National Basketball Association
Arizona 88, Colorado 61
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 22, 2014
Where: Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colorado
Officials:
# Kevin Brill, # Randy Heimerman, # Mike Scyphers
Attendance:
11025
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 4 Arizona 88, Colorado 61: Freshman Aaron Gordon scored 21 of his season-high 23 points in the second half as the visiting Wildcats scored 22 of the first 27 points before pulling away to crush the Buffaloes.
Nick Johnson recorded 20 points as Arizona (25-2, 12-2 Pac-12) stretched its conference lead to two games over UCLA after sweeping the season series from Colorado. T.J. O'Connell added nine points and 10 assists for the Wildcats, who were 22-for-26 from the field in the second half to increase a six-point lead to as much as 30.
Josh Scott registered 18 points and eight rebounds for Colorado (20-8, 9-6), which missed its first 14 shots from the field en route to its second loss in seven games. Askia Booker (10 points), Xavier Johnson (five) and Scott - the Buffaloes' top three scorers - were a combined 9-for-35 from the floor.
The Buffaloes did not convert a field goal until Jaron Hopkins' 3-pointer made it 22-8 with 9:53 left in the first half and ignited a 20-9 run to end the period. Colorado trimmed the deficit to four on three occasions before an 8-0 spurt - highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson and Gabe York - gave Arizona a 51-39 lead with 13:46 to go.
The Wildcats continued to pull away as Gordon's reverse two-hand breakaway dunk after a steal by McConnell made it 57-41 with 11:07 left. Arizona made 13 of its final 14 shots from the floor with Gordon scoring six straight Wildcats points on a three-point play and a 3-pointer to stretch the advantage to 72-47 with 6:22 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kaleb Tarczewski scored 13 points and York grabbed 10 rebounds for the Wildcats. ... Gordon, who added eight rebounds, went 1-for-3 from the free throw line and is shooting 41.1 percent from the stripe, including 31.1 in his last 10 games. ... The Buffaloes fell to 61-9 at home under Boyle.
Top Game Performances
Arizona |
|
Colorado |
Aaron Gordon 23 |
Scoring |
Josh Scott 18 |
T.J. McConnell 10 |
Assists |
Askia Booker 3 |
Gabe York 10 |
Rebounds |
Josh Scott 8 |
Nick Johnson 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Josh Scott 10 |
T.J. McConnell 4 |
Steals |
Askia Booker 1 |
Aaron Gordon 1 |
Blocks |
Xavier Talton 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Arizona
|
88 |
60.3 |
8-17 |
10-19 |
24 |
35 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
Colorado
|
61 |
32.7 |
2-10 |
25-33 |
6 |
30 |
1 |
3 |
9 |