In the first of the Championship Rounds of the 2016 Legends Classic, the University of Colorado took its first fall of the season to Notre Dame 89-83 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Buffs now sit at 3-1 on the season.
The opening minutes of the game were evenly matched, with the Fighting Irish and Buffaloes exchanging baskets as the initial action began.
However, the Buffaloes quickly began to struggle to put points on the board. The team was stuck at 4 points for a scoring drought early in the first half, allowing Notre Dame to go up 10-4. When the team finally scored 8 points in the game, Notre Dame had gone up by 9.
More droughts of the same would ensue. After freshman forward Lucas Siewert hit a jumper to make the score 19-14 with just over 13 minutes left in the first half, the Fighting Irish went on a 9-0 run in the next three minutes. Senior guard-forward Xavier Johnson finally hit a layup to make the score 28-16, recording the first points for Colorado since Siewert’s jumper over three minutes earlier.
But the Buffaloes’ first half woes didn’t end there. Colorado continued to battle a 10-point plus deficit in the ensuing minutes.
Johnson made a layup, making the score 34-23 in favor of Notre Dame, but it would be another two minutes before CU managed its next points, which came in the form of a layup by senior guard Derrick White.
Colorado went down 48-30 with 1:42 left in the half, but managed to lower the deficit to 15 by the end of the half with the Fighting Irish up 50-35.
As the second half began, senior forward Wesley Gordon and White made the first 5 points, bringing CU within 10.
The Buffs were down 50-40 with a few minutes shaved off the clock. Colorado failed to score for a game-high 3:45 shortly thereafter, with the Fighting Irish taking a 56-40 lead. It took 30 minutes for the Buffs to wake up. With around 10 minutes left in the contest, the game began to get interesting, with Colorado lowering its deficit and starting to make baskets.
With six minutes left, Johnson hit a pair of free throws to put the Buffaloes within 10. Johnson had an impressive night, finishing with a team-high 23 points. He snagged three rebounds and had three assists in the loss.
Freshman guard Bryce Peters had a nice defensive rebound with 4:25 left in the game and was fouled by Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson. Peters nailed his two free throws to bring the Buffs within 6, although they still trailed 71-65. Colson led the Irish with 22 points.
Notre Dame continued to command a lead, albeit a dwindling one. The closest the Buffaloes came was after junior guard George King nailed a basket from downtown to make the score 81-77. But the Buffaloes were unable to stop the Irish in the foul-a-palooza that was the final two minutes of the game. Notre Dame proved to be lethal from the free throw line, hitting 27 of 29 shots from the charity line.
The Buffs hit 18 of 19, but it was inconsequential.
White was second on the team with 20 points, going 6-of-13 from the floor and making all seven of his attempted free throws. King added 17 to the Buffs’ losing cause, and recorded a team-high 11 rebounds.
The final two Buffaloes’ starters, Gordon and senior guard Josh Fortune, managed just a combined 8 points.
The Buffs’ shot 43.3 percent from the field on the night, surprisingly edging Notre Dame, which converted 42.4 percent of its shots.
Up next for CU is the consolation round of the Legends Classic. The Buffs will play the winner of the Texas vs. Northwestern game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo.
