Colorado
14-11,6-8Pac-12
Stanford
10-13,4-8Pac-12
Buffs Bury Stanford With Strong Second Half
February 05, 2023 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — Colorado's Tristan da Silva scored 25 points, KJ Simpson added 21 and the Buffaloes used a strong second half Sunday to collect an 84-62 win over Stanford at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Pac-12 play with their second straight win. The Cardinal saw its five-game win streak come to an end while falling to 10-13, 4-8.
After the two teams entered halftime tied at 39-39, the Buffs took control with a 16-0 run to open the second half. CU built its cushion to as much as 26 and Stanford never threatened again after the Buffs' opening haymaker to start the second half.
Da Silva tallied his fifth straight 20-plus point game, finishing 9-for-14 from the field. Simpson broke out of a recent scoring slump to hit the 20-point mark for the first time since late December and added seven rebounds and four assists. Lawson Lovering led Colorado on the glass with eight rebounds and had a stellar defensive night, picking up three steals and a pair of blocks, and Luke O'Brien chipped in nine points and five boards.
Brandon Angel led Stanford with 14 points.
After both teams shot well above 50 percent from the floor in the first half, Colorado's defense kicked in. CU held Stanford to just 9-for-31 shooting (29 percent) in the second half while the Buffs' offense maintained its pace, shooting 14-for-27.
Colorado also dominated the boards, 38-24, including 10 offensive rebounds that produced 14 second-chance points.
"What a great win for our program at this stage of the season," Boyle said. "We needed it right now. Stanford's been on a roll. Our offense in the first half was really good and our defense wasn't great. And then we just kind of flipped that switch."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by as much as 11 in the first half before Stanford finished the period with a 10-4 run to tie the game at 39-39 at halftime.
But Colorado took control for good with a 16-0 run to start the second half. Da Silva had six points in the burst, Julian Hammond III and O'Brien each added 3-pointers and Jalen Gabbidon and Nique Clifford each had a basket to give CU a 55-39 lead less than seven minutes into the period.
O'Brien's 3-pointer, which capped the 16-0 run, came after the CU junior tipped an offensive rebound out to give the Buffs a second chance. He took a pass in the corner, pump-faked a defender and then sank a dagger that effectively put Stanford away with 13:22 still to play.
"That was kind of the backbreaker," Boyle said. "That's when I knew it might be our night."
Defensively, the Buffs stepped up the pace as well. The Buffs forced 11 straight empty Stanford possessions to open the half — 10 missed shots and a turnover — and the Buffs didn't let up the rest of the half.
Stanford finally broke its drought with a Spencer Jones bucket but the Buffs came right back and continued to build their cushion. With five minutes to play, CU's lead hit 26 when a Simpson floater in the lane gave CU a 76-51 edge with five minutes to play.
The Buffs then maintained a healthy lead down the stretch for the win.
Da Silva had 14 points in the second half while Simpson tallied 13.
"Tristan is not a selfish guy, he's a team guy," Boyle said. "But he knows we need him to score and our players know we need him to score. He's just so steady out there."
Simpson, meanwhile, used an 11-for-11 night from the free throw line to get past the 20-point margin.
"We just had to lock in and focus," Simpson said of the Buffs' second half surge. "You can't let a good team like that hang around. I've never been in a (scoring) slump before, so I had to do other things — rebound, make plays for my teammates, play defense. But it was good to get my scoring back."
Colorado built an 11-point cushion midway through the first half, using a 10-0 run to take a 31-20 lead. O'Brien started the surge with a 3-pointer, Ethan Wright added back-to-back buckets and a free throw and Simpson drove the lane to seemingly put the Buffs in control with 8:20 left in the half.
But minutes later, da Silva and O'Brien were whistled for their second fouls, sending both to the bench. That opened the door for a 10-4 Stanford finish to the half, including the last six points of the period, and the two teams entered intermission tied at 39-39.
TURNING POINT: No doubt about this one. Colorado broke a 39-39 halftime tie with a 16-0 run to start the second half and the Cardinal never pulled to within single digits again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs moved into seventh place in the Pac-12 standings and are still well within range of a top-six finish. CU has three road games on the immediate horizon, but then finishes the regular season with three straight at home.
HADLEY OUT: CU junior J'Vonne Hadley suffered a broken finger in Thursday's win over Cal and will be out for the rest of the season.
KEY STATISTICS: CU held Stanford to just 9-for-31 shooting (29 percent) in the second half … The Buffs shot 14-for-27 after intermission … CU hit 17 of its 18 free throw tries … The Buffs dominated the boards, 38-24, including 10 offensive rebounds that produced 14 second-chance points.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play just once next week, an 8 p.m. game Saturday at Utah (FS1). They hit the road again the following week for a 6 p.m. game Feb. 16 at Arizona State and a Feb. 18 game at Arizona. CU then wraps up the regular season schedule with three straight games at home.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
