Sunday, December 4
Seattle, Wash.
1:00 PM
Colorado
4-5,0-2Pac-12
63
at
73
Washington
7-2,1-1Pac-12
1
2
F
Colorado
26
37
63
Washington
33
40
73
Colorado Drops Pac-12 Road Contest To Washington
December 04, 2022 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE – Plagued by turnovers and a slow start out of the halftime locker room for the second-straight game, Colorado fell to Washington 73-63, Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The loss drops Colorado under .500 at 4-5 and 0-2 to begin Pac-12 Conference play for the first time in four years.
J'Vonne Hadley had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead the Buffaloes. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva each had 13.
Colorado turned the ball over 18 times, two fewer than in Thursday's loss to Arizona State, which led to 25 Huskies' points. Washington used a 17-8 run out of the halftime to build a 16-point lead.
Braxton Meah and Cole Bajema each scored 16 points to lead the Huskies who improved to 7-2, 1-1 in league play.
"Right now, we're not playing smart enough," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "We're not playing well enough offensively. When we get open shots, we got to be able to make open shots. But the 18 turnovers, you do that league play it's going to be hard to win games."
Washington's second-half momentum began at the later stages of the first half. The Buffaloes held a lead for the good portion of the period, but the Huskies used a 15-4 run over the final 5:20 to take a seven-point lead, 33-26, at the break.
The Buffaloes opened the second half with turnovers on consecutive possessions and Bajema converted a four-point play to give Washington its first double-digit advantage at 37-26. The Huskies made seven of their first 10 shots of the second half and grew their lead to 50-34 on a Jamal Bey 3-pointer.
Washington's offense did start to cool and Colorado found some success against the zone which allowed the Buffaloes to chip away at the Huskies' lead. Luke O'Brien scored off an offensive rebound and Lawson Lovering had a three-point opportunity after a dunk and foul, but was called for a technical foul and the Huskies led 52-38 after Bajema sank a pair of free throws.
Da Silva started to find his spot inside Washington' 2-3 zone and got the Buffaloes to within 10 with a pair of buckets in the paint. After forcing a shot clock violation, Jalen Gabbidon scored his first basket of the game as Simpson found him driving through the lane for a layup as the UW lead was cut to 54-46. Simpson then stole the ball and took it coast-to-coast, was fouled, converted the 3-point play as UW's lead was just five at 54-49.
Colorado couldn't quite complete the comeback, despite several opportunities to get even closer. Simpson got out in front after a stop and had a layup opportunity to trim Washington's lead to three, but was blocked from behind by PJ Fuller which turned into a dunk by Meah on the other end as the Huskies went back up by seven at 56-49.
The Buffaloes responded with two quick buckets by Hadley and da Silva to get back within three at 56-53 with just under five minutes left. Nique Clifford got the Buffaloes as close as they would get by hitting one of two free throws and the Buffaloes trailed 56-54 with 4:07 left.
Fuller answered with a 3-point play lead back up to five. Da Silva responded with a thunderous dunk flying down the lane. Bajema hit another 3-pointer, but Javon Ruffin answered with one of his own as the margin remained at three, 62-59, with 1:39 remaining.
Following a timeout Keion Brooks scored on a layup. The Huskies then extended their lead back to eight after a da Silva miss, the Huskies broke Colorado's press and found Meah open for a dunk in transition.
"I knew that there would be growing pains with this team," Boyle said. I knew it; I didn't know to what degree they would be. I didn't know how long they would last. But we are experiencing it right now."
Hadley had early success against Washington's zone with two good looks down low to score CU's first two buckets, but the Buffaloes missed four-straight and Washington went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. Simpson ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
After Washington took a 13-8 lead Buffs went on a 7-0 run. Lovering got a dunk, Clifford drained a 3-pointer and O'Brien hit two free throws after an offensive rebound as the Buffs took a 15-13 lead. The Buffaloes held Washington without a field goal for nearly six minutes to grow their lead to 18-14 on a Ruffin 3-pointer.
Brooks got a tough bucket inside and Bajema nailed a transition 3-pointer to briefly give the Huskies the lead back at 23-22. Da Silva ended the Washington run with a layup.
Meah hit two free throws as Washington retook the lead. After a turnover in the back court, the Buffs tightened up their defense for 29 seconds, but Bey drilled a long 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 28-24 lead
Washington ended the half on a 15-4 run. The Buffaloes made just two of their final seven shots while Washington made five of their last eight, including three of their four first-half 3-pointers.
The loss drops Colorado under .500 at 4-5 and 0-2 to begin Pac-12 Conference play for the first time in four years.
J'Vonne Hadley had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting to lead the Buffaloes. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva each had 13.
Colorado turned the ball over 18 times, two fewer than in Thursday's loss to Arizona State, which led to 25 Huskies' points. Washington used a 17-8 run out of the halftime to build a 16-point lead.
Braxton Meah and Cole Bajema each scored 16 points to lead the Huskies who improved to 7-2, 1-1 in league play.
"Right now, we're not playing smart enough," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "We're not playing well enough offensively. When we get open shots, we got to be able to make open shots. But the 18 turnovers, you do that league play it's going to be hard to win games."
Washington's second-half momentum began at the later stages of the first half. The Buffaloes held a lead for the good portion of the period, but the Huskies used a 15-4 run over the final 5:20 to take a seven-point lead, 33-26, at the break.
The Buffaloes opened the second half with turnovers on consecutive possessions and Bajema converted a four-point play to give Washington its first double-digit advantage at 37-26. The Huskies made seven of their first 10 shots of the second half and grew their lead to 50-34 on a Jamal Bey 3-pointer.
Washington's offense did start to cool and Colorado found some success against the zone which allowed the Buffaloes to chip away at the Huskies' lead. Luke O'Brien scored off an offensive rebound and Lawson Lovering had a three-point opportunity after a dunk and foul, but was called for a technical foul and the Huskies led 52-38 after Bajema sank a pair of free throws.
Da Silva started to find his spot inside Washington' 2-3 zone and got the Buffaloes to within 10 with a pair of buckets in the paint. After forcing a shot clock violation, Jalen Gabbidon scored his first basket of the game as Simpson found him driving through the lane for a layup as the UW lead was cut to 54-46. Simpson then stole the ball and took it coast-to-coast, was fouled, converted the 3-point play as UW's lead was just five at 54-49.
Colorado couldn't quite complete the comeback, despite several opportunities to get even closer. Simpson got out in front after a stop and had a layup opportunity to trim Washington's lead to three, but was blocked from behind by PJ Fuller which turned into a dunk by Meah on the other end as the Huskies went back up by seven at 56-49.
The Buffaloes responded with two quick buckets by Hadley and da Silva to get back within three at 56-53 with just under five minutes left. Nique Clifford got the Buffaloes as close as they would get by hitting one of two free throws and the Buffaloes trailed 56-54 with 4:07 left.
Fuller answered with a 3-point play lead back up to five. Da Silva responded with a thunderous dunk flying down the lane. Bajema hit another 3-pointer, but Javon Ruffin answered with one of his own as the margin remained at three, 62-59, with 1:39 remaining.
Following a timeout Keion Brooks scored on a layup. The Huskies then extended their lead back to eight after a da Silva miss, the Huskies broke Colorado's press and found Meah open for a dunk in transition.
"I knew that there would be growing pains with this team," Boyle said. I knew it; I didn't know to what degree they would be. I didn't know how long they would last. But we are experiencing it right now."
Hadley had early success against Washington's zone with two good looks down low to score CU's first two buckets, but the Buffaloes missed four-straight and Washington went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-4 lead. Simpson ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
After Washington took a 13-8 lead Buffs went on a 7-0 run. Lovering got a dunk, Clifford drained a 3-pointer and O'Brien hit two free throws after an offensive rebound as the Buffs took a 15-13 lead. The Buffaloes held Washington without a field goal for nearly six minutes to grow their lead to 18-14 on a Ruffin 3-pointer.
Brooks got a tough bucket inside and Bajema nailed a transition 3-pointer to briefly give the Huskies the lead back at 23-22. Da Silva ended the Washington run with a layup.
Meah hit two free throws as Washington retook the lead. After a turnover in the back court, the Buffs tightened up their defense for 29 seconds, but Bey drilled a long 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 28-24 lead
Washington ended the half on a 15-4 run. The Buffaloes made just two of their final seven shots while Washington made five of their last eight, including three of their four first-half 3-pointers.
Team Stats
CU
UW
FG%
.441
.500
3FG%
.294
.368
FT%
.462
.875
RB
30
27
TO
18
18
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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