Freshman guard Tyler Bey fights to get the ball to the basket during OT at the Coors Event Center. Dec. 15, 2017 (Nigel Amstock/CU Independent)
As play between the Colorado Buffaloes and No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils started Thursday night at the Coors Events Center, within a few minutes it seemed that a blowout loss was all but inevitable for the 8-6 Buffs.
The Sun Devils quickly went up 3-0 before ASU’s Tra Holder sank another three-pointer, creating a 6-0 lead.
Exactly two minutes later, at the 16:29 mark, the Buffs were down 11-0 and looked awkward in the offensive zone. A repeat of Colorado’s blowout loss at Xavier in early December appeared likely.
To begin the game, the Buffaloes shot just 2-of-12 from the floor in the opening eight minutes.
But Colorado proved to be resilient as ever on Thursday. The Buffs clawed their way back into the game, and at halftime trailed by just five. Although CU continued to battle intimidating deficits throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Buffaloes took their first lead of the game with about eight minutes left to play.
Arizona State managed to tie the contest a few times, including in the final seconds to send the game to a five-minute overtime period, but never took back the lead.
Colorado outscored the Sun Devils 16-7, in overtime to seal head coach Tad Boyle’s 16th career victory over a top 25 collegiate program.
“Our guys were a little bit down,” Boyle said after the game. “I felt like we should have finished a little bit stronger [at the end] of regulation, but they didn’t stay down. They really came out in overtime and made winning plays . . . we [have] a young group that’s growing up quick. What a win for the Buffs.”
Heading into the opening tipoff, The Buffaloes and Sun Devils seemed like near polar opposites in terms of starting lineups.
Colorado started three freshman in the game, while ASU began the game with three seniors, including Holder, who before the game was averaging 22 points per game.
Holder eclipsed his average; he put up 24 in his first contest with the Buffaloes. But Colorado benefitted from a balanced offensive attack. Four players scored in the double digits to propel CU to the win.
“We just kept trying to guard and make everything tough [on ASU],” said senior guard George King. “We played with a lot of energy and effort, stuck to the game plan, and never got down on ourselves . . . I think that’s why the outcome is what it is.”
The two Wrights, freshman guard McKinley Wright IV and junior guard Namon Wright, tied for the team lead in that department with 19 each.
With 16:04 remaining in the first half, freshman guard Lazar Nikolic scored the Buffaloes’ first point of the game, a lone free throw to make the score 11-1.
The Buffs managed to wake from their slumber as the first half progressed. With 5:43 left before halftime, King drilled a three-pointer, trimming ASU’s lead to just three, although Colorado still trailed 25-22.
A few minutes later, sophomore guard Deleon Brown’s layup at the 2:30 mark made the score 27-26 in favor of ASU. But a mini run by the Sun Devils gave them a comfortable 34-27 lead with 1:44 left in the half.
A layup by King served as the final points in the half and Colorado trailed 34-29 before the final 20 minutes; he was second on the team with 18 points and made 5-of-13 shots from the floor.
The Sun Devils were deadly from long range early in the game, but as time went on, they proved to be ineffective, making just 9-of-33 attempts, in part due to mid-game adjustments by CU’s defense.
“If you consistently have a hand [in their face], their numbers will fall,” King said after the win. “[We] kept guarding, contesting and [kept] making it tough . . . because of that, it led to us getting a W tonight.”
The Buffaloes came out swinging in the second half, but Arizona State continued to maintain its lead. Wright nailed a shot from long range with just under 16 minutes to play, putting the Buffs within two, and just over a minute later, sophomore forward Lucas Siewert made a three-pointer of his own, which made the score 41-40.
As had been the case multiple times earlier in the contest, just as the Buffaloes drew closer and the crowd at Coors Events Center grew rowdier, Arizona State managed to answer and stay multiple possessions ahead of CU, silencing fans temporarily.
After just over three minutes passed following Siewert’s basket, the Sun Devils jumped ahead to a 52-44 advantage. It would be their largest lead for the rest of the game and overtime.
The turning point of the game arguably came with just over eight minutes to play. The Buffs had just taken their first lead of the game, courtesy of a free throw by freshman center Dallas Walton and a layup by freshman guard/forward Tyler Bey.
Up 55-54, Walton blocked a shot, secured the rebound and heaved the ball down court to senior guard Dom Collier, who easily passed to Wright near the net with no defenders around him.
Wright dunked the ball, putting the Buffs up 57-54 and sending Coors Events Center into a frenzy.
For the rest of regulation, the Buffaloes maintained their lead over ASU, at multiple times by as much as six points, but the determined Sun Devils refused to go quietly and in the final seconds of the game, tied things up at 74.
Colorado won the overtime tipoff and got to work quickly. Within 1:21, the Buffs had built a five-point lead thanks to a layup by Wright and another three-pointer courtesy of King.
Arizona State came to within two points in the period, but time was on the Buffaloes’ side, and despite converting just 69 percent of their free throws in the whole game, Colorado sank them when it mattered most, as ASU was unable to win a foul-palooza in the final minute of overtime.
The Buffaloes took the game, 90-81, and despite the best efforts of the Coors Events Center staff and security, most of the students who managed to show up to the mid-break game rushed the court.
On the day, the Buffs managed a better make rate from the floor than the Sun Devils despite their slow start. Colorado was 29-of-64, or 45 percent, compared to ASU’s 36 percent conversion rate on 27-of-75 shooting.
“I’m just really proud of our guys for stepping up,” Boyle said. “That’s kind of the standard that we have to hold ourselves to., We have to compete and play with fire and heart . . . we need our seniors to keep doing what they did tonight.”
Up next for the Buffaloes is another ranked opponent. On Saturday, Jan. 6, CU faces the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats at the Coors Events Center. Tipoff is at 12 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo
