Buffs defeat Pioneers sixth year in a row
The CU men’s basketball team defeated the Denver Pioneers 54-44 Tuesday. Even though CU held the lead throughout the entire game, the Pioneers still proved to be a challenging match up.
“They have many talented players. It was a difficult and challenging game for us,” head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “We struggled to score. We need to dig out every possession the best that we can.”
During the first half, the Buffs managed only six lay-ups and shot 40 percent from the field. Senior guards Richard Roby and Marcus Hall played well – Hall dropped 18 points, and Roby scored 15.
“We put a lot of pressure on them. I felt like we had more control,” Roby said.
The Buffaloes had a comfortable 25-17 lead at the end of the first half. CU went on to win the last three games where they had a lead at the end of the first half.
The history of this match up also gave CU some extra momentum. Colorado has won the past five games against DU while dominating the all time series 56-25. The Pioneers have also lost their last two games, yet the Buffs still considered this game to be a difficult one.
“They played the same style offense as us,” Roby said. “DU is underrated, they played really hard.”
Denver’s offense seemed to mimic CU’s throughout the game. Right after the Buffs called a play, DU automatically did the same to challenge them.
“We called a play, and they did right after. Good thing about our offense is that we have good counters,” Hall said.
The Buffaloes next game is against the Air Force Falcons. Bzdelik was previously the head coach at Air Force. Bzdelik said that Thursday’s game at Air Force is just like any other game.
It will definitely be a challenging game for CU. Last year when the Falcons came to Boulder, they dominated 84-46, and every Buff was held under 10 points. CU leads the series though 16-3, but they have not won against the Falcons since Dec. 6, 1975.
“Any instate match up will have a lot of intensity,” Hall said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Justin Sedgwick at justin.sedgwick@thecampuspress.com
