Buffs get efficient enough on offense to pull away from Chicago visitors

BOULDER» The Colorado men’s basketball team was more than happy to take the win Saturday, and the high-scoring offense certainly remains an encouraging strength for a club whose schedule soon will take a more demanding turn.

Still, coach Tad Boyle knows his defense needs to improve. And fast.

It was a hot-shooting performance for both the Buffaloes and the visiting Illinois-chicago Flames, yet it took a gutsy effort in the final minutes by sophomore point guard Mckinley Wright for CU to put out those flames, as the Buffs escaped with an 84-72 victory at the CU Events Center.

Until last weekend’s home win against Colorado State, the Buffs had lost nine consecutive games in which the opposition shot better than 50 percent. It now has occurred in two of the past three games, as UIC finished with a .566 mark (30-for53) from the floor.

“We have to shrink the floor better. Our help side was not good,” Boyle said. “We switched ball screens, and early in the game I think the first five baskets they got was basically their guards taking our bigs to the rim. Our bigs we knew were going to be challenged guarding the ball. We worked on it in practice. Didn’t do it very well. Those are areas we can improve upon.”

The Buffs led throughout the contest but were unable to ever truly shake the Flames, who remained within four points when Godwin Boahen knocked down a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 17 seconds remaining. But Wright abruptly donned his Superman cape and took over from there.

CU outscored UIC 10-2 the rest of the way, with Wright accounting for all of those points. He began the run with a pair of free throws followed by a pullup jumper in the lane. After Wright drew a charging foul at the defensive end of the floor, he converted a driving layup and knocked down two more free throws to give the Buffs a 12-point edge with 40.7 seconds remaining.

Wright finished 8-for-8 at the free throw line and led the Buffs with 21 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.

“My teammates just do a good job of helping me create shots for myself,” Wright said.