A new word may very well be necessary to describe the University of Colorado Buffaloes’ performance during the first 10 minutes of play against the Eastern Washington Eagles Thursday night at Coors Events Center.
It took nearly eight minutes for the Buffs to drain their first shot from the field. But the Eagles wasted no time scoring points. When CU freshman guard Deleon Brown nailed the shot, a three-pointer with 12:19 left in the first half, the score read 19-5 in favor of Eastern Washington.
But the Buffs (10-3) battled back in later in the first half, and in the final 20 minutes went on an absolute shot-making frenzy, eventually beating the Eagles 76-68. The Buffaloes were led in the first half by senior guard Derrick White, who scored eight. The rest of the team took a good while to wake up.
By halftime, CU had clawed its way back into the contest and trailed by three, with the Eagles maintaining a 35-32 edge on the scoreboard. Down 31-17 with 5:37 left, the Buffs allowed just four more points to Eastern Washington in the half, while adding 15 to their own cause and creating a manageable deficit heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
Just over two minutes into the second half, the Buffaloes tied the game 37-37. White nailed a jumper on an assist by senior guard Josh Fortune.
Colorado took its first lead of the game on its next offensive possession, going up 40-37 thanks to a beauty of a three-pointer that Fortune drained. The Buffs led for a total of just 10:46 in the game.
The Buffaloes and Eagles stayed pretty neck-and-neck throughout the next few minutes. After a fair of converted free throws made by senior guard-forward Xavier Johnson put the Buffs up 56-55, junior forward Tory Miller put the hammer down with a nasty dunk. He followed it up with a defensive rebound on the Eagles’ next possession and made a layup shortly after to put CU up 60-55.
From there, the Buffaloes began to build a cushion, taking control of the game. A three-point play from Johnson gave the Buffs a 67-58 lead with 5:03 left.
About a minute later, the Buffs took their biggest lead of the game, going up 70-58. But the Eagles did not go down quietly.
They fought and went on a 7-0 run with less than three minutes left in the game. Eastern Washington came within four, trailing 72-68 with 1:18 remaining, but was unable to walk away with a victory. A pair of free throws by White were the final points scored, and the Buffaloes headed to the locker room with another mark in the win column, albeit a rather ugly one.
Colorado, despite a slow first half, was bolstered by a solid second-half shooting display. The team went just 8-of-23 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, but bounced back and sank 15 of 28 — nearly 54 percent — of its shots in the final half.
Four Buffaloes scored in double digits. White led the team with 17 points. Senior forward Wesley Gordon was a key operative for CU, earning a double-double with his 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Fortune was 3-of-7 from long range and contributed 13 in the win, while Johnson, despite not playing much of the first half, dropped 10.
Colorado did surrender nine turnovers to the Eagles, who scored 13 off of the blunders. The Buffs were able to gain a slight edge in the rebounding department, snagging 38 to Eastern Washington’s 36.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the win was Colorado’s boost it received off the bench. The Buffs’ subs combined to score 20, doubling that of the Eagles’ reserves.
Up next for the Buffaloes are the Utah Utes, whom CU will play on the road on Jan. 1, kicking off Pac-12 Conference play. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Head Sports Editor Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @TheHungry_Hippo
