Colorado shows fight, but falls short to San Diego State in Bill Walton Classic
The Colorado Buffaloes faced off against the San Diego State Aztecs in the first annual Bill Walton Classic on Saturday, Nov. 7, ultimately falling 77-66.
A second-half improvement and a career-high 33 points from fifth-year guard Barrington Hargress ultimately wasn’t enough for the Buffaloes.
Transfer Justin Neely earned the start over Ian Inman, with that being the only starting lineup change from Colorado’s win over Abilene Christian. Neely recorded five points without a made field goal, also adding on five rebounds and four assists.
Josiah Sanders got the scoring started for the Buffs with a layup and later finished the game with eight points and three rebounds on 3-of-8 shooting. Both teams came out with heavy defensive pressure and forced turnovers, making scoring hard to come by in the early minutes of the first half.
The Aztecs are known to be a strong defensive unit, and Colorado struggled to consistently find good looks, starting the game just 2-of-16 from the field. San Diego State took a double-digit lead eight minutes in, forcing a Colorado timeout.
The Buffs scoring drought reached over six minutes after the timeout, before Hargress drove in for a layup to get them past the five-point mark. The Aztecs shot the 3-pointer much more efficiently than Colorado throughout the opening period of play, and their defense continued to force the Buffs out of their rhythm on offense.
The Buffaloes got into foul trouble early on, with four players having two or more fouls through the first 15 minutes of the contest.
SDSU freshman Chance Gladden had 12 points and was out-scoring the entire Colorado offense with five minutes left to play in the first half, as the Aztecs led 28-10. Gladden would finish the game as their leading scorer with 20 points.
It was all San Diego State during the opening 20 minutes, as they took full advantage of the Buffs’ poor shooting and were able to get to the free throw line regularly. Colorado left points at the line early on as well, shooting just 60% from the stripe overall.
The Aztecs entered halftime with a comfortable 35-17 lead. Hargress was the sole bright spot in the Buffaloes’ offense with 11 points, as they shot just 20% from the field and were an abysmal 1-of-12 from deep in the first half.
Sophomore guard Jalin Holland threw down a transition dunk to start the second half, as the Colorado offense looked to get in sync and fight their way back into the game. Hargress splashed two triples and led a solo 8-0 run to shorten the Aztecs’ lead to just 10.
Colorado’s defense stepped up as well, forcing multiple turnovers and sparking a change in momentum. San Diego State forward Bear Cherry and Colorado’s Neely both were forced to sit after picking up their third fouls early in the half.
San Diego State hit back-to-back threes to extend their lead to 16 at the 10-minute mark, but Hargress refused to let them pull away, scoring twice to cut the lead back down to 12.
Hargress had the hot hand all game long, accounting for half of the Buffs' points and showing up as the leader for the Colorado offense that desperately needed one.
It remained around a 10-point game for almost all of the second half, but the Buffaloes couldn’t fully pull themselves within striking distance. They broke out the full-court press with just under four minutes remaining, but it was too late, still trailing by 14 points.
Outside of Hargress, Colorado didn’t have a double-digit scorer, and their lack of a consistent second option on offense hurt their ability to sustain that second-half push for an extended period. The Buffs never got closer than eight points during the second half, as the Aztecs were able to hold them off to improve their record to 2-0.
“That’s a wake up call. That’s what you need early in the season, because you don’t get these opportunities back,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said about Colorado’s first road test of the season.
The Buffaloes return back to the CU Events Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, where they’ll face a 2-0 San Diego Toreros squad, tipping off at 7:00 p.m. MT.
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