Senior forward Evan Battey (21) shoots the ball during the game against Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 28th, 2021. Battey scored his 1,000th point during the game. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
The Colorado Buffaloes (7-2, 1-1 in Pac-12) avoided a three-game losing streak as they eeked out a 60-57 win against Eastern Washington at the CU Events Center. After losing back-to-back games against top-15 opponents, the 4-4 Eagles felt like a get-right game for CU.
The game was anything but for the Buffaloes after letting their 15-point first-half lead disappear in the second half. Sophomore forward Jabari Walker felt that the Buffs have been too forgiving in letting teams get back into games instead of putting teams away by building leads.
“I think we got to figure out how to get a lead and maintain a lead,” said Walker. “Just keep creating separation. And I think the biggest thing for us is going into the film room and having that translate onto the court because we keep making mistakes that might cost us some games. So hopefully, this is the last one of those we have, and we can learn from it.
The Buffs had to hold their breath as Eastern Washington guard Steele Venters missed a game-tying three as time expired. Venters was a problem for the Buffs as he scored 23 points on 5-11 from behind the arc.
“Venters is a good player,” said head coach Tad Boyle. “We didn’t execute our game plan well against him. He’s a good player, and we knew he could shoot it. Venters is one of them we knew that that was part of the scouting report we had to take away his threes.”
The Buffs could not completely neutralize Venters, but the defense responded in the second half, limiting him to only one made three.
Walker had another double-double making it six now this season. He finished with 17 points and ten rebounds, including a crucial three-point play to ice out the game. Without Walker’s production, it would have been a completely different game.
Other than Walker, it was a rough night for Colorado on offense. Despite shooting 43% from the field overall, the Buffs could not get the three-ball to fall as they could only convert 8-24. In the second half, their 33.3 percent mark from the field allowed Eastern Washington back into the game.
“We were lucky to win tonight,” Boyle said. “We didn’t need a three to put it in overtime, thank goodness, because I’m not sure we could have made one, but we did what we had to do to win a game when we weren’t at our best. To me, you take a little bit of solace in that. But we have to get better offensively.”
Grinding out wins has become a custom for the Buffs as they only have one comfortable win all season. The Buffs seemed to be lacking a spark after falling behind in the second half. It took a couple of clutch baskets from senior forward Evan Battey and Walker to give the Buffs just enough energy to get past the Eagles.
“The most concerning thing to me tonight, and I told them, was our energy and effort,” Boyle said. “I could feel it in the huddles. It was blank looks. There was no response tonight.”
The Buffs must regroup and reenergize as they prepare to host Milwaukee on Friday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m in their last game before an eight-day break for finals.
