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Buffs get the sweep, breathe sigh of relief

Ryan Koenigsberg Avatar
Ryan Koenigsberg
February 13, 2016
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BOULDER – As Andrew Andrews crossed over, stepped back and released a potential game-winning shot over the outstretched arm of Xavier Talton, with five seconds remaining on the clock, the minds of Colorado fans flashed back to Andrews knocking down a Buff-crushing buzzer-beater in the Coors Events Center last season. As the ball traveled toward the hoop, it could not have looked any better but the back of the rim would prove to be the Buffs savior.

The ball careened into the air and the man who was the chairman of the boards all night, Wesley Gordon brought it down, all but sealing the victory for Colorado.

“We got stops when we needed to and rebounded when we needed to,” head coach Tad Boyle said afterward. “The difference in the game was us out-rebounding them by 20, without a doubt.”

Gordon was the rock for Colorado in Josh Scott’s absence, on the boards and otherwise. He recorded his third-consecutive double-double with 17 points 13 rebounds and four blocks, all of that while playing just 28 minutes due to a tight whistle on the day.

“Wesley is a monster,” George King said of his teammate after the game. “I think he is really underrated and I’m lucky to have him as a teammate. He plays great defense and he’s a threat offensively when he catches it down low, too.”

As Boyle told media with a relieved look on his face, “That game didn’t have to be as close as it was.” Colorado led  72-57 with less just over seven minutes on the clock.

“I looked at the clock and said, ‘Guys if we hold them to less than 72 we win the game, they can not beat us if we do that,'” Boyle remembered.

That obviously didn’t happen. Just like they did at the beginning of the half, the Buffaloes squandered most of the sizeable lead in what seemed like no time at all. All of the sudden, after a 21-7 run the Huskies had cut the lead to one with just over a minute left. That’s when the Buffaloes locked in and got those stops Boyle talked about when they needed them most.

From the 1:38 mark, when Andrews knocked down a three to bring it within one, Colorado held the Huskies without a bucket from the field. A sketchy technical foul from Thomas Akyazili almost cost the team the game but the team overcame, giving them their 19th win of the season and eighth win in the Pac-12.

“This isn’t any fun for me or our players when you give up leads like we did with Washington State and today,” Boyle said shaking his head. “It’s no fun for players or coaches and for the fans I’m sure it’s frustrating too. I’m sure there were some of our fans who were ready to blow up too. I know I was. look this is a good league. If you don’t play well, whether at home or on the road, you’re going to get beat. We almost got beat Thursday and we almost got beat today but this team has shown grit and toughness all year long going to back to

“Look, this is a good league,” he added. “If you don’t play well, whether at home or on the road, you’re going to get beat. We almost got beat Thursday and we almost got beat today but this team has shown grit and toughness all year long going to back to double-digit deficits in the second half in November and December. We overcame those and won games. We’ve had our share of blowouts but we’ve also won our share of one possession games. That’s what you have to do if you want to be where we want to be which is in the top half of the league, competing for a championship. Hopefully, we can get a bye on Wednesday of the Pac-12 Tournament.”

The Buffaloes officially put themselves in position for the bye today as they moved into third place in the league, just one game out of first place. Now, the challenge will be to hang on.

Highlights

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Wesley Gordon

Usually, we like to go away from the player we talked about in the recap portion but there’s no denying Wesley Gordon of this honor today. The junior big man was on another level in the game, dominating the boards and shutting his men down with stellar defense. So often we’ve talked Wes bringing this type of game more consistently and this season he really has. In the absence of Scott, though, Gordon has gone other-worldly, playing at a level that would certainly be all-conference if held up for a whole season.

“I can’t say enough about the way he’s playing,” Boyle said. “He had a couple big offensive rebounds on Thursday night, big time offensive rebounds tonight when we needed him the most. What you need is your veteran players late in games to make plays to win games. Wesley Gordon has done that for us the past two games. I’m really happy with the way he’s playing. We’re taking tomorrow off and I don’t think anyone deserves it more than Wes.”

QUOTE OF THE GAME

BY THE NUMBERS

11 – Colorado was outscored by 11 points in the second half, the most they’ve been outscored by in said half this season.

22 – Colorado out-scored the Husky bench by 22, 33-11.

55 – Colorado’s 55 rebounds is the most they’ve had  in a game since 2006.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Buffaloes head out to Southern California to for the LA trip. Asked about the challenge ahead Boyle said, “Just let me enjoy this one.”

 

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