Coming off a bitter overtime loss at Washington on Wednesday evening in which the Buffs blew a 15-point halftime lead to the Huskies, Colorado continued its road trip, this time taking on the Washington State Cougars in Pullman, Washington, on Saturday afternoon.
After trailing by 10 points late in the second half, the Buffaloes (10-10, 0-7 Pac-12) mounted a furious rally and forced an overtime period, but fell in the final seconds 91-89.
Senior forward Wesley Gordon got things started for Colorado, scoring the opening basket of the game. A three-pointer by junior guard George King put CU up 8-3 in the opening minutes.
Junior forward Tory Miller made a jumper with 13:53 left in the first half, putting Colorado up 14-7. But the Cougars rallied, going on a 9-0 run to take a 16-14 lead over the Buffs. After about a two-minute scoring drought by both teams, Gordon made a pair of free throws, putting the Buffaloes within two, although Wazzu maintained a 26-24 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half.
A layup by King with 35 seconds left would be the final basket of the half, and Washington State led 39-35 at halftime. Colorado shot 12-of-27 from the floor in the first half, good for about a 44 percent make rate. However, the team went just 2-of-10 from long range. Senior guard-forward Xavier Johnson led the team with 10 points in the first 20 minutes of play.
After the second half began, a steal by junior guard Dom Collier set up a three-pointer from King, tying the game at 44 with 16:37 remaining. King went 3-of-5 from beyond the arch in the game.
Colorado faced a one-possession deficit for the next few minutes, but back-to-back three-pointers by Wazzu put the Cougars in front 55-48 with 11:37 left in regulation. But the Buffs battled back, and a layup by King near the eight-minute mark tied the game at 61.
But in the ensuing minutes, the Buffaloes saw the game nearly slip away for good. Wazzu was deadly from deep in the game, making a clean 50 percent — 13-of-26 shots — from beyond the arch. With the score tied at 61, the Cougars made three straight long balls to go up 70-61 with about six and a half minutes to go in the game.
The Buffs answered with baskets of their own, but were unable to get back into things. Colorado trailed 79-69 with just 3:26 left. But from there, the battlin’ Buffs managed a comeback of spectacular proportions. In the next two minutes, the Buffs rallied and outscored the Cougars, 9-2, to bring themselves to within one possession. Senior guard Derrick White scored seven of the Buffaloes’ nine points during that span.
Washington State went up 83-79 with just 35 seconds remaining, but a tip in basket by Johnson and a pair of free throws made by White with just eight seconds left tied the game at 83 and sent things to overtime.
The Buffs took an early lead in overtime, going up 87-83 with 4:15 remaining. From there, Colorado would fail to make another basket until the 1:52 mark. Washington State tied the game at 89 with 40 seconds remaining and took the lead, 91-89 with just 11 seconds left on the clock.
In a final minute filled with timeouts, the Buffaloes attempted to win the game on their final possession, with White launching a three-pointer — but it failed to go in, and the Buffs lost by two points in overtime for the second game in a row. Colorado made nearly 48 percent of its shots from the floor in the loss.
White, who scored 19 points in the second half and led the team with 25, shot 8-of-16 from the floor, adding six assists in the loss. It was a spread out afternoon for the Buffaloes, offensively. Johnson scored 17, with King and Gordon right behind him, dropping 16 and 15, respectively. It was the second straight game Gordon scored in double digits.
The loss has a particular bitter taste to it, considering the solid offensive output from Colorado’s starters. The Buffs didn’t miss many opportunities from the free-throw line in the game either, going 19-of-22 from the stripe.
Washington State’s Charles Callison was a nightmare for the Buffs. He led all scorers with 30 points and dropped 18 in the second half.
The Buffaloes return home for a game against Oregon State this upcoming Thursday, Jan. 26. The Buffs and Beavers tipoff at 6:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo.
