The Town Crier

[PointGuard 70]

2026-2027 Roster for Colorado Buffaloes:

(*--Starter at beginning of season; #--Walk-on)

PG—Justin Wilson, 6-5, SO*
PG—Matt Conley, 6-2, SR
PG/SG—John Phelan, 6-3, FR
SG—Camah Griffin, 6-0, SR*
SG—Steve Jackson, 6-1, SR
SF/SG—Kenton Dunn, 6-6, JR*
SF—Rick Coffey, 6-7, JR
PF/SF—Charles Maors, 6-8, SR*
PF—Primoz Pohek, 6-7, SR
PF—Brian Ross, 6-7, FR
C—Ike Minahan, 6-8, FR*
C/PF—Derricus Ivener, 6-8, FR
C—Brian Walker, 6-10, FR#
C—Billy Horton, 6-10, SO#

Redshirt—Mel Dye, 6-7 FR (Mel will benefit from some maturing and development. But he’s got such a great personality and is such a cohesive factor for the team, that I’ll be glad to have him practicing with us this season and playing for us an additional 4 years. I expect him to be a team leader next season.)

We have great depth and experience at the 3 perimeter positions. On the interior, even with all the freshmen players, I think we’ll be OK, particularly as they become familiar with our sets/strategies and playing at the Division I level.

There are some tough calls for starters, since several of the positions have players with nearly equal talent. Wilson and Conley are pretty equal overall at PG, as are Griffin and Jackson at SG and Dunn and Coffey at SF. So we’re likely to do some experimentation in pre-conference play.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #1: Butler Bulldogs (0-0) @ Colorado Buffaloes (0-0)

We had trouble getting the ball in the hoop early in the 1st half and fell behind 18-12 with 11 minutes left in the half. We then began hitting our shots (including knocking down 7 of our last 10 three pointers) and gradually pulled away to lead 44-34 at the end of the half. Our only negative was that we made 10 turnovers in the half. SG Camah Griffin led our scoring with 9 points.

In the 2nd half we continued to expand our lead and knocked off Butler 83-64. We hit 52% of our FG attempts, 83% of our FT attempts, and 50% of our 3’s. Defensively we held the Bulldogs shooting to 38%.

Leading our scoring was C Ike Minahan with 13 points. PF Charles Maors and SG Camah Griffin both scored 12 and PG Justin Wilson had 10 points. Freshman PG John Phelan came in for the final 7 minutes and scored 7 points.

We played very well the last 30 minutes of the game and we were able to play our entire bench, so it was a nice way to begin the season.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #2: Kansas State Wildcats (0-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (1-0)

SF Kenton Dunn was hot early, hitting all 4 shots he took and scoring 10 points in the first 6 minutes to help us open a 19-13 lead. With our offense clicking, we surged to a 37-24 lead with 5:49 left to go in the half. SG Steve Jackson caught fire as we streaked to a 53-32 advantage with 2 minutes remaining. Kansas State hit two late 3’s to make the halftime score 53-38 in our favor. We hit 53% of our FG attempts and 70% of our 3P attempts. We also had just one turnover while forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over 10 times. SF Kenton Dunn scored 18 points and SG Steve Jackson hit for 16 points.

We held onto a large lead throughout the 2nd half and finished with an 88-70 beatdown of Kansas State.

SG Steve Jackson led our scoring with 20 points with SF Kenton Dunn dropping in 18 points, SG Camah Griffin hitting for 12 (and adding 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and a block), and PF Charles Maors adding 10 points.

Charles Maors bruised his hip and is likely to miss our next game.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #3: Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) @ Seton Hall Pirates (0-1)

The Pirates made it to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tourney last season.

After trailing 5-2, we hit a FG and then Ike Minahan knocked down 2 straight 3’s to put us on top 10-5. We then hit two more 3’s plus two FG’s to spurt ahead 20-9 after 7 minutes of play. Seton Hall woke up and began hitting shots to close within 4 points a few times before the half ended with us on top 36-29. We hit 7 of 12 from beyond the arc with our center Ike Minahan sinking all four 3-pointers he attempted. Minahan finished the half with 17 points.

We held onto a solid lead until midway through the 2nd half when Seton Hall crept to within a single point at 53-52. Then with just over 5 minutes left in the game, the Pirates went ahead 60-59. They then drilled 2 consecutive 3’s to expand their lead to 66-61. We made a game effort down the stretch but the Pirates sunk their shots when needed to beat us 73-69. The team stats were as close as the game.

C Ike Minahan had a phenomenal game, scoring 25 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. SG Camah Griffin also came up big with 18 points. But Seton Hall’s SF Oti Jenkins hit 10 of 13 shots (including 8 of 9 from 3 point range) to score 28 points and sink our chances.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #4: Air Force Falcons (2-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (2-1)

The Air Force Academy is only about 1-1/2 hours by bus from our home court so there were plenty of their fans here for the game.

PG Justin Wilson got called for 2 personal fouls in the firs 1-1/2 minutes. We shot particularly well early in the game and led 22-12 with 11 minutes to play in the first half. Our defense then tightened which helped us to open a commanding 42-18 halftime advantage. We held the Falcons’ shooting to just 20%. C Ike Minahan and SF Kenton Dunn both scored 10 points with Dunn also pulling down 7 rebounds.

While our shooting deteriorated in the 2nd half, we continued to hold a big lead. Air Force’s head coach, Tobe Lopez, was tagged for his 2nd technical early in the 2nd half so he was ejected from the game. Our entire bench got a lot of playing time. We gave up some easy late buckets but still won decisively 73-56.

C Ike Minahan got into foul trouble so only played 19 minutes but was our leading scorer with 16 points. PF Charles Maors hit for 11 points and SF Kenton Dunn had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Arizona has surprisingly started the season with 3 straight losses…to Bucknell, Georgia and South Carolina. None of those teams are ranked in the polls.

[Hey! If you don't like that I used "are" with "none", you're right that usually none is used with a singular verb...but I looked it up and when used with a plural ("those teams"), you use "are".  ]

[PointGuard 70]

Game #5: Iowa State Cyclones (2-2) @ Colorado Buffaloes (3-1)

We took a 9-2 lead early in the game, but then had our lead narrowed by the Cyclones. After not scoring when he started the game, SG Camah Griffin returned to the court midway through the first half and scored 7 straight points while we held Iowa State scoreless so that we opened a 22-11 lead with 6 minutes to go until the break. The half ended with us on top 35-25. We held Iowa State’s shooting to 36% and had an 11-2 turnover advantage. Leading our scoring were SG Camah Griffin and SF Kenton Dunn who both scored 7 points.

Iowa State kept close to us early in the 2nd half, but completely fell apart in the final 10 minutes as we steadily pulled away for a 77-45 thrashing of the Cyclones. We outshot Iowa State 46% to 34% and forced the Cyclones to commit 25 turnovers while we turned the ball over just 7 times. We played our entire bench.

SF Rick Coffey, PG Justin Wilson, and SF Kenton Dunn each scored 14 points. Those 3 players hit 7 of 9 three-point attempts.

Compared to last season when the Pac-12 had 3 teams ranked in the top 5 and 5-7 teams in the top 25, this season only 3 teams are ranked in the top 25: UCLA at #3, Oregon at #10, and Washington at #21.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #6: Purdue Boilermakers (3-3) @ Colorado Buffaloes (4-1)

Both teams have hosted Kansas State thus far this season. The Boilermakers beat the Wildcats by 3 points whereas we beat Kansas State by 18 points. Purdue’s starting guards (Rusty Gilbert and Nathan Lutz) have combined to average 26.4 ppg and their two interior starters (Brett Masiello and Jon Croom) have combined to score 18.2 ppg.

It took 3-1/4 minutes before either team scored. Kenton Dunn finally broke the scoring drought when he hit a 12 foot jumper from the side of the key. We led 6-0 when Purdue finally broke into the scoring column with 13:51 remaining in the first half. We led 22-12 but then the Boilermakers went on an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game. We closed out the scoring in the remainder of the half to sport a 28-23 halftime advantage. We hit 26% of our shots and Purdue his 27% of theirs, but we held an 8-1 turnover advantage. PG Justin Wilson scored 6 points to lead our scoring.

C Ike Minahan scored 11 of our first 13 points in the 2nd half to help us to a 41-31 lead with 14 minutes to play, but he was playing with 3 fouls. But even though we rested him at that point his hot streak got our other players to finally start hitting their shots. With 7-1/2 minutes remaining we had jumped out to a 62-40 lead and our shooting percentage had blossomed to 44% for the game. Our hot streak continued til the end of the game as we won going-away 84-50. We improved our shooting to 49% while holding Purdue’s shooting to 25%.

C Ike Minahan finished the game with 24 points and 8 rebounds. SF Rick Coffey chipped in 15 points and PG Justin Wilson added 10. Even though he didn’t score, SG Camah Griffin dished out 7 assists.

For the 2nd straight game we didn’t allow an opposing player to score in double figures.

A fourth Pac-12 team edged into the top 25 in the polls…Stanford is not #22. We’re still on the outside looking in.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #7: #15 Pittsburgh Panthers (6-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (5-1)

Pittsburgh has beaten #22 Oklahoma State but lost to #21 Washington. They have 4 players averaging in double figures.

We came out strongly and played with confidence but Pittsburgh kept up with us. We held a small lead early but midway through the half the lead was repeatedly exchanged and with 10 minutes left the game was tied at 20-20. We regained the lead but then the Panthers overtook us in the waning moments of the first half. We trailed 46-43 at the break. PG Justin Wilson scored 9 points, but Pittsburgh’s PF Luis Clark hit for 12 and their SF Jamel Monson scored 11.

Our defense improved in the 2nd half and we led 58-54 with 12 minutes left in the game. Pittsburgh then scored 10 unanswered points to put us behind by 6. The Panthers maintained the momentum to down us 77-70. The team stats were pretty equal except for Pittsburgh going to the line 13 more times and scoring 13 more points on free throws than did we.

PG Justin Wilson scored 13 and SG Camah Griffin and C Ike Minahan both scored 11. Pittsburgh was led by PF Luis Clark’s 23 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks.

Playing a strong team like Pittsburgh shows we still have a lot of work to do before Pac-12 play begins.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #8: Colorado Buffaloes (5-2) @ Duke Blue Demons (4-5)

Duke has been on probation and has 2 more years with no scholarships or post-season play. They therefore have a number of walk-on players since they’ve been unable to recruit. While this accounts for their substandard record, they have a very talented senior in SF Shawn Walton who is averaging 18.1 ppg this season. But even without being able to recruit, the Duke reputation has brought them some very good walk-ons. So they have enough other talented players that they can’t be taken lightly, especially on their home court.

We played lackadaisically throughout the entire first half. Duke led all the way and we never made a significant run. The half ended with us trailing 30-21 after hitting just 32% of our shots and 10% of our 3’s, and never getting to the foul line. SF Kenton Dunn had 6 points. It was hard to tell if I was able to rouse the players in the locker room during the intermission.

Missed opportunities and mistakes continued in the 2nd half. Even though Duke coughed up the ball frequently, we couldn’t capitalize. But as the game dwindled down toward the end, we finally were able to get within 3 points with 2-1/2 minutes to play. PG Justin Wilson was fouled with 2:12 on the clock and made both ends of a 1-and-1 to get us within a single point at 46-45. On the following possession, Duke’s SG Stevie Ward drove toward the basket, pulled up and fired in a 10 foot jumper making it 48-45. SF Kenton Dunn was fouled and he dropped in both shots to cut the difference to a point with 1:45 to go. Duke missed two shots on their next possession but we were called for travelling with 1:02 remaining. Stevie Ward hit a baseline jumper to put the Blue Devils ahead 50-47 with 45 seconds on the clock. Kenton Dunn 15 footer rattled in with 33 seconds left to make it 50-49. We waited until the ball went to Duke’s C Shea Evans and fouled intentionally. Even though Evans is their worst foul shooter, he foiled our effort by sinking both free throws and we trailed 52-49 with 18 seconds still to play. We brought the ball up court quickly and called our last time out to set up a 3 point attempt. Matt Conley’s shot rimmed out but Ike Minahan tipped in the rebound with 8 seconds to go. We tried to foul but time ran out and we went down to a 52-51 defeat. Both teams shot poorly, 33% for us and 31% for Duke, but we hit just 1 of 14 from 3-point distance. It was a disappointing loss. With any spark of life we could have won this game. But kudos to Duke: they did what they needed to pull off a win.

SF Kenton Dunn with 16 points was our only player to score in double figures.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #9: #7 seed Pennsylvania Quakers (5-6) vs #2 seed Colorado Buffaloes (5-3) [Hoops for Troops Tournament]

I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed that the lead shifted back and forth throughout the entire game against Pennsylvania. Finally we hit a shot with 15 seconds left that put us up 67-65. But the Quakers were about to bring the ball up court. Would they hit a 3 that would again cause us to lose by a single point? But before the 15 seconds ensued, I awoke. Was the dream a foretelling of what was to come?

After how we’d played our last game with a lack of energy, I shuffled the lineup for this game, starting Steve Jackson in place of Camah Griffin at SG, moving Kenton Dunn to PF in place of Charles Maors, and inserting Rick Coffey into the starting lineup at SF.

We opened a 9-3 lead but then Pennsylvania came back to tie us. After a few more ties, we finally were able to begin building a lead which grew to 47-37 at the end of the first half. SF Rick Coffey led our scoring with 13 points.

We gradually expanded our lead to as much as 24 points in the 2nd half. The Quakers narrowed the gap late in the game but we won handily 99-83 by hitting 54% of our shots and holding a 14-7 turnover advantage. Reality topped my dream.

SF Rick Coffey came up big with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. PF/SF Kenton Dunn hit for 20 points, SG Steve Jackson popped in 15, and PG Justin Wilson added 12. Pennsylvania’s SG Dave Worrell topped their scoring with 19 points.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #10: #3 seed Clemson Tigers vs #2 seed Colorado Buffaloes (6-3) [Hoops for Troops Tournament]

Clemson employs a 1-3-1 zone defense. They beat Iowa State by 20 while we topped the Cyclones by 32. The Tigers whipped Northwestern by a score of 70-63 in the first round of the Hoops for Troops tournament.

The first half had 8 lead changes and 3 ties but we came out of it with a slim 36-34 lead. SG Steve Jackson scored 9 points while Clemson’s PG Chris Jarvis dropped in 14.

We came out of the gate quickly in the 2nd half to open a 10 point lead after 4 minutes of play. Clemson made a run to cut our lead to 3 midway through the half, but we then gradually pulled away to knock off the Tigers 71-58 and move on to the championship game.

PF/SF Kenton Dunn and SG Steve Jackson shared scoring honors for us with 13 points apiece. PG Chris Jarvis finished the game with 20 points for Clemson.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #11: #2 seed Colorado Buffaloes (7-3) vs #1 seed, #18 ranked Georgia Bulldogs (10-0) [Hoops for Troops Tournament Championship Game]

The Bulldogs, Kentucky and Southern Illinois are the only three remaining unbeaten teams. Georgia has allowed just 56.1 ppg by their opponents, which is 2nd best in the nation. While they’re ranked 18th in the Media Poll, they are ranked 14th in the Coaches Poll. They beat Southern Methodist 72-52 and DePaul 79-70 in the Hoops for Troops tournament to get into this championship game. Their 2 starting guards are both scoring in double figures, but their top offensive producer is SF Orlando Taflinger who is averaging 15.4 ppg. He is also their top rebounder with 6.9 rpg. Obviously we’ll need to play very well to beat the Bulldogs.

The first half was a barn burner. Defense predominated and there were numerous lead changes. We fell behind 20-15 but then scored the final 18 points of the half while harassing the Bulldogs’ ball handlers and passers so that they made 7 turnovers in a span of 6 minutes. That run gave us a 33-20 lead at the break. PF/SF Kenton Dunn scored 9 points to lead us offensively. Georgia only hit 25% of their shots and made 11 turnovers. Rick Coffey and Kenton Dunn held Orlando Taflinger scoreless.

I told the team during the intermission that the Bulldogs would not remain shell-shocked and to expect them to come out in the 2nd half with a vengeance.

Georgia’s Orlando Taflinger came out firing and connecting, but we maintained a double digit lead as we got scoring from throughout our lineup. Our defense solidified again after the first 5 minutes of the half making it possible to increase our lead to 20 with 8-1/2 minutes remaining. Georgia tried to make a couple runs but we cut them off each time and came away with a surprisingly lopsided 69-53 victory and a tournament championship!

Our defense was the difference in this game. Georgia hit just 30% of their shots and made 20 turnovers. We maintained a controlled offense throughout the game, hitting 44% of our shots and only turning the ball over 12 times and scoring 22 points in the paint to just 6 for the Bulldogs.

PF/SF Kenton Dunn scored 15, SG Steve Jackson tossed in 14 points, and C Ike Minahan added 10.

Hey! Finally something new for out trophy cabinet!

[PointGuard 70]

COLORADO BUFFALOES PLAYER STATISTICS (at completion of pre-conference play):



PLAYER EVALUATION:

Point Guards:

Justin Wilson (SO) started 10 of our 11 games. He’s averaging 8.3 ppg and 2.9 apg. He’s hitting 58% of this 2 point shots and just under 30% of this 3 point attempts. He’s got a 2.3 A/TO ratio. He’s been strong defensively. Overall he’s been a solid performer.

Matt Conley (SR) started 1 game. He’s averaging 4.6 ppg and 2.6 apg. He has knocked down 62% of his 2 point attempts but just 18% of this 3’s. He’s good at dishing out assists and has very few turnovers. His 4.1 A/TO ratio is excellent. He good at running down defensive rebounds. He’s been a very strong defender.

John Phelan (FR) has subbed into 7 games averaging 4.6 mpg. He’s averaging 2.7 ppg and 0.4 apg. He’s hit 60% of this 2’s and 33% of his 3’s. He’s still gaining experience so he’s not yet dishing out enough assists and has made too many turnovers. His A/TO ration is 0.6. But his scoring proficiency means we may play him both at PG and SG so he can get more floor time and experience.

Shooting Guards:

Camah Griffin (SR) has started 9 games. He’s averaging 7.5 ppg, 2.6 apg, and 2.7 rpg. He’s hitting 57% of his 2’s and 41% of his 3’s. He’s played mostly at SG but also has some time playing PG. He’s been very good at dishing out assists but also makes a fair number of turnovers so his A/TO ratio is 1.9. He’s been good defensively.

Steve Jackson (SR) has started 2 games. He’s averaging 9.0 ppg, 1.7 apg, and 2.5 rpg. His shooting has not yet been as good as last season since he’s hit just 40% of his 2PA and 33% of his 3PA, but he’s a shooter and is likely to improve as the season progresses. His free throw shooting has been very good (82%) and he has only made 0.5 topg so he has a good 3.2 A/TO ratio. I think he’s a better defender than he’s shown thus far this season.

Small Forwards:

Kenton Dunn (JR) has started all 11 games, 9 at SF and 2 at PF. He also has played SG in most of the games. He is averaging 10.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, and 5.1 rpg. He’s hitting 65% of his 3 pointers but just 34% of his 2PA and 67% of his free throws. His A/TO ratio is 1.5. He’s done a good job defensively.

Rickey Coffey (JR) has started 2 games. He’s averaging 8.9 ppg, 1.1 apg, and 4.3 rpg. He’s hit 50% of his 2PA, 57% of his 3PA and 80% of his FTA. His been one of our better rebounders. He has a 1.7 A/TO ratio. He’s been strong defensively. He playing time is likely to increase.

Power Forwards:

Charles Maors (SR) has started 9 games. He is averaging 6.7 ppg, 1.3 apg, and 3.8 rpg. He’s hit 49% of his 2 pointers and 38% of his 3 pointers but just 65% of his free throws. While he’s a natural SF, he continues to play well at PF and be a solid rebounder but his scoring is a little off from last season. His A/TO ratio is 1.4. He’s a good defender.

Primoz Pohek (SR) has come off the bench to play both PF and C this season. He’s averaging 2.9 ppg, 1.1 apg, and 3.2 rpg. He’s hitting 46% of his FGA and 1.000 of his few 3PA. He’s not shot a lot so he’s not been a strong scorer thus far but has been a very good rebounder. His A/TO ratio is good at 2.4. He’s done a good job defensively.

Brian Ross (FR) has played in 8 games averaging 5.6 mpg. He is averaging 1.5 ppg, 0.9 apg, and 0.9 rpg. He has a 7.0 A/TO ratio. He’s hit 25% of his 2’s and 1.000 of his few 3’s. He remains a work in progress but has shown a lot of potential.

Mel Dye (FR)—redshirt this season but is doing a good job of learning our sets in practices.

Centers:

Ike Minahan (FR) has started 11 games. He came to us as a PF, but we’ve played him mostly at C. He’s averaging 12.8 ppg, 1.7 apg, and 6.4 rpg. He’s hitting 54% of his 2’s and 54% of his 3’s. His excellent 3 point shooting has been a pleasant surprise. His rebounding has been our top rebounder. He has a 1.4 A/TO ratio. He’s been very good defensively.

Derricus Ivener (FR) has played mostly at C but also some at PF. He’s averaging 3.7 ppg, 0.6 apg, and 1.9 rpg. He’s hit 46% of his 2PA and 30% of his 3PA. His A/TO ratio is 0.9. He’s done a good job defensively. He’s still learning but making good progress.

Brian Walker (FR) and Billy Horton (SO)—both are walkons and have just got into one game each playing only a minute each.

All players have GPA’s over 3.0 with 2 players (Camah Griffin and Primoz Pohek) having 4.0 GPA’s.

[PointGuard 70]

PAC-12 Assessment:

11 of the 12 teams in our conference had pre-conference records over .500. The lone exception was surprising: Arizona. The NCAA’s recruiting punishment has really had an effect on the Wildcats. One of their 4 wins was impressive, though…an 18 point win over Florida, which was ranked 8th in the polls at that point. But Florida has now dropped to #22 in the polls.

On the positive side for the Pac-12 five of its teams are now ranked in the polls: UCLA is #3, Washington is #16, Oregon is #17, Stanford is #19, and California is #25. All five of those teams have better RPI’s than ours. Of particular note, the final two (Stanford and California) both enter conference play with 8 game win streaks.

So we have a tough fight coming our way as we enter conference play. Our schedule presents us with a challenge as well since 4 of our first 5 conference games are on the road. We need to be a good road team or we’ll dig ourselves a big early hole in the standings.

We averaged 77.1 ppg offensively (40th best in the nation) and gave up just 63.5 ppg (35th best in the nation). We averaged just 9.9 turnovers per game which was best in the nation.

Youngstown State Penguins

Youngstown State, the first team I coached, goes into Horizon League play with a 4-5 record and the 122nd best RPI in the country. Only two players remain that I recruited and both are now seniors. SG Doylan Anderson is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 13.3 ppg. Lucas Broering subs at SG and is averaging 6.1 ppg.

[PointGuard 70]

Colorado Buffaloes (8-3, 0-0) at Oregon State Beavers (5-4, 0-0)

The Beavers are led by SF Steffon Trotman (15.2 ppg) and SG Jamaal Darden (13.9 ppg).

It took 2-1/2 minutes before either team scored. We got on the board first when C Ike Minahan dropped in an 8 foot jumper. But our offense was impotent and we fell behind 20-7 with 7:51 to play in the half. We finally got a little mojo to pick up our shooting efficiency from 20% to 35% by the end of the half and close to within 4 at the half, trailing 28-24. C Ike Minahan scored 11 and pulled down 7 boards.

Oregon State came out in the 2nd half on fire and roared away to a 57-36 lead with 13 minutes to play. We never got close after that. Even though we made a small run in the waning moments of the game, we still lost 68-58. Hitting just 36% of your FG attempts and 13% of your 3PA’s doesn’t give you much of a chance to win on the road.

C Ike Minahan was our only player who was productive. He finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds.

It was a disappointing start to our Pac-12 season, but while it’s little solace, all other road teams in the Pac-12 scores lost also:

Arizona-89, Washington State-66
#3 UCLA-88, Arizona State-69
#25 California-69, #17 Oregon-47
USC-65, #19 Stanford-57
#16 Washington-63, Utah-58

[PointGuard 70]

Game #13: Colorado Buffaloes (8-4, 0-1) @ #25 California Golden Bears (10-2, 1-0)

Super sophomore SG Derrick Jackson is averaging 23.5 ppg (tops in the Pac-12) and has scored 20+ points in 2/3 of Cal’s games and 30+ points in 17% of their games. In games against common opponents, the Golden Bears beat Seton Hall 75-69 while we lost to the Hall 73-69 while against Pennsylvania, Cal won 93-73 and we beat the Quakers 99-83.

Prior to the game we discussed how if we wanted to challenge in the Pac-12 that we needed to win on the road and beat the top teams so this was a big game for us.

Cal’s SG Derrick Jackson hit two quick buckets to begin the game. We shifted to a strict man-to-man so we could double team him and that slowed him down. We played well the first 10 minutes to build a 17-12 lead but then went ice-cold. The Golden Bears scored 16 unanswered points to take a 26-17 lead with 6 minutes left in the half. When the half ended we trailed 36-25. We hit just 36% of our shots and had 8 turnovers while California tossed in 47% of their shots and turned the ball over just 4 times. SF/PF Kenton Dunn and SF Rick Coffey both scored 5 points. Cal’s Derrick Jackson scored 14 points but only hit 5 of 15 field goals.

We fought hard in the 2nd half and slowly ground closer to the Golden Bears. With 9:43 remaining we had cut their lead to 52-48. Cal began pulling away but we doggedly hung in and with 2:27 to go PG Justin Wilson threw down a jam after Rick Coffey intercepted a pass and upcourted the ball the streaking Wilson and we were down by just 3 at 67-64. Then we got tantalizingly close at 69-67 when Matt Conley sunk a 3 with 1:08 on the clock. Cal missed on their next possession and we called a time out with 38 seconds left. Our designed pick-and-roll didn’t work but Justin Wilson was fouled. He went to the line with 2 attempts to tie. He knocked down the first free throw but missed the second to make it 69-68. We fouled and Cal made just one of two shots to make it 70-68. Another time out and this time our play worked with Wilson driving, pulling up and dropping in a 12 foot jumper to tie the game with 23 ticks remaining. Kenton Dunn stole the ball. The Golden Bears were whistled with a foul. Kenton Dunn made just one of his two charity shots but that gave us a 71-70 lead with 14 seconds left to play. Our full court press closed Cal but they put up a quick shot the rimmed out and we rebounded. We avoided their efforts to foul and time expired leaving us with a come-from-behind 71-70 victory.

This was a game in which the team stats didn’t justify our winning, but our guys just never gave up and did whatever it took to pull off the victory.

C Ike Minahan led our scoring with 14 points with PG Justin Wilson contributing 11 points, and SF/PF Kenton Dunn and PG Matt Conley both adding 10, and SF Rick Coffey scoring 8 while hauling in 11 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and making 4 steals. For California it was one-man show with SG Derek Jackson scoring 28, handing out 6 assists, and recording 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks.

Other Pac-12 scores:

Utah-72, Arizona-60
USC-78, Arizona State-59
#3 UCLA-77, Washington State-57
#17 Oregon-78, #16 Washington-72
Oregon State-81, #19 Stanford-62

Strangely, after losing to us California moved up from 25th to 18th in the Media Poll but they had beaten #17 Oregon earlier in the week. On the other hand, we remain unranked...a road loss to Oregon State overriding our road win over Cal.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #14: USC Trojans (8-4, 2-0) @ Colorado Buffaloes (9-4, 1-1)

USC is led by their guards, PG Dennis Evans who’s averaging 12.9 ppg and SG Brendan Trilli with a 13.4 ppg scoring average.

We hit our first 6 FG’s as well as 2 free throws to open a 15-5 lead after 4 minutes of play. We expanded our lead to 14 points, but as the half progressed, our shooting regressed. Our lead shrunk to 4 points before stopped the bleeding. We finished the half ahead by a score of 34-27. SF Rick Coffey paced our offense with 10 points. USC’s PG Dennis Evans carried the Trojans by scoring 20 points.

We scored the first 13 points of the 2nd half to expand our lead to 20 points. We continued to roll and with 4 minutes to play we were up by 24 points. They scored on our subs late in the game to cut the final difference to 76-59. The big difference in the game was our 23-7 turnover advantage.

C Ike Minahan topped our scoring with 15 points followed by PG Matt Conley’s 13 points, and SF/PF Kenton Dunn and SF Rick Coffey both adding 12 points. We held USC’s Dennis Evans scoreless in the 2nd half.

Results of other Pac-12 games:

Arizona-78, #18 California-71
Arizona State-82, Utah-70
#16 Washington-77, #24 Stanford-64
#2 UCLA-86, Oregon State-69
#17 Oregon-90, Washington State-71

UCLA remains the only unbeaten team in conference play. Our win moved us into a six-team tie for 2nd place.

So the good news was we won and are tied for 2nd place. The bad news was that following the game SF/PF Kenton Dunn and SF Rick Coffey were involved in a car accident on their way home from a post-game party. Dunn sustained a mild concussion and Coffey is experiencing back spasms. Both will miss our next game when we travel to take on Arizona State later this week. Both had been drinking and since Coffey was driving, he is likely to have his license suspended. Since other players were also at the party, we had a team meeting to discuss alcohol use/abuse and responsibility to the team.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #15: Colorado Buffaloes (10-4, 2-1) @ Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4, 1-2)

With Kenton Dunn and Rick Coffey both unavailable due to injuries, we will have to shift our starting lineup with Charles Maors at SF, Primoz Pohek starting at C and Ike Minahan moving to PF.

Arizona State has 3 players scoring in double figures: SG Travis Hawkins (13.4 ppg), C Jeremy Totten (13.0 ppg), and C/PF Marquise Jones (13.3 ppg).
After trailing by as much as 7 points, we finally tied the game at 15-15 with 11 minutes to play in the half. We then hit two straight 3’s to go ahead 21-15. We held onto the lead until the last minute of play as Arizona State took a 36-34 advantage to the locker room. Steve Jackson came off the bench to score 12 points for us.

We kept close to the Sun Devils early in the 2nd half, but then fell apart offensively and defensively and trailed by 17 with 9 minutes left in the game. We made a frenzied run that cut the lead to 3 points with 3 minutes to go. Then with 2 minutes remaining we scored on a perfect pick and roll to make the score 68-67 in favor of the Sun Devils. We fell behind by 5 then hit a field goal with 15 seconds remaining to get within 3. We fouled and they missed the first of a one-and-one. We brought the ball up court and with time expiring Steve Jackson sank a 3 from the corner to tie the game at 72-72 and send the game to overtimes.

On the opening possession of the OT, Jackson hit another 3. With 1-1/2 minutes to go, the Sun Devils hit a 3 to take a 79-77 lead and then on their next possession scored inside to take a 4 point lead. Another 3 by Arizona was a nail in our coffin and we lost 84-77. After coming back to tie at the end of regulation play and they lead for most of the OT, it was a disappointing finish.

PG Matt Conley and SG Steve Jackson both dropped in 17 points while C Ike Minahan scored 14 and hauled down 12 boards. Conley also had 8 assists.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #16: Colorado Buffaloes (10-5, 2-2) @ Utah Utes (7-7, 1-3)

Man, I’m tired of all these away games. This is our 4th in our first 5 Pac-12 games. To make matters worse, SF Rick Coffey’s back spasms have worsened so he will miss this game and possibly our next one.

Utah’s lackluster record isn’t indicative of their capabilities. Other than a 2nd round loss in a pre-conference tournament, their other 6 losses have been while playing on the road. They own a spotless home record including a win over Virginia, a team that is now ranked 5th in the polls. Utah’s C Marc Fife is averaging 13.6 ppg and PF Mark Wall has scored 12.0 ppg. Fife is also a beast on the boards, averaging over 10 rpg.

We missed our first 4 shots while Utah connected on their first 3 shots to quickly move out to an 8-1 lead. We continued to shoot poorly, hitting just 3 of our first 15 shots. Meanwhile the Utes’ PG Jason Swygart was tearing us up, scoring 11 points and we trailed 21-9 with 10-1/2 minutes left in the first half. Had it not been for Utah turning the ball over 8 times at that point, we’d have been totally buried. We cut the lead to 5 several times but could whittle it no further and we fell behind 42-31 at the end of the half. Utah outshot us 58% to 32% and out-rebounded us 23-7. Countering this we held a 16-7 turnover advantage. Steve Jackson scored over half our points with 17 points. PG Jason Swygart finished with 14 points for the Utes.

Our 2nd half chore was to apply a staunch defense, but we let Utah score 5 unanswered points in the first minute. We scored 10 straight points to get within 7 points with 15 minutes to play. We again repeatedly got within 7, but never could get close enough to mount a serious threat. The game ended with us on the short end of a 76-65 score. A porous defense which allowed them to hit 55% of their FG attempts and 46% of their 3PA’s allowed Utah to hold us at arms’ length.

SG Steve Jackson scored 20, PG Matt Conley added 13, and C Ike Minahan contributed 11 points. Utah’s PG Jason Swygart scored 21 points.

Pac-12 Scores:

#18 California-91, Utah 85 (OT) (Cal’s SG Derek Jackson tossed in 33 points and pulled down 9 rebounds)
Arizona-82, USC-70 (The Wildcats fell behind by 17 early in the game but then gradually pulled away)
#17 Oregon-81, #24 Stanford-79 (after trailing by 20, the Ducks pulled out a win late in the game)
Washington State-83, Oregon State-59 (big upset win on the road by the Cougars)
#16 Washington-56, #2 UCLA-49 (great defensive battle with the Huskies holding UCLA’s shooting to 29%)

With the loss by UCLA there no longer are any teams with no losses in conference play. Stanford is now 0-4 in Pac-12 play, but 3 of their 4 games have been on the road.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #17: Arizona Wildcats (8-6, 4-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (10-6, 2-3)

Arizona has turned around their season and leads the league. So a team that appeared beleaguered in pre-conference play has become a force to be reckoned with. The Wildcats’ offensive leaders are SF Rolan Bell who is averaging 14.4 ppg and PF Curtis Grace who is scoring 14.2 ppg and pulling down 8.1 rpg. C Cliff Rivera anchors their interior with 9.9 ppg and 9.6 rpg. Arizona has forced their opponents to make 17.2 topg. So we finally get another home game, but have to take on a team loaded with 5-star players.

SF Rick Coffey’s has been cleared to play, but he’s still not 100%, so I’m hoping we can play well enough to give him some more rest.

We hung with Arizona for 12 minutes but then our offense went south and the Wildcats’ PG Tim Petty kept chunking in shots from outside. By the end of the half we trailed 34-26. We hit just 29% of our shots. C Ike Minahan scored 8 points. PG Tim Petty popped in 14 for Arizona.

We fought hard to try to derail Arizona in the 2nd half and with 12:36 to play took our first lead at 44-43 when Charles Maors hit a 14 footer from just outside the key. With 6 minutes we led by 8 as our defense was stellar. We led 70-64 with 3 minutes to go. Things got tough at that point. Our lead dwinded to 70-67 with 1:10 to play, but then C Ike Minahan was fouled on a contested shot inside that fell through the basket. Minahan missed his free throw but we were up by 5 with 51 seconds left. Arizona set up a 3 point shot coming off their time out, but it bounced off the rim. We rebounded and PG Matt Conley was intentionally fouled with 35 ticks remaining. Conley calmly dropped in both shots to give us a 7 point lead. The Wildcats missed two 3-point attempts on their next possession. SF Kenton Dunn was fouled and he sunk both shots. That concluded the scoring and we came away with a satisfying 76-67 victory over a talented Arizona team. We outscored the Wildcats 50-33 in the 2nd half. Arizona was unable to rattle us as we only made 9 turnovers the entire game.

SG Camah Griffin was our sparkplug in the 2nd half and scored 16 points. C Ike Minahan scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds plus had 5 blocks and a steal. SG Steve Jackson added 12 points. For Arizona PG Tim Petty finished with 18 points, PF Curtis Grace had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and C Cliff Rivera scored 9 and pulled down 13 boards.

Results of other Pac-12 games:

#18 California-68, Arizona State-60
USC-69, Utah-64
#17 Oregon-74, Oregon State-53
Stanford-69, #2 UCLA-67
#15 Washington-72, Washington State-61

We’re firmly ensconced in the middle of the pack in the standings but only a game behind five teams tied for 1st place with 4-2 records.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #18: Colorado Buffaloes (11-6, 3-3) @ #19 Oregon Ducks (11-5, 4-2)

On the road again.  And taking on the Ducks who are tied for the league lead.  This is the first of two games this week against Oregon.  The Ducks are led offensively by freshman SF JJ Robinson who is averaging 15.6 ppg.

Oregon came out firing away from outside and hitting over 70% of their shots to forge ahead 27-11 after 7-1/2 minutes of play.  We cooled them slightly (they finished the half knocking down 61% of their FG attempts and 57% of their 3’s), to cut their lead to 49-40 at the break.  C Ike Minahan dropped in 16 points for us while SF JJ Robinson had 12 for Oregon.

We cut the Ducks’ Lead to 56-51 with 14:19 remaining.  We continued to creep closer and Kenton Dunn’s 3 with 10 minutes to go made it 63-60.  Then Ike Minahan knocked down a 3 to tie the game at 65-65 with 8-1/2 minutes left.  As our defense shut down Oregon, we then ever-so-slowly ground ahead and finished with a surprising 80-71 victory. 

C Ike Minahan scored 16 and pulled down 7 rebounds, SF Kenton Dunn had 15 points, and SG Camah Griffin tossed in 11 points.  Oregon’s C Ronald Greenwalt led their scoring with 18 points.

My guys dedicated the game to my father and sent him the game ball.

Pac-12 results tonight:

Arizona-81, Stanford-72

#14 Washington-70, Arizona State-65

Washington State-74, #15 California-71 (the Cougars overcame 34 points from Cal’s SG Derek Jackson)

#3 UCLA-94, USC-48

Utah-76, Oregon State-69

Our big road win moved us into a 3-way tie for 4th place in the conference.

[PointGuard 70]

Game #19: #19 Oregon Ducks (11-6, 4-3) @ Colorado Buffaloes (12-6, 4-3)

Following our big win against the Ducks in Eugene the two teams came to Boulder for the follow-up game.  Expectations were high within our fans.  I remained with my father, so was unable to be with my team.  1st Assistant Coach Bryant Marshack again coached our team.

The game was close throughout the first half and defense predominated on both ends of the court, but we managed to gain a 34-30 halftime advantage.  SF Kenton Dunn hit for 11 points.

Oregon tried to beat us with 3’s but they had difficulty connecting and were unable to wrest the lead from us.  While we didn’t set the nets on fire, we held the Ducks off and pulled away in the final minutes as Oregon was forced to foul.  We finished with yet another win over Oregon, this time by a score of 75-64.

SF Kenton Dunn hit for 16, SG Camah Griffin scored 12, and PF Charles Maors added 10 points.

Two big wins over the Ducks with me away.  Bryant did a heckuva job coaching the team!

Results of other Pac-12 games:

Arizona-80, #14 Washington-62 (Curtis Grace led Arizona to their with with 32 points and 8 boards)

Washington State-77, Arizona State-72

#15 California-80, #3 UCLA-74 (close all the way with 18 lead changes and 7 ties)

USC-74, Oregon State-56

Utah-81, Stanford-74 (Mark Wall scored 30 and had 9 rebounds for Utah)

Improving our Pac-12 record to 5-3 we are now in a 4-way tie for 2nd place, one game behind Arizona.

[Chris 272]

Hey PG, which version are you on now? Do you import your games into each new version of Gary's releases?

[PointGuard 70]

On 11/20/2019 at 6:14 AM, Chris said:

Hey PG, which version are you on now? Do you import your games into each new version of Gary's releases?

Using the most recent version, DDSCB2019.  Yes, I imported my existing association from CB2018...imported easily and flawlessly.  Suspect DDSCB2020 will come out in February and March (but of course, that's up to Gary).

[PointGuard 70]

Game #20: Oregon State Beavers (8-9, 3-5) @ Colorado Buffaloes (13-6, ad 5-3)

We started well, gaining 7-0 and 15-2 leads.  Our dominance continued and by the end of the half we were on top 41-19 as we held the Beavers’ shooting to just 23%.  SG Camah Griffin led our scoring with 10 points.

While our energy level seemed low, we maintained a healthy lead he entire 2nd half and finished the game with a 79-54 victory for our 4th straight win. 

Our top scorers were PG Matt Conley with 13 points, SG Camah Griffin who scored 12, and PF Charles Maors and C Ike Minahan who both hit for 11 points with Minahan also recording 9 rebounds.

What happened to other Pac-12 teams:

Washington State-79, #22 Arizona-60 (The Wildcats hit just 29% of their shots)

#4 UCLA-94, Arizona State-91 (OT) (This game was tight the entire way)

#19 California-70, #21 Oregon-57

Stanford-80, USC-60

#13 Washington-70, Utah-62

The Pac-12 continues to be the “black and blue” conference as all teams get beaten up and bruised week after week. We’re now one of five teams tied for the conference lead with 6-3 records.