Buffaloes fall to the Trojans in a disappointing 84-65 loss

BOULDER – Colorado dropped their 14th game of the season in a 19-point home loss to the USC Trojans thanks to a 21-point all-around performance by senior guard Boogie Ellis on Thursday night.

In a blowout loss to the Trojans, the Buffaloes simply did not shoot the ball well despite generating decent looks on offense. On the other side of the floor, Ellis and the Trojans scored the ball at will against the Buffs’ defense–shooting 8/19 from three while also getting to the rim with ease.

“They came in here and kicked our ass in every way,” Buffs head coach Tad Boyle said after the game.

Despite showing flashes of a potential comeback, USC’s offense was just too much to handle for the short-handed Buffs.

After starting off the first half strong with a Nique Clifford floater and a KJ Simpson three-pointer, Colorado appeared to be in control of the game. Lawson Lovering joined the scoring mix with a second-chance dunk, getting the crowd going. The Buffaloes quickly built an early 9-5 lead.

With a fluid offense and aggressive defense, the Buffaloes were in a good position until the Trojans started to get going. After a few easy baskets, USC’s leading scorer on the season, Boogie Ellis, scored his first points of the game–sparking a 13-2 scoring run for the Trojans with 13:51 left to go in the first half.

After taking their first lead of the game amidst the scoring run, the Trojans went up 25-16 over the Buffaloes. During the run, the Trojans scored on five straight possessions while the Buffs struggled on the other end. 

Colorado stopped the bleeding with a Lovering post move, but the damage had already been done. The Trojans attacked the smaller Simpson, eventually extending the 11-point lead to 15. 

While Ellis and the Trojans continued to pour it on, Tristan da Silva and the Buffs’ shooting woes continued. The Buffs’ leading scorer on the season only scored two points in the first half, shooting 1/5 from the field.

Colorado missed a layup on a good take to the rim at the end of the half, summarizing their first-half inability to capitalize on open looks.

The Trojans led the Buffs 43-30 going into the break.

The bench was the difference maker in the first half, with the Trojans’ scoring run occurring the second that Colorado’s bench players checked into the game. For the opposing squad, USC’s Reese Dixon-Waters led the Trojans’ bench with eight points, three boards, and two assists. 

The Trojans’ bench outscored the Buffs’ bench by seven points in the first 20 minutes of play. 

After a tough first half, resulting in a 13-point deficit for the Buffs, they came out of halftime seeking a comeback. After forcing a turnover, Simpson ran the break, finishing a layup with a fancy behind-the-back move to create space, getting the crowd going.

However, Ellis had other plans, answering with an isolation three.

“Ellis is a terrific player, he wasn’t going to let them lose tonight,” Boyle said. “He made every big play… He had an answer for everything and we had no answer for him.”

As the shooting continued to struggle, Colorado still played hard, leading to some defensive stops. With 14:59 left in the half, Colorado’s bench flipped the switch with Quincy Allen hitting his second three of the night in his first game playing significant minutes this season. 

The Buffs ran with Allen’s three, cutting the lead to 10 with 13:17 left in the half after back-to-back threes from Ethan Wright. 

After a Trojans timeout, the Colorado faithful was louder than ever.

Fueled by the crowd, the Buffaloes blocked a shot, leading to a long pass to the streaking Simpson who got behind the Trojans’ defense. With the pass being a little overthrown, Simpson snagged the pass with one hand, throwing it back to Lovering for a two-handed slam.

With the CU Events Center shaking and the deficit cut to eight, Colorado was right within striking distance, ready to pounce at any minute.

Unfortunately for the Buffs, the Trojans stayed composed, not letting Colorado get any closer for the rest of the night–a common theme of the game and, ultimately, the season.

“The one thing we know about the 2022-2023 Colorado basketball team through 29 games is that we are not a consistent group,” Boyle said. “The two USC games are the epitome of that.”

While the crowd was hopeful for a comeback win after the huge sequence, the Trojans did what they did all night, responding to the huge run with 12 unanswered points. After going up nearly 20 points, the Trojans maintained their lead for the remaining 10 minutes of the game.

Led by Deion Sanders, Colorado fans started to head for the exits once the game appeared to be out of reach.

With guards Javon Ruffin and Jalen Gabbidon not suiting up tonight, along with J’Vonne Hadley being done for the season, the Buffs had a hard time going to the bench despite the brief second-half run sparked by Allen and Wright. Along with Colorado’s already short bench, Lovering and Luke O’Brien found themselves in foul trouble during the late run–leaving Tad Boyle with no answers for the scorching Trojans. 

“Jalen is a big energy guy for us, even J’Vonne Hadley being out–he’s a big energy guy,” Simpson said. “Ruff was playing great and not having him out there hurt us.”

Still, Simpson commented that the Buffs can’t use those absences as excuses for their lack of energy.

“Obviously we would love to have those guys, we miss them. But we just have to step up and be better,” he said.

Ultimately, the short-handed Buffs could not keep up with the Trojans, appearing tired as their offense stalled for multiple possessions at a time throughout the game.

On the bright side, Quincy Allen stepped up in his first real game action of the season, scoring seven points while also swatting four shots.

“When coach calls my number, just stay ready,” Allen said. 

KJ Simpson led Colorado with 18 points on the night while Boogie Ellis’ 21 points headlined the USC squad. Reese Dixon-Waters finished with 15 points off the bench along with five rebounds. Tristan da Silva finished with six points, shooting 2/9 in his second-worst shooting performance of the season.

The Buffs look to bounce back in a huge home game against the No. 4 UCLA Bruins this Sunday. Colorado hopes to get revenge after giving up a double-digit lead late in the second half in a heartbreaking loss to the Bruins earlier in the season. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday.