As part of the Chicago Legends college basketball tournament, Colorado took on No. 13 Dayton in a neutral court game at the United Center and prevailed in OT, taking down the Flyers 78-76 thanks to a decisive three-pointer made by junior guard D'Shawn Schwartz as time expired.
The Buffaloes, fresh off a less-than-pretty 83-64 win over Prairie View A&M in Boulder this past Thursday, rematched with Dayton in a long-awaited sequel to the two teams' NIT battle back on March 20, which CU won, 78-73.
The Flyers at No. 13 entered Saturday's game with their highest AP Top 25 ranking since 1967. Dayton started the game hot, taking a 19-5 lead with just over 14 minutes to play in the first half as very quickly the Buffaloes appeared to be in a debilitating hole against a potent foe.
The Buffs had to deal with a hot Flyers offense all night, as Dayton made a clean 50% of its shots (32-of-64). But in the end, a season-high 29 points from junior guard McKinley Wright IV and an additional 20 from Schwartz, including his buzzer beating three in OT, powered the Buffaloes to victory Saturday in Chicago.
"These guys gutted it up when they had to gut up in overtime," head coach Tad Boyle said after the win. "...(Dayton) made their run at the beginning...they made eight or nine of their first 10 shots. (But) that just shows you what we're made of. We don't fold. We kept fighting."
Colorado itself managed just a 39.7% conversion rate form the floor, but the Buffaloes out-rebounded Dayton 42-32, limited turnovers to just 10 (the least amount in that department since Nov. 18 against UC Irvine) and got key and consistent offensive contributions from the main cast of Wright IV, Schwartz, sophomore forward Evan Battey and junior guard Tyler Bey.
Battey scored nine and led all game participants with 12 rebounds, while Bey added 12 points and had just one turnover. Bey indeed played a critical role on Cu's final offensive possession of the game.
With less than 10 seconds on the clock and the Buffs down 75-74, Bey was fed the ball by Wright IV and began to move towards the rim with his back to the net. Double teamed immediately, and with precious time running short, Bey launched a pass to Schwartz who was wide open and waiting from beyond the three-point line.
As the buzzer sounded and the as clock read all zeroes, Schwartz's shot was good and the Buffaloes (9-2) emerged victorious.
"It's just a matter of making plays when they had to be made," Boyle said. "That's what our players did tonight and that's what great players do."
After climbing out of that 19-5 hole early into the game, the Buffs found themselves down 36-32 at the halfway point. Colorado eventually tied the game at 40-all with about 15 minutes left in the second half on a layup via Wright IV.
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Wright IV, who was for a time committed to Dayton coming out of high school, was booed loudly and often throughout the game by the Flyers faithful. He responded by leading all scorers with his 29 points.
"I've been booed before in high school but obviously it wasn't the same as this," he said. "This was way louder, way crazier. I told (the fans) to keep booing. I wanted them to keep booing — it gave me a little extra juice. I fed off that."
Wright IV ended the night having gone 10-of-22 from the floor.
The Buffaloes certainly were expecting a dominant performance by the Flyers' Obi Toppin. The 6-foot-9 forward dropped 21 in Boulder during the two teams' last meeting and on Saturday, he scored 17.
Toppin sent the game to OT by drilling a game-tying three-pointer with six seconds left in regulation.
"(Dayton) likes to play through him," Boyle said of Toppin. "He slips through screens and he likes to shoot threes. I thought Evan (Battey) and Tyler (Bey) were terrific on him."
Ultimately, the Buffaloes kept Toppin in check enough for his contributions to not cause fatal damage.
For the final four-ish minutes of regulation, Colorado failed to make a single shot from the floor, giving Dayton just enough opportunity to crawl back into the game, highlighted by Toppin's game-tying bucket with less than 10 seconds left.
As the game entered OT, the Flyers took a 74-71 lead with 1:44 to go, but a pair of made FTs from Bey with 1:19 lessened the Buffs' deficit, although they still trailed, 74-73.
In the end, it was Schwartz who would score CU's final five points in OT, as he made a layup, putting Colorado up 75-74, with 27 seconds to play and after Dayton answered with a basket of its own, drilled the game-winning three as time expired.
"Dayton's a good basketball team," Boyle said. We beat a really good team tonight, a well-coached team. These guys are legit. But you know, I think we are, too. I think we showed it tonight for really the first time all year."
Up next for the Buffaloes is a Dec. 29 home game vs Iona. Tipoff from the CU Events Center is at 12 p.m. MST.
