On a night where turnovers and poor rebounding hampered the offensive flow of the game, the University of Portland men’s basketball team hung with the Pac-12’s Colorado Buffaloes in the first 20 minutes of play. But the visitors would steadily break away in the second half. Despite a team-leading 18 point effort by sophomore guard Jazz Johnson, the home team would fall for the third time in four games.
The Pilots fell to the Buffaloes 76-63 Friday night at the Chiles Center. The loss marks Portland’s first loss at home in the Terry Porter era.
Portland tied a season-high 18 turnovers in the loss, eight of which came from senior captain Alec Wintering.
The Pilots were also well below their average from long distance. The Pilots came into the game 17th in the nation from three-point range at 41.4 percent, but were accurate less than 27 percent of the time against the Buffs.
“We just didn’t play tougher than they did,” Johnson said. “(Colorado) is not a great shooting team, but they just crash the boards and that’s how they win. We didn’t come out and we didn’t get it done.”
The first half got off to a rocky start for both teams. Through 10 minutes, both teams combined for just 20 points. A contested lay-up in the lane after a tight spin move by Johnson would spark a 13-5 run, which gave the home team an eight-point lead over the Buffs, 23-15, their largest of the game. Colorado would rally back to tie the game with 1:32 left in the half at 26.
The Pilots took a 30-28 lead into the break.
They held the Buffs to under 38 percent shooting from the field. Portland shot 45 percent from the floor, paced by Wintering’s nine points.
But as the second half spelled more of the slow paced brand of basketball that defined the first half for the Pilots, the Buffs began to break away.
Colorado overcame a five-point deficit early to claim a six point advantage less than seven minutes into the second half, 43-37. The Buffs would extend that lead to as many as 14 off a series of miscues by the Pilots. The home squad cut the lead back under double digits three times in the last three minutes of the game, but the visitors iced the game from the free throw line.
Colorado, who came into the contest out rebounding opponents by 8.7 per game, won the battle on the glass 38 to 28, including 14 offensive boards.
The Buffs’ Xavier Johnson led all scorers with 19 points.
Wintering and junior D’Marques Tyson joined Johnson in double-figure scoring for the Pilots with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Pilots will have a quick turn around at home on Monday. They face UT Rio Grande Valley at the Chiles Center at 7 p.m.
