Colorado Buffaloes Hold On To Victory Over The California Golden Bears, Advance To Take On The Arizona Wildcats
By Andrew Dill
Mar 13, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Askia Booker (0) shoots against California Golden Bears forward Richard Solomon (35) during the second half in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Conference college basketball tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Buffaloes defeated the Golden Bears 59-56. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Buffaloes (23-10, 10-8 in Pac-12 play) squeaked past the California Golden Bears Thursday afternoon by the final score of 59-56. For the second straight game, Colorado survived by exactly three points as Askia Booker took over for the club.
Booker would score a team-high 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, collecting 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the winning effort. Colorado defensively did a stellar job keeping Richard Solomon and Justin Cobbs quiet for most of the game. Solomon scored just 4 points but he did pull down 16 rebounds to go with 2 blocks. Cobbs came on late but it wasn’t enough. He would finish with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, collecting 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Xavier Talton has been a key player for the Buffaloes since Dinwiddie went down and proved his worth to the team Thursday afternoon. The guard would score 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind-the-arc. Buffaloes center Josh Scott had a quiet 11 points as he would be doubled for most of the game.
Xavier Johnson chipped in 10 points for the Buffs, shooting 4-of-7 from the field, knocking down 2-of-4 shots from three-point distance. California’s bench didn’t really give them the boost they needed as they finished with 2 points combined as a unit. Starting forward Tyrone Wallace picked up the slack by scoring 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, collecting 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Colorado Buffaloes are set to take on the number one seed in the Pac-12 tomorrow night as they take on the Arizona Wildcats. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM MT.