College Basketball

Derrick White helps Colorado to 67-55 win over Seattle

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:08 p.m. ET

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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) Colorado senior Derrick White stared at the stat sheet as he sat down and just grimaced.

His coach shared his disgust, especially those 19 turnovers and 15 missed free throws.

The stats were made a whole lot more palatable by these numbers - a 67-55 win over Seattle on Monday night in a regional round of the Legends Classic.

''That was the definition of winning ugly right there,'' Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. ''We were not very good offensively tonight, obviously, on a lot of different levels. But to figure out a way to win on a night when you're not functioning that well offensively is a testament to our guys' will and their toughness and our defense and rebounding.''

The hallmarks of Boyle's program have long been defense and rebounding, which never take a night off. The Buffaloes (2-0) held Seattle to 30.2 percent shooting from the floor and out-rebounded the Redhawks by a 55-35 margin. Even more, they didn't let their offensive woes carry into the defensive end.

''We're in the process of becoming a good team,'' Boyle said. ''We're not a good team right now.''

White scored 15 points and Josh Fortune hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch to lift Colorado. Fortune finished with 12 points, all in the second half, while Wesley Gordon added 11 points and 14 rebounds.

''We had 19 turnovers ... and we still won,'' White said. ''It just goes to show you that if we guard and we rebound we can win.''

Seattle (1-1) was led by Brendan Westendorf, who finished with 17 points.

Trailing by a basket early in the second half, Colorado went on a 16-2 run to gain some separation. But the Redhawks pulled to within 54-51 on Westendorf's four-point play with around 6 minutes remaining.

Soon after, Fortune entered the game and bailed out the Buffaloes, who finished 3 of 18 from 3-point land. They were also 26 of 41 from the free throw line.

''It's tough when you get that close and they pull away from you,'' Westendorf said.

Seattle coach Cameron Dollar couldn't agree more.

''We had some looks but didn't capitalize on it,'' Dollar said. ''You have to be able to score a little bit more than we did tonight.''

BIG PICTURE

Seattle: As Colorado discovered, the Redhawks aren't limited to preseason All-Western Athletic Conference players Westendorf and William Powell, who was held to four points. Scott Ulaneo had 11 rebounds and 7-foot-3 center Aaron Menzies contributed eight points.

Colorado: Although the Buffaloes struggled with their long-range shooting, they should get a lift from freshman guard Bryce Peters. He served the second of a two-game suspension Monday for violating team rules.

PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION

More than a dozen students stood in an aisle before tipoff and protested what they felt were inequities on campus. One of the leaders, Xavier Cochrane, said Donald Trump's victory during the U.S. presidential election played a role in the peaceful demonstration at Coors Events Center. The students held up one hand and chanted such things as ''Black Lives Matter'' and ''Latino Lives Matter.''

''We want our voice to be heard,'' said Cochrane, the co-president of the Black Student Alliance at Colorado and a wide receiver on the football team.

X-FACTOR

Xavier Johnson scored 13 to become the 33rd player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau for a career. Johnson missed last season as he recovered from a torn Achilles.

''It's a blessing to be able to play the game again, coming off that Achilles tear,'' Johnson said. ''I'm just happy to score the basketball.''

NO DOM

Bothered by a sore foot, junior guard Dominique Collier didn't play in the second half.

If it doesn't get better, the Buffaloes may have to shut him down for a bit.

''We have to get it healthy and healed,'' Boyle said. ''We need him. We need Dom Collier to be effective for us this year.''

UP NEXT

Seattle travels to Notre Dame on Wednesday as part of the Legends Classic.

Colorado hosts Louisiana Monroe on Thursday in the second game of the ''Boulder Regional'' of the Legends Classic.

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More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org

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