Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
16-7,7-5Pac-12
Arizona State
11-12,5-7Pac-12
Buffs Hold Off ASU To Improve To 13-0 At Home
February 08, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado's J'Vonne Hadley recorded his first career double-double and the Buffaloes held off Arizona State down the stretch Thursday to collect an 82-70 win at the CU Events Center, giving the Buffs a program-record 13-0 home mark.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 16-7 overall and 7-5 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils lost their fifth in a row to fall to 11-12, 5-7.
Hadley finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including a huge 3-pointer in the final minutes. KJ Simpson had 17 points and eight assists, Tristan da Silva scored 15 and Cody Williams tallied 11.
Frankie Collins led ASU with 18.
The Buffs led by as much as 18 in the first half, by nine at intermission and by 16 early in the second half. But the Sun Devils refused to go away and cut Colorado's edge to just five, 73-68, with 2:13 to play.
But Hadley, who had a three-point play a minute earlier, drained a long 3-pointer just before the shot clock buzzer to put the Buffs back up by eight, 76-68, with 1:35 to play.
Colorado then hit six free throws in the final 1:28 to salt away the win.
The Buffs shot 24-for-51 (47.1 percent) while ASU was 27-for-61 (44.3 percent) from the floor. Colorado also held a 37-29 edge on the boards.
But the big difference came at the free throw line. CU hit 26 of its 29 attempts from the stripe while ASU shot 9-for-14.
"Winning a game in February is like finding gold," Boyle said. "ASU has a competitive coach and competitive players. I thought we could have blown it open in the second half when we got up 16, but they came back. Competitive teams are going to do that. But our guys did what they had to do."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by as much as 18 in the first half before the Sun Devils cut the deficit in half by intermission, 44-35.
CU then quickly pushed its lead to 16 in the opening minutes of the second half on a 3-pointer from Cody Williams and a four-point play from Tristan da Silva. Colorado appeared to be on the verge of blowing the game open.
Instead, the Sun Devils slowly whittled away at the lead. ASU used an 8-0 run midway through the half to cut Colorado's lead to nine, 57-48, then pulled to within seven, 63-56, with seven minutes to play.
"We never quite put them away," Boyle said. "They kept coming back. That's what good teams do."
But the Buffaloes managed to keep the Sun Devils at bay down the stretch. Hadley had a big basket and free throw to give CU a 10-point lead with 2:38 to play before ASU narrowed Colorado's cushion to just five, 73-68, with just more than two minutes remaining.
Hadley then stepped up with his biggest shot of the night. As the shot clock wound down, he drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Buffs an eight-point lead, 76-68, with just 1:35 remaining.
"I've been working on my shot and it's just repetition," Hadley said. "My teammates trust me and I was confident letting it go and it went in."
CU then hit six free throws down the stretch to cement the win and notch the program-record 13-0 home mark.
"Our guys did a good job tonight," Boyle said. "We didn't play our best offensively and we had a few breakdowns defensively, but we did what we had to do and put away a really competitive Arizona State team."
Colorado threatened to turn the game into a blowout early, jumping out to an 18-1 lead. Simpson had six points in the early surge and Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Hadley each added four and Colorado had a 17-point cushion less than six minutes in.
The Sun Devils, meanwhile, missed their first seven shots from the floor before finally getting a Collins bucket at the 14:25 mark.
CU kept the pressure on. A Lampkin free throw with 8:57 to play in the half gave Colorado an 18-point edge, 31-13, and the Buffs looked firmly in control.
But the Sun Devils' offense suddenly woke up. Alonzo Gaffney hit two of three ASU 3-pointers in an 11-0 run that was aided by four straight empty CU possessions, including a pair of turnovers. That cut CU's lead to seven, 31-24.
CU momentarily stopped the slide with two free throws each from Simpson and da Silva, plus a Williams dunk — only to see ASU answer with a 7-0 surge. That added up to a 20-6 Arizona State run over a six-minute span and with 2:48 to play in the half, Colorado's lead had been shaved to four, 37-33.
But the Buffs finally righted themselves over the final minutes of the half, getting a basket and two free throws from da Silva and a Hadley basket to send Colorado into the break with a nine-point edge, 44-35.
DECISIVE MOMENT: The Buffs had several opportunities to put the Sun Devils away but never managed to completely pull away until the final minutes. Hadley's 3-pointer with 1:35 to play gave CU an eight-point lead, forcing the Sun Devils to foul and Colorado hit six straight free throws down the stretch for the win.
WHAT IT MEANS: No CU men's team has ever won its first 13 home games of a season. Colorado is now tied for fourth in the Pac-12 standings, one game out of second place and two back of league-leading Arizona, which visits the Events Center on Saturday.
KEY STATISTIC: CU hit 26 of its 29 attempts from the free throw line while ASU shot 9-for-14.
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up their homestand Saturday with an 8 p.m. game against No. 8 Arizona at the CU Events Center (ESPN). CU then hits the road for a pair, beginning with Thursday's 7 p.m. matchup at UCLA (ESPN), followed by an 8 p.m. game at USC on Saturday (Feb. 17, ESPN).
