BOULDER — Colorado’s 89-61 victory over The Citadel played out Friday night just about the way Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle had hoped. Nice win. His reserves got some minutes.
Did anybody happen to take a photo of that sweet turnaround jump hook by 7-foot Buffs freshman Ben Mills?
Or of that ally-oop dunk by freshman guard Shannon Sharpe on a pretty lob by senior Cory Higgins?
And surely somebody grabbed some extra stat sheets afterward, so yet another freshman, 6-7 forward Andre Roberson, can mail them back home to San Antonio and show everybody his first college double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“If we keep bringing in guys like this, the program will be fine,” Higgins said of the freshmen. “They keep working hard. They’re willing to listen.”
Roberson is already in the regular rotation. But Friday night’s blowout before 4,368 in the Coors Events Center allowed Mills to take four shots (he made three) and Sharpe to work up a sweat.
When Mills adds at least 30 pounds to his skinny frame and grows some biceps, he may become an important part of Colorado’s future.
“The hook shot has just been my favorite move since I was young,” Mills said.
This season, Boyle would be happy if he felt comfortable to play Mills for seven or eight minutes without the Wisconsin native hurting the team.
“Ben is going to be a good player,” Boyle said. “We just have to be patient. It’s going to take some time and experience.”
Giving subs some minutes is a reason to schedule weaker opponents as conference play draws closer. Boyle knows it’s going to take more than a combined 40 points from Higgins and Alec Burks to beat even middle-of-the-pack teams in the Big 12. The dynamic duo produced 37 on this night, with Burks getting 19 to almost reach his conference-leading average of 20.5 in just 28 minutes.
Colorado improved to 6-3. Nobody has to tell Boyle that his team is 6-0 when at least four players score 10 or more points. This time, senior guard Levi Knutson matched Roberson’s 11 points.
“The stat I looked at is 23 assists,” Boyle said. “Our guys were looking for each other.”
The Citadel, a member of the Southern Conference, fell behind 11-2 in the first three minutes and didn’t mount much of a challenge. The Bulldogs dropped to 3-6 on the season.
THE CITADEL (3-6)
Streeter 2-6 1-1 5, Dahn 4-12 0-0 10, Groselle 9-12 4-5 22, Urbanus 1-4 0-0 3, Wells 4-11 3-4 11, Morabbi 1-5 0-0 2, Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Dejworek 0-0 0-1 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Eykyn 1-3 2-2 4, Clark 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-58 10-13 61.
COLORADO (6-3)
Dufault 2-2 4-5 8, Tomlinson 1-2 0-0 3, Relphorde 3-9 0-0 7, Burks 7-8 3-4 19, Higgins 7-13 0-0 18, Sharpe 1-3 2-2 4, Coney 1-1 0-0 2, Roberson 4-8 2-5 11, Knutson 5-6 0-0 11, Mills 3-4 0-0 6, Eckloff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-57 11-16 89.
Halftime — Colorado 41-28. 3-point goals — The Citadel 3-14 (Dahn 2-8, Urbanus 1-4, Wells 0-1, Morabbi 0-1), Colorado 10-20 (Higgins 4-6, Burks 2-3, Knutson 1-2, Roberson 1-2, Tomlinson 1-2, Relphorde 1-3, Sharpe 0-1, Eckloff 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — The Citadel 29 (Streeter 6), Colorado 33 (Roberson 10). Assists — The Citadel 14 (Wells 5), Colorado 23 (Tomlinson 8). Total fouls — The Citadel 13, Colorado 17. A — 4,368.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
