Colorado men’s team posts its third consecutive victory, beating Stanford 64-56.
Sophomore forward plays star role coming off the CU bench
BOULDER» For much of the season, the lack of progress Lucas Siewert displayed on the floor as he made the key jump from his freshman season to his sophomore year counted as one of the early disappointments for the Colorado men’s basketball team.
Yet the 6-foot-10 forward is changing that narrative in a hurry.
In a performance that lends greater credence to the idea that he may be coming into his own rather than enjoying a productive but fleeting hot streak, Siewert turned in a career-best effort off the bench for the Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon, leading them to a 64-56 victory over Stanford at the Coors Events Center.
The victory gave the Buffs a sweep of their three-game homestand and kept them squarely in the mix within the crowded middle ground of the Pac-12 Conference standings. Siewert led CU to its ninth consecutive win over Stanford by pouring in a career-best 17 points, while matching a career high with seven rebounds.
“Obviously he shot the ball well from 3 today,” said CU coach Tad Boyle. “He really gives defenses problems because they have to choose in ball-screens if you’re going to guard McKinley (Wright) or Dom (Collier) or one of those guys coming downhill, or are you going to guard (Siewert) on the pick-and-pop.
“But I’m more proud of Lucas’ seven rebounds than I am his 17 points. Obviously I love him shooting the ball the way he is. He gives us a shot in the arm offensively. But when he defends and he rebounds like he did (against Stanford), he really helps this team.”
Siewert matched his career high with four 3pointers, a total he also had last year against Stanford, while going 4-for-6 from long range and 5-for-7 overall Sunday. Siewert now has three of his seven career double-digit scoring efforts over the past four games. He has shot 14-for-26 during that span (.538) while going 8for-15 on 3-point attempts.
CU (15-10, 7-6 Pac-12) never trailed after the first three minutes of Sunday’s game, using 19-5 run late in the first half — a burst that included Siewert’s first two 3-pointers — to pave the way to a 31-20 lead at halftime.
Stanford (13-13, 7-6) chipped away at its deficit during the second half and twice drew within a point, with the final time occurring on Daejon Davis’ layup that cut CU’s lead to 50-49 with 5 minutes, 47 seconds remaining.
The Buffs answered with a 12-3 run that began with two baskets from freshman Tyler Bey and a pair of free throws from Siewert.
After a 3-point play by Stanford’s Trevor Stanback, consecutive 3-pointers from Siewert off assists from McKinley Wright gave the Buffs a 10-point lead with 72 seconds remaining.