Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Alissa Noe at alissa.noe@colorado.edu and follow her on twitter @crazysportgirl1.
After an ugly first half at Auburn on Tuesday, the Colorado men’s basketball fought back in the second half to earn their first victory of the year, 91-84.
The Buffaloes’ success can be summed with two names: George King and Josh Scott.
Redshirt sophomore King built upon his success in Colorado’s first game against Iowa State and scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds against the Tigers.
Throughout his entire freshman year, King scored 41 points. He’s easily matched that number in his first two games back from his time off.
Senior forward Scott was right behind the underclassman with 24 points and nine rebounds of his own, lending to the fact that without these two players, the Buffs could not have won this game, though junior guard Josh Fortune also contributed double-digit scoring with 11 points.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers boasted three players in double-digit scoring, and Kareem Canty and Tyler Harris were an absolute nightmare for Colorado. With a combined 47 points and 14 rebounds, the Buffs couldn’t stop these two from wreaking havoc on their defensive game. T.J. Dunans was right behind them with 14 points.
The Buffaloes shot 57.4 percent from the field with an impressive 53.3 percent (8 of 15) from the three-point range. George King made half of those threes. Thanks to a strong effort in the second half, they also managed to out-rebound the Tigers 37-30 by the end of it all.
The Tigers made 46.3 percent of their shots from the field and 10 of their 24 threes. Their shooting from deep would have cost Colorado the game had the Buffs not fought back in the second half.
The first few minutes of the first half saw back and forth play from both teams as the lead fluctuated between them. After a short 8-0 run from the Buffaloes, Auburn responded with an 11-0 run as Canty shot lights out.
Auburn shot an astonishing 7-9 from the three point range in the first ten minutes of the game. After a 13-1 run from Auburn midway through the first, the game got out of Colorado’s control quickly. Four minutes before the break, the Buffs trailed by 15, 44-29.
A 10-0 run over the next three minutes brought Colorado back into the game, coupled by Auburn cooling down from behind the arc. At the half, the score read 46-42 in the Tigers’ favor.
For each team, it was a tale of two players.
Scott and King shined for the Buffaloes in the first half as they carried the team on their shoulders with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Scott didn’t miss a shot. The team didn’t see much offense outside of those two.
On the other side of the ball, Kareem Canty and Tyler Harris were a nightmare for Colorado. Canty made seven of his eight shots, five of which were from downtown, and he scored 19 points. Harris added 13 points of his own.
Perhaps the biggest indication of Colorado’s rough style of play showed up in its 11 turnovers in the first half alone, while the Tigers committed eight.
After a small run from Auburn at the start of the second half, the Buffs fought back and took over in Alabama. Junior guard Josh Fortune stepped up his game and contributed eight of Colorado’s 24 points in the first eight minutes of the second half.
With about six minutes remaining, Colorado ran away with the game, taking a 13-point lead, 81-63.
Though Auburn ultimately closed that gap in the final minutes, the Tigers couldn’t overcome the hole they dug themselves into, and the Buffs ran away with a 91-84 victory at Auburn.
Colorado heads to its home court for the first time this season on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. as they take on Portland.
