Colorado
6-5,0-2Pac-12
North Alabama
6-5,0-0ASUN
Buffs Roll Past North Alabama
December 15, 2022 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Colorado's Tristan da Silva posted 25 points and nine rebounds Thursday night — both career highs — to lead the Buffaloes to an 84-60 win over North Alabama at the CU Events Center.
The victory gave Tad Boyle's Buffs their first back-to-back wins of the season as they improved to 6-5. The Lions had a two-game win streak come to an end to fall to 6-5.
Boyle also collected his 260th victory as Colorado's head coach, leaving him just one behind Sox Walseth's program record 261. Boyle can tie the record Sunday when the Buffs host Northern Colorado, the school where Boyle got his head coaching start.
Three other Buffs joined da Silva in double-figure scoring. KJ Simpson finished with 12 points and Luke O'Brien and J'Vonne Hadley each finished with 11. O'Brien also had six rebounds while Simpson tied his career best with six assists and just one turnover.
KJ Johnson led the Lions with 16.
The Buffs held UNA to a season-low 39 percent shooting (21-for-54) and the Lions' 60 points were also a season low.
CU shot 51 percent (31-for-61) and held a commanding edge in rebounding (42-32), points in the paint (46-32) and fast break points (15-2). One of the few downsides for Colorado was the free throw line. CU has struggled at the stripe most of this season and Thursday was no different, as the Buffs hit just 17 of their 27 tries.
"It was a workmanlike effort," Boyle said. "Coming out of finals you never know what you're gonna get from your team emotionally and how sharp they're going to be. Not often do you win by 24 and feel like your team could have played better, but that's how I feel about tonight's game."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a see-saw first six minutes that featured six lead changes, the Buffs used a 6-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into an 18-13 lead and they never trailed again.
The Lions managed to briefly shave Colorado's lead down to two but the Buffs responded with a 12-0 run to take control for good. Da Silva and Hadley both had a pair of buckets in the surge and Colorado led, 30-16, with just more than six minutes to play in the half.
CU's lead never dipped into single digits again the rest of the night.
The Buffs also ratcheted up the pressure on the defensive end to spark their decisive run. Colorado forced seven straight empty UNA possessions and the Buffs maintained their double-digit lead down the final minutes of the half to take a 42-28 lead into intermission.
Colorado then kept the lead at a comfortable margin throughout the second half. CU built its cushion to 19 early in the period after a da Silva 3-pointer and Simpson drive gave Colorado a 47-28 lead and the Buffs slowly pushed their lead into the 20s down the stretch.
Da Silva has now scored in double digits five straight games.
"Being aggressive doesn't necessarily mean scoring the ball," da Silva said. "But when the opportunity is there, I'll take it."
Boyle was more pleased with da Silva's aggressiveness on the boards.
"I'm really proud of his rebounding," Boyle said. "I know he can score, We've been pushing him to be more active on the glass and he did that tonight."
Boyle was also happy with the effort from O'Brien off the bench. His six rebounds tied his season high and he has averaged nearly five boards per game over the last four contests.
"He gave us great energy off the bench," Boyle said. " I was really pleased with him, and then KJ has six assists and one turnover. That's the kind of stuff we need from him."
The Buffs hit the 80-point mark with just more than two minutes to play, the fourth time this season they have scored at least 80 points.
TURNING POINT: After the Lions narrowed Colorado's lead to two points midway through the first half, the Buffs put together a 12-0 run. UNA never cut the margin to single digits again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs won back-to-back games for the first time this season. They have two more non-conference games before Pac-12 play begins, and those games will be critical in helping them continue to develop some consistency.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held UNA to a season-low 39 percent shooting (21-for-54) and the Lions' 60 points were also a season low … CU shot 51 percent (31-for-61) … Colorado also had a solid edge in rebounding (42-32), points in the paint (46-32) and fast break points (15-2).
NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to Northern Colorado on Sunday in a 3 p.m. game at the CU Events Center (Pac-12), then wrap up their non-conference slate Wednesday with a 5 p.m. home game vs. Southern Utah (Pac-12 Mountain).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
