BOULDER — Colorado's freshmen are growing up in a hurry.
Friday night, they needed every bit of maturity they could muster — and they had just enough, leading Tad Boyle's Buffaloes to a 112-103 double-overtime win over South Dakota State at the Coors Events Center.
CU ended a two-game skid and improved to 8-3 while SDSU fell to 9-5.
"Obviously a huge win for us," Boyle said. "We needed that bad for our confidence level. We had some guys really grow up out theretonight and overcame some things even though we're playing at home. We beat a really really good team. South Dakota State in my opinion is an NCAA Tournament team."
Once again, it was CU freshman McKinley Wright IVleading the way. Wright just missed his first career triple-double, but still finished with 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
But Wright had plenty of help. Fellow freshman Tyler Bey finished with 12 points and nine rebounds — including eight points and three rebounds in the second overtime — while senior George Kingchipped in 17 points and sophomore Lucas Siewertadded 14.
Bey also played a huge role in defending South Dakota State's Mike Daum. The SDSU star finished with a game-high 37 points, but had just four in the two overtime periods. David Jenkins added 31 for the Jackrabbits, including 21 from 3-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs, who led by seven in the second half and trailed by six in the first overtime before rallying to force a second extra period, took charge in the final five- minute period.
Wright gave CU a 95-94 lead with one of two free throws early in the period before Bey hit two free throws with 3:51 to go, then added a short jumper to bump Colorado's lead to 99-96 at the three-minute mark.
SDSU then tied the game one more time on a long Jenkins 3-pointer, but Wright then drove the lane for a bucket with 2:09 left to give CU the lead for good, 101-99. Bey added another jumper from the wing 30 seconds later and he and Wright each hit a pair of free throws in the ensuing minute, giving CU a 107-101 lead with just 37 seconds remaining.
The Buffs then kept the Jacks at bay at the foul line over the final seconds, as SDSU shot just 3-for-12 from the field in the second overtime.
"You just have to buy in," Wright said. "We bought into our defense the entire game. Obviously, they have a very good player, probably going to the NBA, and he scored the ball at all three levels tonight. We just had to buy in, contain him and the rest of their players and get stops down the stretch. It was definitely character building."
Colorado tried a variety of defenders on Daum all night, including King, Lazar Nikolic and Lucas Siewert.
But in the overtime periods, it was Bey who made the difference — particularly in the second OT. Bey forced a Daum miss at the rim, then drew a foul on the rebound that resulted in his first two free throws; then forced another miss and collected another rebound with 37 seconds left, resulting in two more free throws and a 107-101 lead.
Boyle said he told Bey to use his athleticism on Daum.
"Tyler has great length and great athleticism," Boyle said. "When he catches it, you have to be solid and play without fouling. Make him take tough shots, and he did. He made him take some tough shots in the lane. The key for Tyler is he boxed out and got those rebounds."
Wright, meanwhile, was spectacular in the two overtimes, scoring 13 points on a variety of drives, short jumpers and trips to the free throw line. Wright helped bring Colorado back from a six-point deficit in the first overtime with back-to-back buckets in the lane, then hit five free throws and a basket in the second extra period.
The Buffs' comeback in the first overtime was also aided by a pair of missed free throws from Daum in that stretch.
"I'm really proud of our guys," Boyle said. "I thought we really could've folded our tent there, down six in the first overtime, but we didn't panic. We got stops and converted those stops into buckets and pushed it into the second overtime. Tyler Bey was terrific defensively down the stretch, Lazar (Nikolic) was terrific in the moments he guarded Daum. They made him work, and he's a helluva player."
Colorado lead by seven at the half and still had a seven-point cushion with just more than 11 minutes to play.
But the Jacks put together a 13-5 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Reed Tellinghuisen, to take their first lead of the game with7:26 to go. Colorado quickly regained the lead on a King 3-pointer before the Jacks tied the game at 68-68 with 6:44 to go.
That set up a frantic final six minutes. Colorado managed to regain the lead eight times down the stretch, but each time the Jackrabbits answered, with a Jenkins 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go tying the game at 84-84.
Colorado then got an offensive rebound and bucket from Wright with 27 seconds remaining in regulation for an 86-84 lead, but Daum drew a foul on the other end and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game again with just 6.5 seconds remaining.
A last-second attempt by Wright at the free throw line was then partially blocked, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, the Jacks pulled out to a six-point lead with two minutes to go. But Colorado answered with a Wright floater in the lane before Daum missed two free throw attempts. Wright then hit another jumper to pull the Buffs to within two, and following a Jenkins miss, Deleon Brown connected on a fastbreak layup on an assist from King to tie the game again at 94-94 with 26 seconds to go.
Following a Jackrabbits timeout, Jenkins missed at the buzzer to send the game into a second extra period.
NEW STARTING LINEUP: Friday night's CU starting lineup was vastly different than any Boyle has started thus far. It included redshirt freshmen Alexander Strating and Dallas Walton, true freshman D'Shawn Schwartz, senior Dominique Collier and senior walkon Josh Repine.
"That was more of a practice thing," Boyle said. "We had a two-zone segment for about 10 minutes at the end of practice yesterday and the guys with the gold jerseys on whipped the guys wearing black jerseys. … It was an opportunity to let those guys start and I thought they responded well."
The starting five battled SDSU to a 5-5 standoff before Boyle subbed regulars McKinley Wright and George King into the game.
TURNING POINT: This one wasn't decided until the final minute of the second overtime. After two McKinley Wright free throws gave Colorado a 105-101 lead, Tyler Bey forced a Mike Daum miss, then grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Bey hit both free throws with 37 seconds left to give CU a six-point lead, basically clinching the win.
WHAT IT MEANS: After a horrible offensive outing Tuesday against San Diego, the Buffs rebounded with perhaps their best overall performance of the year, giving them some much-needed confidence heading into next week's non-conference finale vs. Iowa.
CU STANDOUTS: Freshman McKinley Wright IV had 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for his second double-double of the year. … Freshman Tyler Bey had a career high 12 points and nine rebounds. … George King had 17 points and five rebounds. … Lucas Siewert scored 14 points to go with four rebounds. … Namon Wright had 10 points and four rebounds. … Deleon Brown had 10 points and a pair of assists.
KEY STATISTICS: One game after shooting just 25.9 percent from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range, the Buffs hit 40 of their 74 field goal tries (54.1 percent), including 13-for-27 from 3-point range. CU also hit 19 of its 23 free throw attempts.
NOTEWORTHY: Colorado used its fifth different starting lineup in 11 games. … The Buffs are now 50-54 all-time in overtime games and 8-8 under Boyle. CU is also 11-9 in multi-overtime games, with Friday's the first since beating Washington State in two OTs in 2016. … It was the fifth-highest scoring OT game in CU history. … The 112 points is the most scored by a CU team under Boyle and the most since scoring 116 vs. Savannah State in 2006. … Colorado is 39-2 when scoring 100-plus points.
— George King (17 points, 11 rebounds) passed Wilky Gilmore and Jim Creighton on CU's all-time scoring list, and is now 30th with 1,041.
— Josh Repine started his first game as a Buff and is the first non-scholarship player to start for CU since Beau Webb vs. Wichita State in 2011.
— McKinley Wright IV (30 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) has scored in double figures in all 11 games as a Buff. His 11 assists were a career high as were his 30 points, giving him his second double-double. He is the fourth freshman to score at least 30 points for the Buffs, joining Chauncey Billups (who did it four times: 33 vs. Colorado State, 31 vs. Northwestern State and 30 vs. Oklahoma State and Southern Utah in 1995-96), Emmett Lewis (31 vs. New Mexico in 1975) and Richard Roby (30 vs. Kansas State in 2004-05).
— Lucas Siewert (14 points, 4 rebounds) had his third double-digit scoring game of his career on 6-for-9 shooting, including some key buckets inside in the second half.
— Tyler Bey (12 points, 9 rebounds) had a career high in points and tied his career high in rebounds.
QUOTEWORTHY: "This was obviously a huge win for us. We needed that for our confidence. We had some guys really grow uptonight." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
"I just wanted to step up. It was a good opportunity to step up for my team and play defense." — CU'sTyler Bey
"It definitely gives us a lot of confidence. This was a big game. … The Pac-12 is right here so we have a lot of confidence on this team right now."— CU's Lucas Siewert
"We had our chance to win at the end of the first overtime. We were up four and going to the foul line. … You could kind of tell as it went to that second overtime, I think our guys were tired and ran out of gas a little bit." — SDSU coach T.J. Otzelberger
NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., next Friday (Dec. 22) to face Iowa in a 7 p.m. contest.
Friday night, they needed every bit of maturity they could muster — and they had just enough, leading Tad Boyle's Buffaloes to a 112-103 double-overtime win over South Dakota State at the Coors Events Center.
CU ended a two-game skid and improved to 8-3 while SDSU fell to 9-5.
"Obviously a huge win for us," Boyle said. "We needed that bad for our confidence level. We had some guys really grow up out theretonight and overcame some things even though we're playing at home. We beat a really really good team. South Dakota State in my opinion is an NCAA Tournament team."
Once again, it was CU freshman McKinley Wright IVleading the way. Wright just missed his first career triple-double, but still finished with 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
But Wright had plenty of help. Fellow freshman Tyler Bey finished with 12 points and nine rebounds — including eight points and three rebounds in the second overtime — while senior George Kingchipped in 17 points and sophomore Lucas Siewertadded 14.
Bey also played a huge role in defending South Dakota State's Mike Daum. The SDSU star finished with a game-high 37 points, but had just four in the two overtime periods. David Jenkins added 31 for the Jackrabbits, including 21 from 3-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs, who led by seven in the second half and trailed by six in the first overtime before rallying to force a second extra period, took charge in the final five- minute period.
Wright gave CU a 95-94 lead with one of two free throws early in the period before Bey hit two free throws with 3:51 to go, then added a short jumper to bump Colorado's lead to 99-96 at the three-minute mark.
SDSU then tied the game one more time on a long Jenkins 3-pointer, but Wright then drove the lane for a bucket with 2:09 left to give CU the lead for good, 101-99. Bey added another jumper from the wing 30 seconds later and he and Wright each hit a pair of free throws in the ensuing minute, giving CU a 107-101 lead with just 37 seconds remaining.
The Buffs then kept the Jacks at bay at the foul line over the final seconds, as SDSU shot just 3-for-12 from the field in the second overtime.
"You just have to buy in," Wright said. "We bought into our defense the entire game. Obviously, they have a very good player, probably going to the NBA, and he scored the ball at all three levels tonight. We just had to buy in, contain him and the rest of their players and get stops down the stretch. It was definitely character building."
Colorado tried a variety of defenders on Daum all night, including King, Lazar Nikolic and Lucas Siewert.
But in the overtime periods, it was Bey who made the difference — particularly in the second OT. Bey forced a Daum miss at the rim, then drew a foul on the rebound that resulted in his first two free throws; then forced another miss and collected another rebound with 37 seconds left, resulting in two more free throws and a 107-101 lead.
Boyle said he told Bey to use his athleticism on Daum.
"Tyler has great length and great athleticism," Boyle said. "When he catches it, you have to be solid and play without fouling. Make him take tough shots, and he did. He made him take some tough shots in the lane. The key for Tyler is he boxed out and got those rebounds."
Wright, meanwhile, was spectacular in the two overtimes, scoring 13 points on a variety of drives, short jumpers and trips to the free throw line. Wright helped bring Colorado back from a six-point deficit in the first overtime with back-to-back buckets in the lane, then hit five free throws and a basket in the second extra period.
The Buffs' comeback in the first overtime was also aided by a pair of missed free throws from Daum in that stretch.
"I'm really proud of our guys," Boyle said. "I thought we really could've folded our tent there, down six in the first overtime, but we didn't panic. We got stops and converted those stops into buckets and pushed it into the second overtime. Tyler Bey was terrific defensively down the stretch, Lazar (Nikolic) was terrific in the moments he guarded Daum. They made him work, and he's a helluva player."
Colorado lead by seven at the half and still had a seven-point cushion with just more than 11 minutes to play.
But the Jacks put together a 13-5 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Reed Tellinghuisen, to take their first lead of the game with7:26 to go. Colorado quickly regained the lead on a King 3-pointer before the Jacks tied the game at 68-68 with 6:44 to go.
That set up a frantic final six minutes. Colorado managed to regain the lead eight times down the stretch, but each time the Jackrabbits answered, with a Jenkins 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go tying the game at 84-84.
Colorado then got an offensive rebound and bucket from Wright with 27 seconds remaining in regulation for an 86-84 lead, but Daum drew a foul on the other end and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game again with just 6.5 seconds remaining.
A last-second attempt by Wright at the free throw line was then partially blocked, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, the Jacks pulled out to a six-point lead with two minutes to go. But Colorado answered with a Wright floater in the lane before Daum missed two free throw attempts. Wright then hit another jumper to pull the Buffs to within two, and following a Jenkins miss, Deleon Brown connected on a fastbreak layup on an assist from King to tie the game again at 94-94 with 26 seconds to go.
Following a Jackrabbits timeout, Jenkins missed at the buzzer to send the game into a second extra period.
NEW STARTING LINEUP: Friday night's CU starting lineup was vastly different than any Boyle has started thus far. It included redshirt freshmen Alexander Strating and Dallas Walton, true freshman D'Shawn Schwartz, senior Dominique Collier and senior walkon Josh Repine.
"That was more of a practice thing," Boyle said. "We had a two-zone segment for about 10 minutes at the end of practice yesterday and the guys with the gold jerseys on whipped the guys wearing black jerseys. … It was an opportunity to let those guys start and I thought they responded well."
The starting five battled SDSU to a 5-5 standoff before Boyle subbed regulars McKinley Wright and George King into the game.
TURNING POINT: This one wasn't decided until the final minute of the second overtime. After two McKinley Wright free throws gave Colorado a 105-101 lead, Tyler Bey forced a Mike Daum miss, then grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Bey hit both free throws with 37 seconds left to give CU a six-point lead, basically clinching the win.
WHAT IT MEANS: After a horrible offensive outing Tuesday against San Diego, the Buffs rebounded with perhaps their best overall performance of the year, giving them some much-needed confidence heading into next week's non-conference finale vs. Iowa.
CU STANDOUTS: Freshman McKinley Wright IV had 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for his second double-double of the year. … Freshman Tyler Bey had a career high 12 points and nine rebounds. … George King had 17 points and five rebounds. … Lucas Siewert scored 14 points to go with four rebounds. … Namon Wright had 10 points and four rebounds. … Deleon Brown had 10 points and a pair of assists.
KEY STATISTICS: One game after shooting just 25.9 percent from the field and 16 percent from 3-point range, the Buffs hit 40 of their 74 field goal tries (54.1 percent), including 13-for-27 from 3-point range. CU also hit 19 of its 23 free throw attempts.
NOTEWORTHY: Colorado used its fifth different starting lineup in 11 games. … The Buffs are now 50-54 all-time in overtime games and 8-8 under Boyle. CU is also 11-9 in multi-overtime games, with Friday's the first since beating Washington State in two OTs in 2016. … It was the fifth-highest scoring OT game in CU history. … The 112 points is the most scored by a CU team under Boyle and the most since scoring 116 vs. Savannah State in 2006. … Colorado is 39-2 when scoring 100-plus points.
— George King (17 points, 11 rebounds) passed Wilky Gilmore and Jim Creighton on CU's all-time scoring list, and is now 30th with 1,041.
— Josh Repine started his first game as a Buff and is the first non-scholarship player to start for CU since Beau Webb vs. Wichita State in 2011.
— McKinley Wright IV (30 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds) has scored in double figures in all 11 games as a Buff. His 11 assists were a career high as were his 30 points, giving him his second double-double. He is the fourth freshman to score at least 30 points for the Buffs, joining Chauncey Billups (who did it four times: 33 vs. Colorado State, 31 vs. Northwestern State and 30 vs. Oklahoma State and Southern Utah in 1995-96), Emmett Lewis (31 vs. New Mexico in 1975) and Richard Roby (30 vs. Kansas State in 2004-05).
— Lucas Siewert (14 points, 4 rebounds) had his third double-digit scoring game of his career on 6-for-9 shooting, including some key buckets inside in the second half.
— Tyler Bey (12 points, 9 rebounds) had a career high in points and tied his career high in rebounds.
QUOTEWORTHY: "This was obviously a huge win for us. We needed that for our confidence. We had some guys really grow uptonight." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
"I just wanted to step up. It was a good opportunity to step up for my team and play defense." — CU'sTyler Bey
"It definitely gives us a lot of confidence. This was a big game. … The Pac-12 is right here so we have a lot of confidence on this team right now."— CU's Lucas Siewert
"We had our chance to win at the end of the first overtime. We were up four and going to the foul line. … You could kind of tell as it went to that second overtime, I think our guys were tired and ran out of gas a little bit." — SDSU coach T.J. Otzelberger
NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., next Friday (Dec. 22) to face Iowa in a 7 p.m. contest.
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