple, Mika added a pair of free throws and Childs a jumper to complete a 7-0 run and send the Cougars up by double digits (52-42).
To compound the Buffs' problems, White was whistled for his third foul with 16:54 to play and went to the bench. But CU's offense was stagnant without him and he quickly returned.
But not for long. Just over 2 minutes later, he picked up his fourth personal foul and sat down with 14:06 remaining without having scored a second-half point.
Who would the Buffs turn to offensively?
"XJ" scored the next 10 points in a 10-1 run, pulling CU to within 53-52 with 12:06 left. During that stretch he hit a 3-pointer, added three more on a conventional 3-point play, a pair of free throws and a short jumper.
But Johnson joined White on the bench after being inadvertently elbowed in the face by Haws. Another Buff needed to step up, and it was King, whose two free throws gave CU a 54-53 lead – its first since 3-2.
The Buffs got a 3-pointer from Thomas Akyazili to go up 61-58, but a trey by Haws tied the score at 61-61. After one of two free throws by Gordon, Haws added a 3-point play to give BYU a 64-62 lead with 7:41 to play.
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.
TURNING POINT: Up 62-61 after one of two free throws by Gordon, the Buffs scored only nine more points – including one field goal – in the final 7:50.
CU STANDOUTS: Derrick White scored 21 points, 16 in the first half . . . Xavier Johnson scored 17 points and had 5 rebounds . . . George King collected a double-double – 14 points, 12 rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were outrebounded by 15 (46-31) and made only seven of their 29 3-point attempts . . . The Cougars shot better from 3-point range (47.4 percent) than they did overall (44.8 percent).
WHAT IT MEANS: Saturday night concluded a telling four-game non-conference stretch for the Buffs – and it told Boyle that much more work is needed before his team begins Pac-12 play. CU finished the four games 2-2, with the best win coming against then-No. 13 Xavier and the losses to Colorado State and BYU. CU also won at Portland.
NOTEWORTHY: Tory Miller returned to the lineup after missing the Xavier win due to a foot injury. He has now played in three of the last five games . . . . The Buffs, denied their third straight win, had won four of their last five games . . . CU still leads the series 17-7, but Saturday night's CU-BYU meeting was only the second in 61 years and the Buffs' first trip to Provo since Dec. 1955 . . . . The Cougars had dropped three of their last five before Saturday . . . . CU was playing its second true road game – the first coming at Portland on Dec. 3 and producing a 76-63 Buffs win . . . . In their first nine games the Buffs had been a more productive offensive team in second halves than firsts, averaging 41.2 points (second) to 33.7 (first) . . . . CU entered Saturday night's contest ranked second in 3-point defense (.273), third in offensive rebounds (13.6 per game) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.376), rebounding margin (+7.3) and rebounding offense (42.4 per game) . . . . White's all-around game has been spectacular so far. He's averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, as well as hitting a team-high 52.0 percent from the field . . . . Johnson surpassed the career 100 3-pointer mark against Xavier. He scored 18 against the Musketeers, hitting 3-of-4 from long range . . . . BYU entered Saturday's game having won four of five at home and averaging 86.6 points a game – tops in the West Coast Conference and 18th in the nation.
NEXT UP: The Buffs are off until Saturday, Dec. 17, when they play host to Fort Hays State (noon, Coors Events Center).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
The Buffs (7-3) scored only one field goal in the final 8:52, shot only 38.7 percent from the field (24-of-62) for the night and hit just 7 of their 29 3-point attempts.
Making matters worse, BYU (7-3) outrebounded CU 46-31 in an area that Buffs coach Tad Boyle emphasizes nightly.
"We got our tails kicked on the backboard – that was the key to the game," Boyle said. "We're not there yet mentally . . . that's what's frustrating; this was a winnable game."
After battling back from a 10-point second-half deficit to take a 61-58 lead on Thomas Akyazili's 3-pointer, the Buffs didn't get another field goal until Derrick White hit a trey with 44 seconds to play.
"We got back in it, made some shots, then our offensive execution went south," Boyle said. "We have to be better than we were tonight down the stretch and I take responsibility for that."
White, who sat out almost 8 minutes in the second half with four fouls, led CU with 21 points – 16 of them in the first half. Xavier Johnson added 17 points and George King recorded his fourth double-double in seven games – 14 points and 12 rebounds.
But beyond that threesome, the Buffs suffered. Josh Fortune went 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-6 from long range. Wesley Gordon took only three shots, making one, made one of two free throws and added five rebounds.
"Our 'big three' – Derrick, X and George – gave us some good minutes," Boyle said. "But Wes and Josh are struggling. I believe in them, but we better figure it out. We need help."
BYU had four players in double figures, topped by Nick Emery's 22 points and Eric Mika's 17. Yoeli Childs had a double-double – 11 points, 12 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led once (3-2) in the first half and trailed 40-38 at halftime. But they might have felt OK about that deficit; they trailed by as many as eight points twice before White put them on his shoulders and carried them to intermission.
The 6-5 senior scored 12 of CU's final 14 first-half points, bringing the Buffs to within 34-33 with a pair of free throws with 2:46 before the break. Exactly 2 minutes later, his second 3-pointer of the half produced a 38-38 tie, but a put-back by Mika gave BYU its 40-38 halftime lead.
White led all scorers with 16 first-half points and was the only CU player in double figures. In fact, he was the only player in a Buffs uniform posing a consistent offensive threat – particularly from long range.
While he was 2-of-4 beyond the arc, his teammates went 2-of-12. CU's overall first-half shooting was only slightly better; the Buffs hit 15 of their 33 field goal attempts (45.5 percent) but were 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
The Cougars, meanwhile, hit half of their 10 first-half trey attempts, with Emery canning three of those in four tries. They had the same number of field goal attempts (33) as the Buffs but made one more (16).
CU got six first-half points from King, with his five rebounds a team-high. But the Cougars outrebounded their visitors 21-16 and a bigger second-half discrepancy was on the way.
BYU continued its accurate long-range shooting to open the second half, getting a pair of treys from TJ Haws after a short jumper from the 6-10 Mika. After Haws' second triple, Mika added a pair of free throws and Childs a jumper to complete a 7-0 run and send the Cougars up by double digits (52-42).
To compound the Buffs' problems, White was whistled for his third foul with 16:54 to play and went to the bench. But CU's offense was stagnant without him and he quickly returned.
But not for long. Just over 2 minutes later, he picked up his fourth personal foul and sat down with 14:06 remaining without having scored a second-half point.
Who would the Buffs turn to offensively?
"XJ" scored the next 10 points in a 10-1 run, pulling CU to within 53-52 with 12:06 left. During that stretch he hit a 3-pointer, added three more on a conventional 3-point play, a pair of free throws and a short jumper.
But Johnson joined White on the bench after being inadvertently elbowed in the face by Haws. Another Buff needed to step up, and it was King, whose two free throws gave CU a 54-53 lead – its first since 3-2.
The Buffs got a 3-pointer from Thomas Akyazili to go up 61-58, but a trey by Haws tied the score at 61-61. After one of two free throws by Gordon, Haws added a 3-point play to give BYU a 64-62 lead with 7:41 to play.
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.
TURNING POINT: Up 62-61 after one of two free throws by Gordon, the Buffs scored only nine more points – including one field goal – in the final 7:50.
CU STANDOUTS: Derrick White scored 21 points, 16 in the first half . . . Xavier Johnson scored 17 points and had 5 rebounds . . . George King collected a double-double – 14 points, 12 rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were outrebounded by 15 (46-31) and made only seven of their 29 3-point attempts . . . The Cougars shot better from 3-point range (47.4 percent) than they did overall (44.8 percent).
WHAT IT MEANS: Saturday night concluded a telling four-game non-conference stretch for the Buffs – and it told Boyle that much more work is needed before his team begins Pac-12 play. CU finished the four games 2-2, with the best win coming against then-No. 13 Xavier and the losses to Colorado State and BYU. CU also won at Portland.
NOTEWORTHY: Tory Miller returned to the lineup after missing the Xavier win due to a foot injury. He has now played in three of the last five games . . . . The Buffs, denied their third straight win, had won four of their last five games . . . CU still leads the series 17-7, but Saturday night's CU-BYU meeting was only the second in 61 years and the Buffs' first trip to Provo since Dec. 1955 . . . . The Cougars had dropped three of their last five before Saturday . . . . CU was playing its second true road game – the first coming at Portland on Dec. 3 and producing a 76-63 Buffs win . . . . In their first nine games the Buffs had been a more productive offensive team in second halves than firsts, averaging 41.2 points (second) to 33.7 (first) . . . . CU entered Saturday night's contest ranked second in 3-point defense (.273), third in offensive rebounds (13.6 per game) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.376), rebounding margin (+7.3) and rebounding offense (42.4 per game) . . . . White's all-around game has been spectacular so far. He's averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists, as well as hitting a team-high 52.0 percent from the field . . . . Johnson surpassed the career 100 3-pointer mark against Xavier. He scored 18 against the Musketeers, hitting 3-of-4 from long range . . . . BYU entered Saturday's game having won four of five at home and averaging 86.6 points a game – tops in the West Coast Conference and 18th in the nation.
NEXT UP: The Buffs are off until Saturday, Dec. 17, when they play host to Fort Hays State (noon, Coors Events Center).
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU