Boulder – It’s a good thing the Colorado men were hungry for action after a 10-day break for final exams. They certainly couldn’t feed off the sparse crowd for inspiration.
Only 1,416 showed up Saturday night for CU’s 96-80 victory over Cal-Irvine at the Coors Events Center. Could anybody have been surprised? Staging a sporting event opposite a Broncos game never is a good idea. The weather was bad. Skiing was good. Christmas shopping took its share. Students had gone home for the holidays.
And many Front Range basketball fans probably never had heard of Cal-Irvine.
Those in the arena – including the Buffaloes – discovered the Anteaters (4-4) can play a little bit. Cal-Irvine was hanging around with 6 1/2 minutes to go.
“This was a great win for us under the circumstances,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said. “We’ve had a very distracting week, with guys being pressed by exams. We didn’t have one day of practice where the whole team was there.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys continued to fight against, in my mind, a pretty good team.”
The Anteaters finished fifth last season in the Big West Conference but already can brag about making national headlines this season with a 16-point victory at Stanford. A week later, Cal- Irvine somehow lost at home to Cal State Stanislaus. But this much is certain: The Anteaters can shoot.
It’s a good thing Colorado (6-1) got 20 points from sophomore guard Richard Roby, 17 off the bench from senior swingman Martane Freeman and double-figure scoring from four others. CU shot 51.6 percent from the field and would have lost a game of H-O-R-S-E. Led by Denver native Ross Schraeder, the visitors hit 56.6 percent.
Schraeder, an East High product, missed only one shot. The 6-foot-5 senior guard went 11-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers, and hit his only free throw for 26 points.
“We put a lot of bodies on him,” Roby said, “but when a guy is making shots like that and comes off screens as well as he does, it’s hard.”
CU’s 35-26 rebounding edge and 13 steals kept the hosts in control. The Buffs were too quick for Cal-Irvine. But Patton hoped Schraeder taught his team a lesson.
“He’s a heck of a shooter, and I hope our guys will take an example from his exhibition out there and get in the gym,” Patton said. “You can tell he’s put in a lot of work to perfect his shot.”
Schraeder no doubt could hear several friends and family members cheering his every jumper.
The attendance figure was the smallest for a CU home game in three years.
“We know what to expect and how to handle it,” CU junior guard Marcus Hall said of the small crowd.
CAL-IRVINE (4-4)
Campbell 6-10 3-4 18, Kelley 3-7 0-0 6, Armstrong 2-4 2-2 7, Fitzgerald 4-9 1-2 9, Schraeder 11-12 1-1 26, Green 0-1 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 1-2 1, Price 0-0 0-0 0, Templeton 2-5 0-0 6, Fells 2-5 3-5 7, Metelski 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 30-53 11-17 80.
COLORADO (6-1)
Osborn 3-9 3-4 10, Copeland 2-6 0-0 5, Obazuaye 6-9 0-0 13, Hall 5-11 2-2 14, Roby 6-10 5-6 20, Eddy 0-1 0-0 0, Senger 1-4 2-2 4, Coleman 5-6 3-4 13, Freeman 5-7 5-6 17, Arrington 0-0 0-0 0, King-Stockton 0-1 0-0 0, McGee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 20-24 96.
Halftime – Colorado 47-36. 3-point goals – Cal-Irvine 9-18 (Schraeder 3-3, Campbell 3-6, Templeton 2-4, Armstrong 1-2, Fitzgerald 0-3); Colorado 10-26 (Roby 3-6, Freeman 2-4, Hall 2-5, Obazuaye 1-2, Copeland 1-3, Osborn 1-5, Coleman 0-1). Fouled out – Fells, Obazuaye. Rebounds – Cal-Irvine 26 (Kelley 6), Colorado 35 (Osborn 7). Assists – Cal-Irvine 21 (Fitzgerald 7), Colorado 19 (Hall 5). Total fouls – Cal-Irvine 22, Colorado 18.
A – 1,416.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
