Buffs win big in L.A.

The Buffs finally grabbed what seemed like an elusive Pac-12 road win.

The University of Colorado Buffaloes (14-6, 6-2) cruised to a 74-50 win over the USC Trojans (5-16, 0-8 Pac 12) at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday night. The Buffs are now in a four-way tie for first place in the Pac-12.

The Buffs shot 45.5 percent from the floor, going 5-of-17 on three-pointers and 19-of-26 from the foul line. The Trojans struggled on offense, shooting only 32.2 percent. They matched the Buffs with five three-pointers, but only made seven of 10 free-throw attempts.

Head Coach Tad Boyle signals for a play in the second half of the Jan. 19 game against Arizona State. Boyle's Buffs bested the USC Trojans 74-50 in Los Angeles on Thursday. (CU Independent File/Annie Rumbles)

“Before we came out on the floor, we talked about this being a taking care of business type of game,” head coach Tad Boyle said to the Sports Information Department. “Three things we talked about in practice this week were staying focused for 40 minutes, being mentally tough, and executing. I thought we did all three of those things tonight.”

The Buffs did all three of these things Thursday night with three Colorado players, senior guard Carlon Brown, sophomore forward Andre Roberson and freshman guard Askia Booker finishing the game with 13 points. Roberson also grabbed 10 rebounds and hit 3-of-4 free throws. Senior forward Austin Dufault had 11 points and six rebounds.

Sophomore guard Maurice Jones led the struggling Trojans with 13 points, going 4-of-15 from the floor, hitting 3-of-3 free throws.

The Buffs never trailed and used a 23-4 run through both halves to break the game open. The Buffs also came up big on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Trojans scoreless for almost six minutes in the second half.

The Buffs stay in the Los Angeles area for their next game. They will take on The UCLA Bruins at the L.A. Sports Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. MST.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mark McNeillie at [email protected]

All statistics courtesy of CUBuffs.com