SEATTLE, Wash. – After their 12th straight win at home to begin the season, the best home start head coach Tad Boyle has had in his 14 years at Colorado, the Buffs still had to prove they could win on the road.
Behind J’Vonne Hadley’s career-high 24 points, however, the black and gold completed the season sweep over the Washington Huskies with a 98-81 win on Wednesday night. The late-night Pac-12 matchup resulted in the Buffs’ first win on the road in conference play. While one road win certainly doesn’t mean CU has figured everything out, their continuation of the well-oiled machine seen in Boulder shows promise.
Hadley, who missed the last game due to knee soreness, went 8-for-10 from the field in his big performance. He had two steals and a block while guarding Washington’s leading scorer on the season, Keion Brooks Jr., most of the game. While Hadley’s hustle and effort outlined his spectacular night, it was a late 3-pointer off a KJ Simpson dish that sealed the deal for the Buffs.
Along with Hadley, the four other starters scored in double digits as the starting lineup scored 83 of CU’s 98 points. With the balanced scoring effort, Colorado’s team play and ability to do the little things ultimately led to the big win despite the Huskies shooting 54.1% from the field. The Buffs outrebounded the Huskies by 16, resulting in 15 second-chance points. From the free throw line, Colorado shot 26-of-28 compared to Washington’s 10-of-18. They also held UW to just five 3’s on 19 attempts after giving up nine 3-pointers when they first met in Boulder.
Eddie Lampkin Jr. played another big game as he reached another double-double with 14 points and 10 boards plus a sweet behind-the-back dime to da Silva for an and-one in the first half. Cody Williams added 19 points and four assists while Simpson once again almost reached a triple-double (16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists). Da Silva only scored 10 points as he struggled with foul trouble but Luke O’Brien played some important relief minutes as he scored eight points, including two 3’s.
Despite some turnover issues (13 in the game) and some early foul trouble, Colorado stayed resilient as they blew the game open in the second half. However, it may have been their strong end to the first half that foreshadowed the final 20 minutes.
After a fairly even first 18 minutes, the Buffs found themselves up five points with two minutes to go in the first half, never having led more than six. With a chance to gain some momentum before the half, Williams led a small 4-0 run, including a two-handed poster dunk, to help CU go up nine. Washington fired back, though, fellow freshman Bangot Dak stepped up in the final minute of the first half as he scored five points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Up 50-41 coming out of the half, the Buffs only needed to trade a few baskets before going on a 10-0 run with 13 minutes left in the second half and giving them their largest lead of the ball game. As CU led by 20 with 10 minutes and 22 seconds left, the game seemed out of reach.
Washington made three small runs following the Buffs’ separation in the score. Brooks led the way with 22 points while Moses Wood’s three 3-pointers and Braxton Meah’s four dunks played roles in UW’s small scoring runs. But the lead was too much to handle as Hadley scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half.
With Colorado getting their first road win of Pac-12 play, they face the Washington State Cougars on Saturday (Jan. 27). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. MT.
Cover photo by @CUBuffsMMB/X
Comments