The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team took down Wofford at Coors Events Center Sunday afternoon. The Buffs (5-1) had a sluggish first half but rebounded in the final 20 minutes thanks to a strong second half by senior guards George King and Xavier Johnson, who combined for 25 points to lift the Buffaloes over the Terriers, 75-60.
King scored all of his 10 points in the second half. Johnson added 15 in the final 20 minutes. He led the Buffs with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Johnson and senior forward Wesley Gordon got it started for the Buffs. The two scored the team’s first 12 points, with Gordon scoring the first points of the game for CU and Johnson nailing two three-pointers within 90 seconds of each other.
The Buffaloes led 12-7 about five minutes into the game. But Wofford kept things pretty close throughout the first 20 minutes. The Buffs’ 5-point lead would be their largest in the first half. The Terriers were led by Eric Garcia, who scored seven, and Fletcher Magee, who put up six and added four assists in the first half.
Both teams shot effectively in the first half. The Terriers made 50 percent of their shots from the floor while the Buffs converted nearly 48 percent of theirs.
With just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, sophomore guard Thomas Akyazili made a layup to put the Buffs up 16-15. Shortly after, senior guard Derrick White dunked the ball, making the score 18-15. Wofford and Colorado stayed pretty neck and neck throughout the next seven minutes.
With 4:48 remaining in the half, freshman guard Deleon Brown nailed a shot from downtown, giving CU a 26-23 lead. Gordon added two free throws in the ensuing 45 seconds to give Colorado a 5-point lead. The Terriers hung around though, and at halftime, the Buffaloes were up by just 1 point, 31-30.
About five minutes into the second half, the Buffs began to break things open. A layup by White made the score 39-36 and it sparked a 10-0 run by Colorado, courtesy of Johnson and King, with the latter sinking a shot from the three to give the Buffaloes their biggest lead of the day, at 44-36. White, one of four Buffs to score in double digits on Sunday, dropped 10 in the win.
The Buffs maintained a lead of at least six throughout the next four minutes, and went up 53-42 after freshman guard Bryce Peters made a layup with 8:53 left.
From there, the Buffaloes kept things under control, never allowing Wofford to creep within 8 points for the remainder of the game. A Johnson layup put CU up by 14, 69-55, with 2:38 left in the game.
Senior guard Josh Fortune, who scored 8 points in the game, made one from beyond the arch with 54 seconds left. Johnson made the final basket of the game making the score 75-60. Colorado allowed the Terriers just one shot in the final minute of play.
In the game, Colorado outmuscled Wofford near the rim, scoring 38 points in the paint compared to the Terriers’ 18. The Buffs also managed 17 points off turnover in the victory.
Colorado hosts Colorado State this Wednesday at the Coors Events Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo.
