“When you play UConn, you gotta score through contact”: Colorado HC Tad Boyle reviews impressive comeback vs Dan Hurley’s Huskies
Tad Boyle and the Colorado Buffaloes recorded their biggest win of the season on Tuesday, beating No. 2 UConn 73-72 at the Maui Invitational.
Andrej Jakimovski scored the game-winning layup with eight seconds remaining to hand Dan Hurley and the Huskies their second straight loss in Hawaii.
Boyle talked to Andy Katz after the game to dissect Jakimovski's go-ahead basket and the Buffaloes' resilience in erasing a late deficit against UConn.
"There are two options on that play. The first option is for Elijah Malone to get it and catch it on the block and Julian Hammond's got that decision to make as a point guard. You give it to him on the block or you hit Andrej coming up the lane for a clear out to drive. He hit Andrej. Andrej made a physical play, scored through contact and that’s what you got to do when you play UConn, you got to score through contact," Boyle said.
Andrej Jakimovski delivers for Colorado with late-game heroics vs UConn
Colorado called timeout with 20.9 seconds left, with the Buffaloes trailing 72-71 at that stage.
Hammonds opted to give the ball to Jakimovski at the top of the key, letting him attack the basket with the UConn defense spread out.
Jakimovski immediately drove to his right after the pass and scored an acrobatic layup off the glass over UConn's Liam McNeeley to give Colorado a 73-72 lead.
The Huskies had one last chance to pull off the victory but Hassan Diarra's 3-point attempt with time winding down failed to drop.
Tad Boyle praises Colorado after bounce-back win
Boyle was proud of his team's effort against UConn and the way they rebounded from the 72-56 loss to Michigan State the previous day.
"They got a lot of fight. I knew that but I didn’t know that after yesterday’s game. You’re not gonna play anybody easy so really proud of the way they bounced back," Boyle said.
It wasn't just Jakimovski who starred for Colorado in the upset win over UConn as two other players scored in double figures. Hammond III and Malone led the Buffaloes in scoring with 16 points each.
Jakimovski finished the game with a double-double, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds.