BOULDER— The Buffaloes set out tonight to get their first Pac-12 win against Oregon State. They were able to do that with the help of Geroge King who found his swagger once again. The Buffaloes would beat the Beavers 85-78. They now sit at 1-7 in the Pac-12 and will take on Oregon on Saturday night in Boulder.
1st Half Recap
Tonight against the Beavers, Coach Tad Boyle took a risk with the starting lineup. He started Thomas Akyazili, Deleon Brown, Tory Miller, Lucas Siewert and Bryce Peters. The starting five got out to a good start taking a 9-2 lead over Oregon State. Peters who got his first start of his career tonight had a great start, hitting the first shot of the game and following that up with a three-pointer, he was handling the ball well from the point and was making god decisions in his passing.
Another player that had an amazing first half was George King, fitting because tonight was George King night at the Coors Event Center. He led the team at halftime with 17 points, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. At one point the Buffs were down to the Beavers but thanks to King’s 10 straight points they were able to get the lead back.
Colorado who had been practicing zone defense extensively at practice didn't get off to the best start, Oregon State at one point during the first half had only missed one shot and they were shooting perfect from three-point range. The Buffs were able to figure out their zone defense and starting forcing the Beavers to take bad shots.
The first half ended with a great defensive possession from the Buffs, they had the lead at halftime, 41-40. They were 16-of-32 (50.0%) from the floor, 7-of-13 (53.8%) from three and 2-of-6 (33.3%) from the charity stripe.
2nd Half Recap
The Buffs started the second half strong with a three-pointer from Brown and then Peters continued to show why he deserves more playing time. He would drive hard to the basket twice and he would get fouled both times. Peters would end the night with a career-high 15 points in 23 minutes of play.
Colorado finally figured out their defense in the second half, they were playing aggressively, trapping and going for the ball. This would lead to several turnovers by Oregon State and several shot click violations giving the Buffs the ball back. The Beavers would have 14 turnovers to end the game, the Beavers usually average 15.9 turnovers per game.
With under eight minutes left in the game the Buffs would take a seven point lead and that lead would continue to grow throughout the second half after Peters hit back-to-back three-pointers. The Beavers would start to battle back with under five in the second half after getting to the free throw line nine times in the second half.
George King would lead the team at the end of the game with 24 points (8-of-15 53.3% from the floor, 4-of-8 50.0% from three). Colorado would finish the night shooting 50% from the floor and 54.4% from three-point range. They would have 31 rebounds, 12 offensive, and 19 defensive.
