Colorado
17-16,8-12Pac-12
UCLA
28-4,18-2Pac-12
Buffs Fall To UCLA In Pac-12 Quarterfinal
March 09, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — Colorado's upset bid came up short Thursday as the Buffaloes dropped an 80-69 decision to second-ranked UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena.
Tad Boyle's ninth-seeded Buffs fell to 17-16 and will wait to see if an NIT invitation is extended. The top-seeded Bruins improved to 28-4 and will play in Friday night's semifinals.
In a game that featured 17 lead changes and six ties, this one wasn't settled until the final minutes. Colorado had the lead for 15 minutes of the game and held a 61-60 edge with five minutes to play. But the Buffs came up empty on some key possessions down the stretch and the Bruins hit their free throws in the final minute to clinch the win.
Tristan da Silva led four Buffs in double figures with 17 points. Julian Hammond III added 14, Jalen Gabbidon scored 12 and Ethan Wright chipped in 10 as the Buffs hit 10 3-pointers.
Amari Bailey scored 26 for UCLA.
Colorado shot 51 percent (26-for-51), including 10-for-23 from long range. The Bruins shot 25-for-55 and were just 6-for-19 from 3-point range. But UCLA also hit 24 of 31 free throw tries — nine in the final 1:40 — while CU was 7-for-11 from the line. Colorado also committed 15 turnovers that led to 24 UCLA points.
"I was really proud of our guys' fight and the way they scrapped," Boyle said. "I believe in this team a lot and I was really pleased with our effort. I'm never pleased with this result, but it was a frustrating game on a lot of fronts. But our guys fought and that's all you can ask as a coach."
Boyle was obviously frustrated with the officiating at several junctures of the game and was hit with two technical fouls and ejected in the final minute.
"We didn't lose this game because of officiating," Boyle stressed. "We lost this game. Amari Bailey was terrific. UCLA's a good basketball team. They're well coached. They're tough. To me, the difference in the game was our inability to get to the free throw line. Our inability to get to the free-throw line was the difference in the game, and our turnovers. Take away the four points they got on me, it was a seven-point game."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first half featured 10 lead changes and three ties, with Colorado taking a 38-37 lead into the break.
The Buffs led early, getting two quick 3-pointers from Hammond and da Silva — the first two of seven 3-pointers the Buffs hit in the first half.
UCLA came back to take the lead after the Buffs endured a five-minute stretch with no field goals, but the lead then see-sawed over the next eight minutes. The Bruins finally took a four-point lead with just under four minutes to play, but Colorado rallied in the final minutes, holding UCLA without a field goal over the final 3:23.
Luke O'Brien hit a 3-pointer for the Buffs with 2:44 left in the half to pull the Buffs within one before Ethan Wright nailed his second trey of the half to give the Buffs a 38-36 edge.
UCLA then managed a free throw from Jaime Jaquez and the Buffs came up empty on their last three possessions to send Colorado into intermission with a 38-37 lead.
The lead changed hands again several times early in the second half and Colorado still led by three, 49-46, after a Hammond 3-pointer five minutes in.
But the Bruins manufactured a 9-0 run to take a 55-49 lead as the Buffs committed four turnovers in four minutes.
"The turnovers hurt," Hammond said. "Some of them hurt more because they were in times when we needed a good shot. Those came at the wrong time, basically trying to force things."
Colorado, though, didn't go away quietly. The Buffs turned in a 9-4 surge, getting five points from da Silva to cut UCLA's cushion to one, 59-58, with 7:17 to play. Two minutes later, the Buffs briefly grabbed a 61-60 lead on da Silva's third 3-pointer of the day.
But the Bruins reeled off a 7-0 run to regain control. Two free throws from Bailey gave UCLA a 67-61 lead with four minutes remaining and the Bruins extended the run to 9-0 after a timeout to take a 69-61 lead with 3:22 to play.
The Buffs did manage one more comeback. Da Silva and Lawson Lovering both cashed in buckets and with just more than two minutes to play, Colorado shaved UCLA's lead to four, 69-65.
That, though, was as close as Colorado could come. CU came up empty on its next three possessions and the Bruins hit nine free throws in the final 1:40 to sew up the win.
TURNING POINT: A 9-0 UCLA run after Colorado had taken a one-point lead with five minutes to play put the Bruins in control for good.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado must now wait to see if an NIT bid is extended on Sunday.
KEY STATISTICS: The biggest difference was free throws. UCLA hit 24 of 31 free throw tries while CU was 7-for-11 from the line … Colorado shot 51 percent (26-for-51), including 10-for-23 from long range … The Bruins shot 25-for-55 and were just 6-for-19 from 3-point range … Colorado also committed 15 turnovers that led to 24 UCLA points.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
