In up-and-down season, Schwartz finds touch again

LOS ANGELES» Shane Gatling wasn’t the only cold Colorado Buffaloes shooter who, in coach Tad Boyle’s terms, gave birth to some long overdue 3pointers in Wednesday’s impressive win at UCLA.

The victory — it was the Buffs’ second in a row at Pauley Pavilion and third in a row overall against the Bruins — also was sparked by the abrupt return of D’Shawn Schwartz’s shooting touch.

The sophomore guard from Colorado Springs had been mired in the latest rut in what has been an up-and-down season, yet Schwartz shot CU into a good start on the road, giving the Buffs momentum they never relinquished in an 84-73 win.

“It was at the point where I was like, ‘I’m just going to shoot it and hope it goes in,’ ” Schwartz said. “I’ve been in the gym. There’s nothing more I can do. So I’m just going to keep shooting.”

Like the Buffs as a whole, Schwartz’s season has been marked by inconsistency. He scored 15 points in his first game of the season against Omaha, but then went scoreless in the next game at San Diego. Schwartz rebounded to score 11 points in a homecoming game at Air Force, but then scored a total of just two points over the next two games.

That trend has continued into the Pac-12 Conference schedule. Schwartz started slowly in his first season as a full-time starter in the league but he soon put together a stretch of four consecutive double-digit scoring games, highlighted by a 4-for-5 night on 3-pointers with a careerbest 22 points against leagueleading Washington on Jan. 12.

After that four-game run, though, Schwartz struggled once again, scoring a total of just 14 points over the next four games. That run included a 4for-15 overall mark from the field and a 1-for-11 effort from 3point range.

At UCLA, Schwartz nearly matched his scoring total from that recent four-game slide in the opening moments, staking the Buffs to a lead with two quick 3-pointers and scoring his team’s first eight points in a game-opening 12-2 run.

“I think we did a good job of getting stops in the first half and we just got going early. The energy was really high,” Schwartz said. “If you start off good and crush them early, I think it’s hard for them to come back.”

Schwartz matched his second-best scoring effort of the season with 15 points, and a player who shot a solid .383 from 3-point range as a freshman got back on track from long range with a 3-for-7 night from the arc.