Colorado outlasts North Texas in Mile High Hoops Classic
Denver, CO – At the Auraria Event Center, usually home to the Division II Metro State Roadrunners, the Colorado Buffaloes took on the North Texas Mean Green in a preseason exhibition game, the ‘Mile High Hoops Classic’. The Buffaloes emerged victorious 67-64 in a hard-fought battle.
A fast-paced first minute of the game with a turnover by Barrington Hargress led to a transition fast break for the Mean Green. It was well-contested by freshman guard Alex Dickeson, and the ball bounced around the rim and found its way back to the Buffaloes.
Dickeson maneuvered around the first defender and located Hargress on a back cut. With a good head fake, the fifth-year leader got the defender off his feet and found his way to the line to break the 0-0 tie, knocking down both free throws.
Colorado forward Justin Neely kept multiple possessions alive for the Buffs, securing back-to-back offensive boards in the first 3:30 of the game.
After an and-one possession for North Texas, they broke into a full-court press. That led to a 7-2 run for the Mean Green, in addition to well-executed ball screens and offensive rebounds. With just under 14:00 remaining in the first half, the Buffs sustained a 12-7 lead.
The defensive attention to detail made itself known for both sides. The fast-paced offense significantly slowed down after 9:00 drained off the clock. At the 10:30 mark in the first half, Colorado was still holding onto a 16-7 lead.
Forward David Gomez introduced himself to the Colorado crowd as guard Josiah Sanders found him in a fantastic position with no defender around, allowing for a two-handed slam. The Mean Green continued their hot streak, though, cutting Colorado’s lead to 21-16 with 5:50 left before halftime.
With just over 4:00 left in the first half, the Buffs broke out their own half-court press. They looked to entice North Texas ball handlers into the corners of their respective halves to cause pressure and force turnovers.
The Buffaloes controlled a four-point lead with 1:23 before halftime. After another score, they led 32-27 at the halftime buzzer.
To start the second half, Mean Green big man Ousmane Ndour nailed a nice up-and-under layup to get the Mean Green into the scoring column first. Four quick points for North Texas quickly closed the gap on the scoreboard. However, Colorado forward Goc Malual halted that run for the Mean Green on a good cut and dunk for an easy two points.
It was a much closer game by the final 14:00, with the Buffs leading 38-36.
After a shot clock violation for North Texas, it immediately fell into a full-court trap to force some pressure on the Buffaloes.
North Texas took its first lead of the game with 10:40 left in the game off of a strong move from guard Cash Chavis, who powered through Colorado center Noah Feddersen for a tough bucket. Leading 42-41, North Texas utilized a quick 8-0 run to jump out to its biggest lead of the game at 46-41. That run came from intense defense, forcing turnovers and explosive play from its guards.
The Buffs responded with a run of their own, taking advantage of a two-minute scoring drought from the Mean Green and tying the game 50-50 with two Hargress free throws and 6:00 left.
However, North Texas pulled back in front, as the Buffaloes were down four points with 3:38 left until the final whistle. The Buffaloes were outscored by nine points in the second half until then.
Three clutch free throws from Hargress and Neely got the Buffs in striking position, reducing the Mean Green lead to 58-57 with just over two minutes remaining. More crucial free throws were made by Colorado guard Jalin Holland, giving the Buffs their first lead since the 6:40 mark in the second half.
The last minute of play was plagued with fouls, and as a result, a high number of free throws for both teams. An and-one by Chavis was responded to immediately with a push foul and two successful free throws by Feddersen. He extended Colorado’s lead back to 65-64 with 0:30 remaining in the game.
With that one-point lead and only a little bit of time remaining, the Mean Green had to resort to playing the fouling game. Hargress broke their initial trap, and a foul put him at the line after only 0:02 had withered off the clock. He converted on both of his free throws, giving the Buffs a three-point lead with 0:27 remaining.
The Mean Green got two great looks at three-pointers to tie up the game, both coming from Stevenson, and both striking the front of the rim. However, the second one found the hands of the Buffaloes, who were then able to run out the remainder of the game clock.
The Buffaloes will open the regular season against the Abilene Christian Wildcats at the CU Events Center on Nov. 2. Tip-off time from Boulder, Colorado, is still to be announced for the season opener.
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