Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
15-7,6-5Pac-12
Utah
15-7,6-5Pac-12
Buffs Rally Comes Up Short At Utah
February 03, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
SALT LAKE CITY — A late Colorado rally came up just short Saturday and the shorthanded Buffaloes dropped a 73-68 decision to Utah at the Huntsman Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs, playing without starter Cody Williams and key reserve Luke O'Brien (both injured), fell to 15-7 overall and 6-5 in Pac-12 play while the Utes improved to 15-7, 6-5.
The Buffs trailed by as much as 13 in the second half before narrowing the deficit to three in the final minutes. But that was as close as they could come as CU fell to 1-6 on the road this season.
KJ Simpson led the Buffs with 25 points, J'Vonne Hadley added 15, Eddie Lampkin Jr. had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double and Tristan da Silva scored 10.
Gabe Madsen led Utah with 21.
Colorado, one of the top shooting teams in the nation, shot just 25-for-66 (38 percent), CU's second-worst outing in Pac-12 play. Utah, meanwhile, shot 26-for-56, including a 14-for-27 mark in the decisive second half.
CU did have a 43-34 edge on the boards but the Utes outscored Colorado 21-7 in fast-break points, one of the big differences in the game.
"Disappointing," Boyle said "We didn't have the same defensive intensity for the first 32 minutes that we had down the stretch. We had some good looks offensively but they didn't go in and we had some guys who were frustrated on offense and they let that affect their defense. It was a five-point game because our guys are competitive and they play hard. I love them for that. But we have to play better on both sides."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams were tied 31-31 at intermission, but the Utes slowly pulled away in the opening minutes of the second half when Colorado's offense went cold.
A 6-0 Utah burst pushed Colorado's deficit to 10 at the 12:32 mark before the Utes extended their edge to 13 when a Hunter Erickson 3-pointer left the Buffs trailing 55-42.
Colorado missed nine field goal attempts in a row in the stretch before Julian Hammond III ended the drought with a 3-pointer.
But the Buffs didn't go away quietly after the Utes built their big lead. CU put together a 6-0 run following a timeout, getting a Simpson steal and dunk, a Hammond offensive rebound and basket and another putback from Lampkin.
With 6:27 still to play, Colorado trailed by just seven, 55-48.
The Utes then rebuilt their lead to double digits, 62-50, with four minutes to play before the Buffs staged one more rally by forcing three Utah turnovers. Hadley hit two free throws, Simpson scored inside and da Silva hit a free throw to pull CU to within 62-55 with 2:12 still to play. Simpson then sandwiched a pair of treys around a Utah basket and with 1:02 remaining, Colorado had whittled the gap to 66-63.
That, though, was as close as the Buffs could come in the final seconds as the Utes hit their free throws to hold on for the win.
"We had some good looks and they didn't go in, especially coming out of halftime," Boyle said. "I keep talking to the guys about the fact that you have to figure out a way to win games on nights like that and this team hasn't figured that out yet."
After falling behind early in the opening minutes, CU battled back to take a 16-15 lead nine minutes into the game when Hadley scored four points and da Silva added a bucket in a 6-0 Colorado run.
The two teams then traded the lead five more times over the next 11 minutes. Colorado led by three, 27-24, after Simpson put together a personal 5-0 run before the Utes rallied to regain a 31-29 edge.
Hadley then finished the first half scoring with his basket inside to knot the score at 31-31 at the break.
DECISIVE MOMENT: After cutting the deficit to three with a minute still to play, the Buffs couldn't get a stop in the final seconds and the Utes hit their free throws to keep Colorado at bay.
WHAT IT MEANS: A win would have kept the Buffs no more than a game away from the conference lead. But now Colorado finds itself in a seven-team logjam in the middle of the standings.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot just 25-for-66 (38 percent) from the floor … Utah shot 26-for-56, including a 14-for-27 mark in the decisive second half.
UP NEXT: The Buffs return home next week for a pair of games at the CU Events Center, beginning with Thursday's 6 p.m. matchup against Arizona State (FS1). Colorado then plays host to Arizona on Saturday in an 8 p.m. contest (ESPN or ESPN2).
