(CU Independent illustration/Josh Shettler)
As the buzzer rang and the ball bounced off the rim, Colorado State students rushed the court. Today would be little brother’s day.
The Buffs men’s basketball team lost to it’s in-state rival, 65-64, at Moby Arena in Fort Collins. CU drops to 4-3 on the season, while the Rams climb to 5-2.
Coach Tad Boyle’s inexperienced squad turned the ball over 15 times and shot a lowly 36 percent on field goals. Despite trailing by eight points in the final 90 seconds, the Buffs stampeded back. Nate Tomlinson had an opportunity with a shot at the buzzer, but it clanked off the iron.
“I have no idea how we had a chance to win this game, but I think it’s a testament to our team that we did,” Boyle said. “I told our guys in the locker room I do not fault your competitiveness, I don’t fault your desire … your will to win, I don’t fault any of that stuff. But what I fault is our execution.”
Freshman Spencer Dinwiddie led the Buffs with 16 points. A pair of seniors, Tomlinson and Austin Dufault, also scored in double figures and combined for 24.
However the offensive production began and ended there for away team. Andre Roberson, the highly-touted sophomore, scored one point on 0-for-3 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, leading scorer Carlon Brown missed ten of his shots and finished with nine points.
CU was unable to capitalize on easy scoring opportunities as it missed 16 of it’s 29 free throw attempts.
“The only way to get better is to knock them down,” Dufault said. “You can practice more, but you’ve got to get in the game and knock them down.”
Besides the missed free throws, the Buffs also shot themselves in the foot with the aforementioned turnovers. CSU scored 17 points of the Buff miscues.
A chaotic combination of mistakes and a sound offensive game by the Rams opened the doors for a CSU win, not to mention a wave of green-shirted fans pouring on to the court.
“Good for them … that’s an exciting part of college basketball,” Boyle said. “If they want to do that, I have no problem with it.”
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Michael Krumholtz at Michael.krumholtz@colorado.edu.
