Convincing second half against Cal helps Buffs get back in the win column
BOULDER-Despite struggling to knock down shots in the first half, the Buffs finally found their rhythm Thursday night against a struggling California team.
After a disappointing road trip in Oregon, the Buffs needed this one. The 3-19 Cal Golden Bears put up a good fight throughout the first 20 minutes of play, but star junior Tristan da Silva put an end to that in the second half, leading the Buffs to a 59-46 victory.
Da Silva came out of the locker room hot to start the second frame, scoring Colorado’s first 10 points of the half. His leadership shined as the Buffs took their first lead of the game in the midst of a 13-0 run with 14 minutes left to play. They never looked back. Da Silva finished the game with 20 points, including three vital threes.
“Tristan is obviously very, very, important to us,” said head coach Tad Boyle. “We want him to be aggressive offensively, and he was in the second half, and it showed.”
Da Silva’s confidence coming out of the locker room changed the dynamic of the game. Throughout the first half, it certainly wasn’t smooth sailing as the Buffs shot just 8/24 from the field. Despite the rough start, stout defense kept the Buffs in the game.
“You shoot 25 percent and you’re down three at half, it means you’re doing something right,” coach Boyle said of his team’s defensive success. “You’re really battling and fighting and scratching and clawing. We did a good job of that.”
Hounding the Cal guards and making everything tough, CU forced 22 turnovers in the game. They capitalized on them as well, scoring 23 points off those turnovers.
The Golden Bears finished the game shooting just 37.2 percent from the field. The Buffs were able to keep Cal from scoring for nearly five minutes on two separate occasions in just the second half.
“We just kept battling on defense and that’s the reason we were able to pull it out,” junior forward Luke O’Brien said.
O’Brien played a crucial role in the Buffs win. A game high seven rebounds helped CU win the battle on the glass. He tallied nine points, to go along with a steal and a monster block to keep the game tied at 34.
KJ Simpson played a staggering 35 minutes in the game. The Buffs needed every second.
“I thought he played a very good floor game,” Coach Boyle said of Simpson. Although he didn’t light up the box score with his 10 points, he had three steals and the Buffs were a plus-14 when he was on the floor, the best mark on the team.
Junior guard J’Vonne Hadley left the game early with an apparent injury to the left hand/wrist area. Coach Boyle informed the media that he’d give an update on Hadley on Friday.
Redshirt freshman Javon Ruffin was back in the lineup Thursday after missing the last four games with a knee injury that he suffered in practice. You can expect to see Boyle ease him back into things, as he only played nine minutes against Cal.
It was a well rounded win for the Buffs, who were once again boosted by a rowdy student section. Buff Nation can sleep well as Colorado handled their business. They will prepare to take on 10-12 Stanford Sunday.
