Buffs catch fire from beyond arc to rout Cardinal
COLORADO 91, STANFORD 75
boulder » When Tre’Shaun Fletcher’s first- half 3point attempt slammed into the front of the rim and shot skyward Wednesday night, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the basketball would somehow still find a home at the bottom of the net. Bounce. Roll. Basket. Itwas that kind of night for the best 3- point- shooting team in the Pac- 12.
Behind an unrelenting barrage of long- range baskets, Colorado blasted Stanford 91- 75 in front of 8,001 fans at the Coors Events Center, completing a season sweep of the Cardinal.
Itwas the fourth victory in five games for the Buffs ( 16- 5, 5- 3 league), who shot 13- of- 19 as a team from 3point range while moving within a half- game of first place in the conference.
“Obviously, a great team victory tonight,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “It’s a step in the right direction. We talked on Monday about this being aweek of separation ( in the Pac- 12). And this is a step in the right direction.”
George King led theway for the Buffs with perfect
5- of- 5 shooting frombehind the arc. The sophomore hit four 3- pointers in the first half to help CU build a 42- 28 lead at intermission. He finished with a team- high 23 points.
Junior guard Josh Fortune set the tone for CU in the opening stages by nailing three 3s in the first four minutes of the game. He finished with a season- high 21 points, going 5- of- 7 from behind the arc.
Fortune entered the game in a mini- slump, having made 8- of- 23 3- point attempts in league play. That 34.8 percent clip, while still solid, was nearly nine points lower than his mark during 13 nonconference games.
“We’ve been staying after practice getting shots up lately,” Fortune said. “Just staying in the gym, staying confident with it, and we had a good game tonight. We had the ball moving great in the first half, and it got me open shots.”
As much as Colorado dominated Stanford, the victory still didn’t come without at least a few anxious moments. The Buffs led 64- 41 after a Tory Miller tip- in with 12: 57 to go in the game. Stanford ( 11- 8, 4- 4) then ripped off a 13- 0 run to cut the lead to 10 points.
But the Buffs responded with authority. Sophomore point guard Dom Collier dribbled baseline and dropped a nifty feed to senior center Josh Scott, who was fouled and completed the 3- point play. Collier then hit four straight free throws, and King followed with a 3- pointer to complete a 10- 0 run that gave the Buffs enough cushion to cruise to the finish line.
“That point in the game is kind of when Dom Collier took over,” Boyle said. “He made the plays that had to be made.”
Scott, who Boyle saidwas battling illness, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, narrowly missing his 12th double- double of the season. Miller added 12 points and six rebounds.
Rosco Allen had 25 points to lead Stanford, which shot just 36.6 percent from the field.