Buffaloes Shock No.13 Xavier In Thrilling Fashion

BOULDER-- Rewind three years ago to the day and you'll get the last chance three-pointer from Askia Booker to beat No. 6 Kansas. Tonight there wasn't that nail-biting moment but towards the end of the game No. 13 Xavier gave the Buffs a run for the money.

In the end, the Buffs were able to stun everyone and hand a 68-66 loss to the Musketeers.

"It shows that if we execute our game plan and we stick to Colorado basketball we can compete with anybody, we just have to keep improving and focusing on that," Derrick Whtie on what they learned about their team after tonight's win.

"I think we learned we can compete at a high level which we already knew but it's better going out and doing it rather than talking about it so that gives us a little more confidence within ourselves, it helps us going forward for sure," Geroge King after the game.

In a night where snow fell outside, inside the Coors Event Center, it was raining threes for Colorado men’s basketball. The Buffs finished the night 9-of-20. White, Xavier Johnson and King split the nine evenly with three each.

"It was great, it feels good, that's why we shoot every day, that's why we stay faithful, committed to shooting drills and stuff like that because if you continue to do that the slump won't last," King on finally knocking down three-pointers tonight.

White dropped a solid 23 points tonight something Buff fans have been waiting to see ever since his redshirt year ended after last season.

"You have to have that, at the highest level of college basketball you can have all the plays in the world, you can have all the defensive concepts in the world but if you don't have players that can make plays down the stretch, you're not going to win games like this and tonight we did, we made the plays," Tad Boyle on having players that can finish in clutch times.

The Buffs got off to a fast start, arguably playing their best basketball yet but after falling asleep toward the end of the first half they came out hot in the second half, retaking the lead 11 minutes into the game and from there on they didn't let off the gas pedal going on a 15-0 run.

"All about stops, that's the most important part, we're focusing on trying to get three in a row so we did that and then offensively moving the ball and find the best shot," White on the key to going on their 15-0 run.

"We were able to execute offensively and make some plays on the offensive end which obviously makes things a lot easier on your defense, in the past we've been missing those opportunities on offense and then not be able to get stops but for us to be as good as we need to get we need to be able to get stops down the stretch," Boyle after the game.

The Buffs shot 34% percent to end the first half, they quickly changed that in the second half, ending the night with at 55% from the field.

One thing Boyle wanted his team to focus on tonight was rebounding, he knew that if Xavier outrebounded them they would be in major trouble, although the Musketeers outrebounded the Buffs 41-to-36 it was only by five and those five came on the offensive glass.

"I thought they offensive rebounded the ball better than we offensive rebounded ball and that's where we have to get better but again that's what Xavier does, that's what we do, they beat us in that category, I thought we got stops when we had to get stops," Boyle on his team

Johnson finished the night with 18 points and proved his leadership on and off the court, something that doesn't go unnoticed in Boyle's mind.

"He made some big shots for us tonight, he is the emotional leader on our team, he's playing unselfishly, I can't stay enough good things about what he is doing ," Boyle on Johnson. "I think he is playing emotionally under control which is a great stride for him that's something he has struggled with in the past.

The Buffs will end a tough non-conference stretch on Saturday at BYU, they will have another tough test against the Cougars and their rowdy home crowd.